less than lovers (h.s.)

two

I managed to make it through the whole week without any mention of Adam. I mean, he was still in the back of my mind, hounding at my every thought, but I would never actually speak his name aloud. Thankfully, neither did Harry. I think he could tell that I was slowly starting to move forward, and he didn't want to be the reason behind me backsliding in any way.

Unfortunately, not everyone was as considerate as Harry. I was walking up to an empty cubicle in the library, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, a familiar face was in my peripheral vision. It wasn't Adam, but it was close enough.

I wouldn't say that Jane was my best friend, but she was close behind Liv and Harry on the list. The key word in that sentence is was. Friendships, especially best friendships, tend to come to an end rather quickly when you walk in on them in bed with your boyfriend of almost three years.

"Sydney," she whispered. I tried to pretend like I couldn't hear her, but before I knew it, she was right in front of me, and there was nowhere for me to turn. "Can we please talk?"

"I'm actually in the middle of something." I fixated my eyes on my cubicle behind her, which was about to be occupied by a skinny boy in a Manchester United jersey. Well, so much for that.

"Sydney, please," Jane begged, grabbing onto my sleeve. I instantly jerked it out of her grip, like she'd burned me. "You don't understand—"

"It's not too hard to misunderstand my boyfriend's dick in your mouth," I snarled. "Is it, Jane?"

The librarian glared at us from behind her desk. "Indoor voices!" she hissed. I ignored her.

"I've felt so horrible about all of it, you have no idea," Jane said, and I could see her big blue eyes filling up with tears. I might have felt guilty, if she hadn't bragged to me in the past about how she knew how to cry on impact. Or if she hadn't slept with my boyfriend, of course.

Ex-boyfriend.

"To be honest, I don't really care," I said, even though my words couldn't be farther from the truth. "You two can have each other. Just please leave me alone."

"Sydney, wait," she said. "Please. At the very least, move back in with the girls. I won't live there anymore. You shouldn't have to live with Harry—"

My eyes narrowed at her suggestion. "I like living with Harry," I inform her. "He's a much better roommate than you would ever be." Then, before she could latch onto me any further, I walked away.

Studying in the library didn't seem all that appealing to me anymore, so I exited the building and began the walk towards Harry's house off campus. Which, as of the past few weeks, was also my house. It was still taking time for me to get used to it all—going from living with Adam to moving in with Harry.

After I'd walked in on Jane and Adam—in my own bed, may I add—obviously, I knew I couldn't live there anymore. The house was Adam's first, but even if it hadn't been, I had to get out of there. Too many memories and all that. Unfortunately, most of my old friends had been more of Adam and Jane's friends than mine, so it wasn't like I could move in with them. And Liv was a resident assistant on campus, so I couldn't live with her either. That just left Harry, since it was too late to find somewhere else.

Thankfully, he'd handled having a last-minute roommate really well, and it hadn't been weird at all, since we'd been friends for so long. But my brain couldn't seem to forget how far from the plan my living situation for my final year was. Something told me Harry couldn't, either.

His—our—place wasn't too far from campus, so it only took me around ten minutes to arrive. I opened the door, ready to go lock myself in my room for the rest of the night, but my mind went blank when I saw a female body slumped on top of Harry's, whining his name out. Neither of them had noticed me, and so, unsure what to do, I dropped my textbook from my hand.