Play! [Discontinued]

Chapter 4 - Orphan - Part 2

A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE. WOOT! And this one is longer. xD Please, comment as you read, yeah?

CAMI:

Waiting for Harry made my stomach churn. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I still felt like it was all a dream. Harry and I had only been back in touch for two days, and part of me was just waiting for him to disappear again.

And as the time slowly snaked by, I kept glancing at my watch to make sure he wasn’t late.

Why had I walked out here so early anyway?

I’d been surprised when he texted me, and it wasn’t until I’d had quite the lecture from Annie that I’d decided to invite him along. He did write that he wanted to see me. That was a good sign, right?

The camera bag on my shoulder was starting to feel heavy. Tapping my foot impatiently, I crossed my arms just in time to see a dark blue car turn into the parking lot. I didn’t recognize the brand, but when it stopped in front of me, I saw Harry behind the wheel. He rolled down the window.

“Hey foxy,” he said. “Want a ride?”

I snorted rather unladylike. Opening the door, I sat down on the passenger seat and looked at Harry.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” I noted.

“It’s hard not to be,” he said. “You’re with me after all. Now, where are we going to meet up with your friends?”

I told him the address, and he entered it into his GPS.

“So, who are we meeting exactly?” he asked as he turned out on the road. “Friends from school?”

It wasn’t fair of me that I hadn’t told him, but to be honest, I didn’t exactly know how to explain where I was going or who we were meeting. It wasn’t that it was a secret, but it opened up for so many questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer yet.

I also wasn’t sure where exactly I stood with Harry. Sure, he’d asked me out, but it could have been because of the contract. He had kissed me, but there was the paparazzi too. The only thing that didn’t fit the already established pattern of messing with my head was his earlier texts.

Then again, he could just have been bored.

“Itis difficult to explain,” I answered finally.

“Well, just to be clear, I’m not drinking tonight.” He patted the steering wheel. “I’m the designated driver.”

“It’s barely past three in the afternoon,” I said.

“Aha, so it’s not a pub or a bar we’re going to.” Harry smiled. “That’s good to know.”

“Actually, we’re going to visit an orphanage,” I said.

“Yeah?” He glanced at me. “How come?”

“There’s a couple of kids there, I’m sort of like their…” I struggled to find the right word. “Big sister, in a way. But not related.”

“That’s nice. How old are they?”

“They’re both nine. Very adorable.”

“How do you know them?”

That was the start of the questions I didn’t want to answer. It would lead over to a bunch of follow-up questions. And finally, it would make me need to tell him about not only my own experience at the orphanage—albeit briefly—but also about the nightmares. I’d barely grazed the surface with Dr. Hertz, so I was far from ready to explore it on my own.