SOFT SPOT// h.s

1.6 ~ On the bed?

I held my breath as I opened the door to my motel room once again, not wanting to inhale the musky smell of ageing fabric and rotting furniture.

I was trying to fix the bed into something worth sleeping in as Ellie clung to my leg, whining due to her tiredness. I heard a sharp knock on the door and I knew there was only one person it could be.

I sighed in exasperation as I pulled Ellie onto my hip and made my way towards the door. "Harry," I squeaked, as I opened the door to reveal his towering frame. I was surprised when Ellie stopped crying at the sight of Harry and she cheered up considerably in his presence. I ran my hand through my ratty hair, wishing I could wash it.

"Clary, I was uh, just wondering if you, I mean if your room was okay," he said, and he seemed uncomfortable as he shifted from one foot to the other, but his gaze was as lazily patronising as usual.

"Sure. It's no five star hotel, but it'll do," I lied as I gestured around the room, not inviting him past the threshold, knowing that he would kick up a fuss if he knew what the room was like.

Harry wrinkled his nose disgustedly as the awful odour of the damp room reached his nostrils. "What is that smell?!" He asked as he pushed past me, his eyes searching around the room for a possible culprit.

"It's just the room. I mean it's no big deal, we can make it through one night here," I replied, hoping that he wouldn't overreact to the low standard accommodation. I had figured out by now that Harry was temper mental and I wanted to prevent any mood swings or irrational behaviour.

"I did not pay twenty three dollars for this," he muttered as he examined the moth eaten curtains and the tea bag walls with the paint peeling off.

"Harry it's fine, it's no big deal. It beats the car," I said, laughing half heartedly.

"Does the shower work?" Harry asked, not waiting for a reply as he flung open the door to the closet sized bathroom. I heard him swear as the knob of the shower creaked and spluttered and no water came out.

"I'm going to the desk downstairs to sort this out. You can wait in my room if you like," he offered as he dusted his hands on his stained jeans.

I nodded solemnly as Ellie and I wordlessly followed him out of the room. It was going to be a long night..

----x----

The heat of the running water felt like paradise against my damaged skin as I stood in the shower, letting my pores absorb the hot vapour.

Travelling with Harry definitely had it's perks, and so did his persistence. Although I would have preferred him to go about it more politely, Harry rudely demanded for the manager, insisting to have my room moved. But because of their rubbish facilities and hospitality, the manager claimed that there were no decent rooms left. So as a result, I was standing in the shower of Harry's ensuite bathroom.

Just like mine, Harry's room was still simple and basic, but the walls were painted a comforting cream colour, and the double bed seemed clean and comfortable. It was more roomy, which eliminated the sense of claustrophobia that my room had caused. It even had a small, cushiony corduroy sofa, just in front of the window, with a large, comforting throw hanging over the back of the seat.

I lathered the sweet, honey shampoo into my scalp as the sound of the water hitting the flower of the shower blocked out any other noise. The nourishing scent of the fresh body wash that I massaged into my aching limbs filled the air, clearing my senses.

I emerged from the shower feeling refreshed and regenerated. It was such a relief to have the filth and grime rinsed out of my skin.

I wrapped the towel firmly around my body as I straightened out some of the clothes I had purchased from Target. Harry didn't understand why I didn't just buy stuff from Walmart. "It's much cheaper," he had argued. But the clothing from target was much better material.

I pulled on a pair of fuzzy blue cloud pyjama bottoms and a pain white T-shirt and wrapped the towel around my hair on top of my head. I would have to let it air dry, because I obviously had no hairdryer.

I quietly opened the bathroom door slightly and looked out. I could see Harry lazily lying on his back on the bed, the back of his head resting on the palms of his hands as he stared at the ceiling with Ellie laying beside him, mimicking his position.

"And I want lots of baby brothers and sisters and puppies," I heard my daughter telling Harry as I stifled a laugh.

"I think you'd need to ask your mum about that," Harry replied, chuckling.

I laughed softly, emerging the bathroom and picking up any worn clothing into my arms and carrying it all back into the bathroom.

I gathered up the dirty clothes as I turned on the faucet and let the water pour into the sink. I filled the water with some washing powder that I had purchased and dumped the clothes in. When I had scrubbed them clean, I laid them out over the towel rack after rinsing them out thoroughly. At least it would mean lots of clean clothes to wear, for all of us.

My hand rested on the handle of the bathroom door and when I quietly opened it slightly, I could hear Harry's low voice speaking to Ellie.

"And then I destroyed the elder wand and threw it away, so nobody could ever find it again. And I gave my best friends, Ron and Hermione, the biggest hug and we all lived happily ever after," I heard him say.

I opened the bathroom door wider and saw Harry and Ellie both seated on the sofa, and on closer inspection, I noticed that my daughter's half opened eyes were almost closed, her head resting against the crook of Harry's arm as he brushed her hair lightly away from her with his fingers. Harry was holding a book in his other hand, which seemed to be an old novel.

"You have a lovely reading voice," I said, and Harry looked up at me quickly, startled by my presence.

"I didn't know you were listening," he replied, somewhat uncomfortably. He glanced at the book in his hand. "I'm sure she didn't want to hear about that asshole Mr Darcy from Wuthering Heights, so I told her my rendition of Harry Potter."

"It sounded fascinating," I joked with him as I moved towards the bed, sinking into the mattress.

"As if you could do better," Harry fired back and I laughed in reply.

"She's asleep," I stated, nodding towards Ellie lying peacefully in Harry's arms.

"Lucky her," Harry commented, gently poking her cheek.

"Don't Harry, you'll wake her, although she'll probably wake up when I move her back into my room anyway," I said, frowning.

Harry looked up at me with a confused expression. "What do you mean? She can sleep here," he said, as if it was completely obvious.

He quickly realised I wasn't sharing his opinion and that I wouldn't leave Ellie there alone, so he added, "And you too, obviously."

"But, where will I sleep?" I asked stupidly, genuinely bemused.

Harry looked at me as if I was brain dead. "On the bed?" he replied sarcastically, as if I was stupid.

"But then where will you sleep?" I questioned him.

"On the floor," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I probably won't sleep much anyway."

I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it again, deciding not to argue with him. "We could just swap rooms," I pointed out.

"Yeah that would be a great idea if I wanted to sleep with the bed bugs," Harry said, his tone laced with playful sarcasm as he pulled the throw over Ellie, placing her head on the pillow as if it was a second nature to him.

He took two pillows off the left side of the bed and dropped them on the carpeted floor before laying down and closing his eyes.

"Good night Clary," he said, rolling over to face the door.

I kissed Ellie on the forehead as I tucked her in before I clambered underneath the plain white duvet of the cold, empty bed, the wiry springs of the mattress digging into my back.

"Good night Harry."

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Hiiii tysm for 500+ reads you guys are so cute ily ok

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