Effortless (h.s.)

Chapter TWENTY NINE - return

Harry and I climbed out of the uber right in front of the apartment complex. The hot and humid air was a huge change from the Canadian dry weather. I looked up to the sky and breathed in, the burning sun was only reaching my face and the skin showing from the holes in my jeans.

I turned around when the trunk of the car slammed shut, Harry kept his head down and had slung my over-sized duffel bag across his shoulder. He let out a puff of air and gave me a small smile, he was exhausted.

My eyes burned badly from the lack of sleep I'd been forced to endeavor on the train.

It was constantly so loud I couldn't ever fully fall asleep. I think Harry was tired too but he wasn't admitting to it. The two of us hadn't been speaking much the last day because of the constant horn of the train and the annoyingly sarcastic lady who would come offer us water every thirty minutes.

I pried the front door open and let Harry go in first with my things and followed him up the familiar blue staircase.

The muscles in my thighs burned with every single step, that's when I realized I still hadn't eaten much of anything over the course of this 'trip.' Harry either hadn't noticed my weight loss during the past month or he didn't want to bring it up.

I glanced down to my legs slowly trudging up the stairs.

I think it was really noticeable.

"Harry," A deep voice snapped me out of my train of thought, I jumped a little. Dylan rushed out of my apartment and stared at us with wide eyes.

Dylan's light chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, I had never seen it like that before. His usual pink plump lips were dull and had a grey cast to them. His clothes were wrinkled and puffy eyes signaled he had just awoken.

I froze on the second to last step, staring at the two boys. A month ago Dylan and I were in the crowd of a Harry Styles show, and Dylan was dreading it. Now the three of us stood here and were all intermingled in some absolute terrible mess.

My eyes drifted down to my feet.

"Lennon, oh my fucking god," Dylan suddenly lifted me up off of the staircase and onto the second floor in a hug. His chin dug into the top of my head. My first instinct was to pull away but I let him hold onto me.

I opened my eyes and saw Harry standing behind us two, he blinked a couple times. His head fell and he focused on the ugly wallpaper, I continued to watch him until he looked back at Dylan still holding onto me. He began to turn around with my bag.

It didn't take me longer than a second to yank myself out of Dylan's grip, "Where are you going?" I couldn't imagine a second not with Harry. He stopped in his tracks and turned around with a slight smile.

"You two need to catch up," he shrugged, readjusting the bag on his shoulder.

"But my things-"

"I know, come over when you're finished," Harry didn't break eye contact with me, I felt my stomach sink when he turned around and trailed away to his apartment. I swallowed and cleared my throat and glanced up at Dylan again.

"Hi," I whispered, still pretty close to his face.

"Hi. I think we have a bit to talk about, no?" He pulled away with lifted eyebrows, walking into my opened front door. I nervously picked at the dry skin on my bottom lip and followed behind him at a distance.

My apartment was empty, just the way I had left it.

I recalled the last mindset I had right before I left this place... That I could live a life without Harry and Dylan.