oxford comma // h.s o.u

27. the one with a pair of cherries

Sunday, 26th of April, 2015

As soon as I woke up, the first thing I noticed was my headache. I knew that as soon as I opened my eyes and the light from outside my window hit me, it was only going to get worse. The second thing I noticed was the fact that I was alone—Harry was nowhere to be seen. I knew he was probably only in the toilet or in the kitchen getting a drink and had not left me by myself to go back to London, but part of me was still saddened at the thought of not being curled up in his arms the same way I fell asleep the night before.

Both Harry and I had our fair share of alcoholic drinks, enjoying the moment of celebration after our two friends had announced their engagement. I was happy for Bodhi and Violet, I really was—no two people were more perfect for each other than those two incredibly aesthetically pleasing free spirit individuals—but there was a lump in my chest that I simply could not ignore. I felt so awful for being so selfish, but I just couldn't help but think about how they were yet another two people around me who had a fantastic new plan for their lives, yet mine had all been thrown out the window the second I decided to call it quits with Jasper. It was the right decision, of course, but I had a future—study abroad, graduate, marriage, babies—and now I had no idea what was next.

Violet and Bodhi had gotten engaged, Mum was having a baby (with an awful, awful man), and Papa and Nicholas were getting married in a few weeks. Hell, even Mila had seemed to calm down and focus on herself for a while. It was very necessary after everything she had been through, and I was incredibly proud of her for making the decision, but it was still a bit of a shock to the system when she had told me one evening that she was deleting Tinder and throwing herself into her studies.

And then there was me—Suzy Lestrange, suddenly without a five year plan.

If I wasn't in the middle of a university degree or about to go abroad for a whole year, I might have said I didn't even have a five minute plan. To be fair, once I finished my final exam at the end of my last year, I probably will be in that very same boat of what was next. Papa had always told me I would have plenty of jobs lined up for me, but I wasn't sure how true that really was. I mean, I had read the statistics and the odds weren't exactly in my favour.

During the celebratory night, I noticed a few times how Harry would eye me curiously and ask how I was, but I forced a smile and told him everything was fine. I mean, I was just a little drunk and so everything felt a little amplified, but once sober I was certain my head would clear and things would seem a little better. When I finally opened my eyes, however, the light hit me just right and as my head began to pound I knew for a fact that things did not seem a little clearer.

What did seem clearer, though, was the way I felt the second I heard my door open and I knew exactly where Harry was. He walked up to my bed and sat something down on my bedside table, then nudged me over slightly as he climbed into the bed beside me; his bright smile reflected on my own lips, and I knew that within his arms all my worries ceased to exist. As long as I had Harry, as long as his long and warm arms were wrapped around me, everything seemed fine. In fact, everything seemed bloody fantastic.

"Mornin'," he mumbled, pressing his lips to my forehead. "How's your head?"

I scrunched up my nose as his eyes met mine. "Could be better."

Harry pulled back from me for a second and twisted behind him, my breath caught in my throat for a moment, until he returned with a water bottle and two white pills. "Take these," he said, holding them out to me.

I mumbled a quick thank you and downed the pills before handing the bottle back for him to sit back on my bedside table. "Mm," I hummed, resting my head against his chest as he curled his arms back around me once more—as everything felt right in the world—and brushed his thumb back and forth over my shoulder . "I don't want to ever move. You're so warm."