A Single Daffodil [Harry Styles]

Three Cities, Three Countries, Three Days.

There weren't any London flights out of Caen Airport for another two days, so we were forced to activate plan b: take a train to Paris.

It didn't take long for the three of us to pack up our belongings while the rest of the house slept into the late morning. I felt bad for leaving without saying goodbye to everyone else, but I just didn't have the strength to go through with it. As we carelessly jammed our stuff into the back of the cab that waited outside, I immediately felt guilty for dragging Sophia and Jayden away from everyone else.

When I voiced said guilt, telling them they didn't have to come back with me, they shut me down quick.

"No," Sophia responded with force. We were sitting in the back of the cab now, driving to the closest train station. The train for Paris was leaving in fifteen minutes. "we are coming with you. Fuck everyone else right now. You are more important."

Even though they insisted on it not being an issue, I wanted to argue with them and force them to stay here instead because I felt like I was ruining their holiday. But I didn't have the fight in me. My heart was aching and while the distance between me and Harry continued to grow in yards, that sinking feeling of reality expanded uncontrollably. It was just too unbelievable.

I didn't speak a word on the three-hour train ride to Paris, and I appreciated Jayden and Sophia for not asking any more questions about what happened this morning. They both knew that when I was ready, I would talk about it. I was careful not to look at either of them, however, because I didn't need to witness the sympathetic looks they were giving me. They were the kind of looks you gave a wounded animal or an old woman trying to cross a busy street by herself. I hated it. Nothing was worse.

I kept my head down and my hood up as I focused on the landscapes that flitted past the windows. I was in a quiet rage as I fixated my stare. I tried to focus on the rhythmic pattern of the wheels turning on the railroad, but it was proven difficult, thanks to my turbulent mind.

I couldn't believe I was in this situation. How did I manage to single-handedly ruin this trip in a span of a couple of hours? Everything was perfect, just like in the movies. It was a Romantic Comedy at first, wasn't it? We made up, we went to Saint-Malo and experienced something magical, we were both supposed to realize that us not being together was the worst idea ever, and the grand finale was a dramatic confession on the beach.

But this wasn't a Romantic Comedy. This was a Tragedy.

Because Harry didn't love me. I was no longer the girl with ocean blue eyes and sand-colored hair. I was no longer the girl he wrote about, the girl he dreamt about, his muse or the voice he wanted to hear. Zoe had replaced me. She was the one who reaped the rewards of Harry's laugh, his sleepy smile in the morning, his green eyes, his light.

What a Godawful mistake that was, telling him the way I felt.

I was in such a daze, that I could barely recount the process of getting to the Paris airport, going through customs and finding our gate. I dropped my duffel bag on the ground and dropped into one of the uncomfortable seats near the window. Sophia quietly took the seat across from me, feverishly texting on her phone. I tried to ignore the urge to both throw-up and cry when I realized she was probably texting Niall, trying to explain how fucked up my situation was.

"Well, I got the three of us booked on a flight back to Miami." Jayden let out an exhausted yawn as he fell into the empty seat next to me. Both Sophia and I looked at him. "We're heading back tomorrow morning. 10:30 am."

"Wait, Jayden. You didn't have to do that." I said, my voice croaked from the lack of speaking for the past couple of hours. My throat still felt raw from all the crying I'd done earlier.

"Yes, I did," Jayden responded, offering me a smile. "It's time for all of us to go home."

"But that must have been so expensive." The guilt was uncanny. I immediately started reaching for my wallet. "How much was it, let me—"

"Don't worry about that now." Jayden shook his head and patted my knee. "Besides, I have a butt-load of SkyMiles logged in with American Airlines from the past two years. Professional dirt biker, remember?" The smile didn't quite reach his eyes while he said it.

I nodded in response, worried that if I tried to say anything else, I would start to cry. Isn't it a terrible thing to have your heart broken? All you want to do is cry, and even the littlest things, like your best friends being there for you 100%, made you want to burst into tears.

I looped my arm through Jayden's, resting my head on his shoulder as a thank you. I would repay him every penny the second we got to Miami.

American Airlines started the boarding process not long after that. Our section was called, we boarded the plane, I sat by the window. And the entire time, I found myself holding my breath, staring out the tiny porthole, wondering if maybe, just maybe, I would see Harry running to my gate number, just like I did for him.

But this was a Tragedy. And I was the idiot with too much optimism.