Fine Line [h. styles]

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Write about what you want to express." A dark-haired woman said with a smile on her face, some wrinkles forming around her brown eyes due to her older age setting in and state of health.

"I can't seem to get the words out." Stella shook her head, huffing in frustration as she couldn't figure out how to articulate what she wanted to say.

"Just be honest and it will all come to you. There's no need to hide anything. If you're pissed, share that. If you wish you had some coffee, write about it." The woman encouraged Stella.

"You always know what to say." Stella smiled, typing on her computer.

"That's because I don't hide anything," Amber, Stella's mother, said. "Unlike you." She stared at her daughter who was busy filling out college applications on her computer.

Those two words made her look up at her mother who was already giving her a knowing look.

"What are you talking about?" Stella asked, fearful that her mother had found out that she snuck out of the house a few weeks beforehand with a boy she liked named Chase.

"Majoring in nursing?" Her mother looked at the screen, a disappointed look plastered on her face which said it all. If there was one thing that Amber was right about, it was the fact that she was always honest and was never afraid to hide anything.

"Why are you giving me that look?" Stella confusedly asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she did so.

"We both know that you don't want to be a nurse." Amber pointed out seconds before she began to fall down.

Stella grabbed her mother's frail body immediately and held her up, taking her to the bed to lay her down. Before another word could be said, a nurse came rushing into the room.

"Hey, Stella. Can you come back later? Your mother needs to get some rest." Hannah, the nurse she had gotten familiar with over time, asked.

"Of course," Stella sadly looked at her mother who had her eyes closed on the bed. "I'll come back later." Stella knelt down to her mother's level.

"Be honest with yourself. Stop trying to please others. Stop trying to please me." She told Stella, weakly smiling at her.

"I love you." Is all Stella could manage to say.

"I love you so much more." Amber said, her lips quivering as they gently brushed against her daughter's forehead.

Before Stella could finish up the memory, the sound of someone strumming a guitar woke her up. Stella sat straight up, grabbing the back of her neck as she did so from the sudden whiplash she had given herself.

"I got to stop doing that." Stella scolded herself, getting out of bed.

She walked out of her room and followed the sound of the music. She walked into the living room only to be blinded by the sun that was shining through the windows. She put her hand over her forehead in order to see what was going on.

"Good morning." Harry said, his voice coming out a bit raspier than normal.

"Morning. Why is the sun so bright?" She asked, walking closer to him as he continued to play the guitar.

"I took the curtains off. I'll put them back on later, but I wanted the sunlight to come in." Harry explained.

After a few seconds of adjusting, Stella put her hand down and sat next to Harry. Harry then stopped playing and turned to face Stella before going back to strumming the same chords over and over again.

"Pretty." She yawned, talking about the melody Harry was playing as the two made eye contact. They held their gaze for roughly ten seconds before Stella looked away and out towards the window. The sunlight was hitting her skin in a way that made her look golden with her faint freckles looking like small little specks of gold sprinkled on her face.