A Lost Object [h.s]

Chapter 67

Aurora

The night was almost over, I was thrilled. I was pouring myself a cup of water when an older lady approached me "Oh, that is a beautiful ring sweetheart, can I take a look?" She stared at me intensively, waiting for me to show her the ring on my finger.

I admit I was hesitant at first, but I didn't want to be rude. "Yes, of course." I placed my cup down, lifting my hand towards her. She grabbed my hand, pulling the ring off of my finger. It caught me by surprise and it made me feel uneasy.

"You are a lucky one, look at how big this diamond is." She turned to her friends, showing them the ring. I stood patiently, waiting for her to give it back.

While I waited, I saw from a distance my mother walking in my direction. She came up to me, handing me a bucket "Aurora, go downstairs and get more water bottles from the fridge"

I looked over at the ladies that were still awe'd by the ring. I didn't want to leave it behind. "Can you give me a minute please?"

"No, go now and hurry back." My mother pushed me towards the stairs, watching until I was no longer visible to her. All I could think about as I went downstairs was my ring. I've never taken it off before. It's never been out of my possession. I was nervous.

I opened the fridge, filling the bucket with cold water bottles. I closed the fridge, picking up the now heavy bucket to bring back to the rooftop. I bumped into Harry as I turned around "Do you need help with that?"

"Sure." He took the bucket, carrying it over his shoulder. We made small talk as we walked back upstairs.

"I have a question." Harry speaks. I nod at him to continue. He smiles for a minute, licking his lips in the process.

"You think I'm extremely hot?"

The question caught me completely by surprise. I've never heard Harry say such words. There was also something about the way the words rolled off his tongue. Almost teasingly.

"What are you talking about?" Thinking about it now, I actually did think Harry was extremely hot. Most of the time without even trying. Maybe it's the long hair, or maybe it's the way he never fails to make me weak to my knees every time he looks at me. It was a little bit of both plus everything else about him. Although, I was not going to admit that to him. His curiosity was intriguing.  

"When we went star gazing you told me the stars shine because they are extremely hot. Today you said I outshined the stars."

I can feel the heat rising to my face, finally realizing what he was getting at. I never thought about it like that. I was pleased to know Harry actually remembers conversations we had in the past. Although he took my words way out of proportion. I pursued my lips, looking over at Harry, who was smirking. I have never seen him smirk before. It was an interesting yet pleasing sight. It was another side of Harry I've yet to come across until now.

He has many different smiles, this one was my second favorite. His dimpled smile that reached his eyes being my favorite. He doesn't smile much, but when he does I always try to cherish the moment. It makes me feel special almost. When we first met he never smiled. I believe he doesn't smile at all. There was something about his dimpled smile. The skin around his eyes crinkle and his eyes twinkle. It was genuine. When we first met he would smile, but in a fake manner. His face would be smiling, but his eyes were not.

"You are in over your head Harry Styles." He raised his eyebrows, making a humming sound as if to say 'sure'. I pursed my lips, trying to contain my laughter.

When we got back to the roof, Harry went to put the water bottles in ice. I searched around for the lady with my ring who was no longer at the food stands. I looked around the place with my eyes, finally spotting her sitting at a table with her friends. I made my way over. They stared up at me with confusion.

"May I have my ring back please?"

"Oh I don't have it anymore sweetheart. Your mother took it she wanted to see it as well I suppose." I was exasperated. Hearing her say that my mother took the ring made me frustrated. I needed to get it back from her as soon as possible. She has been trying to make me get rid of the ring for quite some time now. I couldn't let that happen.

I tried finding my mother in the crowd of people but she was nowhere to be found. I became anxious. Where could she have possibly gone? I searched downstairs and the house only to find no sight of her. I wasn't surprised to see her car gone when I got outside.

Harry grabbed my arm as I went to go back inside to find Odyssey, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I need to get home."

"I'll drive you."

•

My mother was sitting in the kitchen with a drink in her hand when I got home. I walked up to her, placing my stuff on the table. She watched me attentively, unfazed.

"Mother. Can I have my ring."

"What ring?"

"You know what ring. Please just give it back."

She placed the cup on the table, standing up to get to my level. "I did what you should've done four months ago Aurora. Do you think holding onto something so stupid is healthy for you? It's not, you need to move on with your life. You're getting married in less than three weeks, let go of the past."

"What did you do?"

She stared me dead in the eyes with no remorse, "I sold it."

My heart was thumping against my chest. Hard. My hands were shaking and my eyes were watery, "How could you!"

"It needed to be done. Obviously you weren't going to do it so I had to take matters into my own hands. This man is your husband now." She pointed at Harry who stood behind me. Watching, listening to everything that was going down.

I stared back at her, tears rolling down my face, "I hate you."