In-between

Chapter 9

"Can I come over?"

My phone chimes indicating an arrival of a message and I grabbed it from the night stand my face still buried in the book I was reading.
Placing it on the bed beside my crossed legs my eyes scanned the words as I giggled over something a character said in the book. My phone buzzes again another text coming in as I grabbed it in my hand but still paid attention to the book.
I saw my phone screen go black as I pressed the power button and placed it under the pillow as I flipped the book to another page.
I can’t get enough of this book and I’ve been reading it multiple times whenever I’m home from the dorm. It gives me a sense that other people also suffer worse situations than mine and still be happy and try to live life to its fullest.
I hear the door bell ring downstairs and I groaned, mum is still at the gym and it’s just me and Bruce and I know for a fact that he won’t be opening the front door so it’s up to me.
I groan folding the edge of the top to mark the page I was in and placed it on the bed as my legs hit the carpeted floor. The bell rang again and I audibly sigh. Who’s so impatient that comes here at 8:00 PM and rings so carelessly?
My instincts tell me they’re here for me and not just someone from mum’s work to drop of something or Mrs. Marin from across the street to give us some of her baked goods. From the way they were ringing the bell two people can only come to mind.
As my legs descend the stairs the annoying ring turned into a full on pounding on the wooden door and whoever it was on the other side was impatient as hell.
I run the remaining distance to the door and jerked it open and there he stood his fist mid air, his hair disheveled and breath uneven.
I cast him a confused look as I glared at him for making me think that this was some kind of emergency.
“What the fuck Harry?” I frown as I stood aside when he pushed past me and entered.
“Try answering next time yeah?” he retaliates as he too glared at me and plopped himself on the loveseat by the window.
“Answering? You didn’t even call me and why are you even here without informing me first, my mum could’ve been here.” I huff at him as I still stand at my previous spot.
“Your mum likes me better than any of your friends and you know it. Plus we’re not in high school anymore.” he smiles proudly as if achieving something.
Well he’s right about that, my mum wishes she could just cuddle him all day and she says he’s the handsome human being she has ever encountered in her 35 years.
“Why are you here?”
“I told you I’d see you tomorrow on the phone.” he reminds me as he fished his phone out of his front pocket.

“Yeah I re_” “Harry, Harry it is you!” I heard Bruce’s overly excited voice booms throughout the house as he climbed down the stairs and into the living room where Harry was sitting going through his phone.
“Hey there buddy,” He muses as he takes in a running Bruce towards him and lifts him up to sit on his lap.
“I misset you. When Amber came home she didn’t brint you like last time.” Bruce pouts and looks at me accusingly.
I just shrugged at the both of them as Harry too followed Bruce’s way of describing his distaste. Although it looked adorable at Bruce; Harry takes pouting to the next level.
“Well here I am, I came for you big guy.” I look up from the floor when Harry says it, our eyes met and the double meaning isn’t lost on me.
“I know.”
Harry looks up from his feet and his eyes lock exceptionally fast from Bruce onto me.
Immediately he mouths, “can I talk to you.” Faintly I can hear him try to speak, but it never reaches his tongue. His green eyes are blown with expectation. I nodded when I see the desperation on his face.
The silence between us seems to drag on, and I despise every second of it.
He wears black jeans and a white button up that exposes his golden cross necklace and the tan skin across his chest from the trip. His same old worn out boots. A dark green jacket over his shirt.
Reigning oblivion to his desperation I lean forward and sit on the seat in front of him.
“Amber says you have cooties.” I heard Bruce’s voice breaks the tension and I’m half shocked and half relived for the revelation. Harry’s eyes shoots up to mine in a surprised manner and my face gets red as I gulp hard. He raises an eyebrow, sweetly asking me, “Is that so?”
“I just…I don’t know why I told him that Harry…” He shuts me up by raising his palm up, his lips curved into a smirk. “Everyone does apparently.”
“Dylan doesn’t.” Bruce once again blurts out and I want nothing more than to shut this kid up with a duct tape and as if Harry had read my thoughts his eyes widened as he hugged him closer to his chest. Maybe I was eyeing him too hard.
“Why not? He’s also a guy.” Harry asks and I feel like the question was directed at me but there was no way I would answer that.
“He’s her friend and you aren’t.”
***
“I’m not your friend now?” Harry’s voice travels from my bed to the sink in my bathroom and I roll my eyes as I hear him mutter words under his breath.
After Bruce told Harry our previous conversation in my car, we had talked about something else until he eventually fell asleep in Harry’s embrace and I have noticed the mood change since the revelation.
Harry has been silent mostly and speaks only when spoken to; eyeing me from time to time. After we had safely tucked Bruce in bed, Harry suggested we talk and I lead him to my bedroom.
“Where is your phone?” Harry asks me as soon as I step in my bedroom. He was sprawled out; his figure covering much of the space leaving a tiny portion for me and I took the chair by the desk instead.
“You’re lying on it.” I gently tell him.
He raises his head full of curls and flipped the pillow to grab the black object and powered it on.
“5 new messages from jackass.” He loudly exclaims and I groan loudly.
“I didn’t know we were calling names. Yet.” He rolls his eyes as his fingers dance around the screen on my phone.
He wasn’t supposed to see that and now he truly thinks I hate him.
“Can I come over?”
“Is it okay if I come?”
“On my way, I’m bringing your mum flowers.”
“… I don’t know if you’re doing this on purpose but I have to tell you something.”
“I’m coming up, hope you don’t mind.”
He reads out loud and I bit my bottom lip at the way his voice quivers at the last statement. He was looking at me as if I did something wrong and I think what he wanted to talk about was pretty important.
“Where are the flowers?” I ask and Harry gives me the most confused look before he chuckles.
“Out of all the things I said you chose to comment on that?” He says and shakes his head as his hands run through his already messy locks.
I stayed quiet pondering over the next statement I was going to say.
“They’re in my car, when I saw the empty driveway I figured you guys had left so I didn’t want to look like a fool as I return to my car with a bouquet of orchids .” he shrugs as he explained and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“Why did you even thought to bring flowers? That’s stupid.” I say and cover my mouth desperately trying to push the words back in.
He stares at me as if he can’t believe the words that had just left my mouth.
“I don’t know why you even bother, no one does.”
“And yet I’m not your friend.” he rolls his eyes.
“Roll your eyes at me again.” I dare and Harry lets out a chuckle truly amused by the words that seem to leave my mouth.
“Please Harry just leave me alone.” I sigh as the events of the trip came crushing back clouding my mind with thousand of thoughts.
“What do you see in him?” He breaths as his eyes skim my figure and sits up on the bed.
“Will you stop? Why are you even doing this?” I yell. My face was getting heated at the sight of the wrong guy on my bed.
“Because I’m your friend, because I’m the only one who bothered to come here and comfort you, give you a shoulder to cry on. Because I care about your feelings and I don’t want you to get hurt because I know how that feels and because I want to tell you something.” It was his turn to yell as he jerked off the bed and started pacing back and forth.
I follow his movements with my eyes my head shaking at his expanse.
“I didn’t ask you to do any of those for me, I didn’t ask you to bother or care about me, I didn’t ask for your shoulder to cry on. Because you’re not my friend, you never were. You’re just a guy who is my crush’s girlfriend’s brother.” I snap and walk towards him.
“I thought you were…I…” He stammers as his face beholds a confused look. He stares at me and his mouth forms an “O”.
“I’ll just leave.” He finally mutters after a while of struggling and made his way to my bedroom door.
“Harry wait…” I reach my hand to grab his jacket and he freezes at his spot but remains facing the door.
“If you see Dylan tell him to call me ASAP I need to talk to him about something.”
Without another word from him he walks out of my room and after a couple of seconds I heard the front door slam shut.
My feet lead me to the window as I slowly opened the curtain and peeked outside at his parked car and a figure making its way to him. His shoulders were slumped and he looked defeated.
When I got the chance to get a closer look, I gasped at the sight of Abby, Mrs. Marin’s daughter as she sauntered in her barely there dress, Her hands roaming the expanse of his chest. He just stares at her while she talks, I can’t exactly make out the words she’s saying but by the way her body presses to his and her eyes flatter at him I know she’s flirting with him.

Just when I thought he was going to turn her down he leaned into her and whispered something in her ear. She jerks back and her face split into the widest grin I’ve ever seen on her. He then grabbed her hand and led her to the passenger seat of his black range rover after he made sure she was secure and comfortable, he jogged to his side and climbed up but not before dumping the beautiful Orchids in the trash.