It Takes Patience III: Stripped

*Reagan’s POV*
The sun was out when I left the house. It was bright enough to make you squint, but not bright or warm enough to warm London over. Deceiving; the sun was deceiving and I fell for its tricks. When I stepped outside it didn’t seem that cold so I only threw one of Harry’s sweaters on over my UCLA shirt, but then again I guess it wouldn’t seem that cold when I was only leaving out of the house to get into a heated car.

I gave the taxi driver the name of the bistro I was supposed to be meeting Laurie at and when I went in she hadn’t gotten there yet. She had offered to come and pick me up from Harry’s house but it made no sense to me for her to have to drive out of her way. I messaged Laurie to see where she was when I received a text back with her apologizing and saying that she was talking to one of her professors about a grade. She told me that she would be here in fifteen minutes and the hostess insisted that she could seat me now and that I could wait for Laurie there, but I had been inside all day.

I opted to take a walk to some shops, not too far away from the restaurant. I could easily turn around when L got close. I pulled my hood up over my head to help block against the wind and was immediately greeted with the smell of Harry’s shampoo. He rarely dries his hair after he showers and the manly musky, minty scent of it makes me think impure thoughts.

As I continue aimlessly down the street, my body tingles and I almost forget about the frigid temperatures as my mind fills with one of my more intimate nights with Harry, the night he first made love to me. I’m immediately taken back to the apartment that I had when I was interning at Maudsley. We were watching television in bed, or we were supposed to be, when Harry decided that he was bored of the movie and would rather see something else. He ran his hand slowly up my leg with his perfect emerald eyes focused on the reaction he was getting out of me. I was trying to ignore it, but his sensual tortures continued causing my pulse to quicken and my skin aching for the spark that his fingers would bring. He bent his head down so that his lips met with the skin on my neck. Russet curls that smelled of a mix of coconut and mint tickled the side of my face as he continued to bring his hand higher and higher.

My phone vibrates in my pocket snapping me out of my the memory that sets my body on fire and I answer the phone without looking at the number. I already know its Laurie.

“Hello?”

“Hey Rea sorry about that wait, but there’s no way I was letting that tosser give me a ‘C’ on the paper I wrote. I worked my arse off on it!” I chuckled at Laurie’s sudden aggressive outburst before she continued.

“I’m pulling up at valet now.”

“Okay,” I turn on my heel to head back towards the restaurant. I didn’t get far on my little walk. The cold air makes me walk slower, “I’ll be there in about five minutes.” Laurie agrees and tells me that she’s going to get a table before we hang up.

London’s streets continue to bustle despite the cold weather. I suppose the Brits are used to it. As a Californian, our ‘fall/winter weather’ is at least in the seventies. Anything below sixty and I’m freezing.

I get halfway back to the restaurant when I really pay attention to the amount of people on the street. At first I was shocked by it, but this would usually be my lunch hour if I were working so it makes a bit more sense that everything seems so busy. I bump into a man as I walk causing him to drop his briefcase. I pick it up and hand it to him apologizing as I do, when I get a whiff of his cologne. He takes the briefcase, but I stand there frozen as tears well into my eyes.

“Are you alright Miss?”

I was fine a minute ago. This can’t be happening to me, not again.

“Miss?” He touches my arm and when he does an image flashes in my head. The memory I have of Harry’s hands traveling slowly up my body turn into the hands of another. Brown curls that tickle my neck change into straighter and shorter shaggy locks. It almost plays in my mind like an old movie in my head. No sound, just filtered movements.

I pull away from the man and walk quickly up the street into Locale, the restaurant Laurie chose when I see her seated in a booth by the window. She’s engrossed in a paper that she’s reading at the table, so much so that she doesn’t even notice my arrival. I rub my eyes and shake my head to rid myself of the hazed image before I sit in my booth across the table from Laurie.

“Oh shit!” Laurie slaps a hand over her chest, “Hi Rea I didn’t even hear you walk up.”

“Hi Laurie,” I force myself to give her a half smile before I continue, “how are you?”

“I’m okay, but you look kind of...pale? Are you alright?”

I take off Harry’s hoodie and then look at my reflection in the darkened windows of Locale and then back to Laurie. I really wish that I had went with my first thought and at least changed my shirt. L. seems to be glowing under the warm lights of the restaurant and I look like I came from the South Pole instead of LA.

“I’m fine L,” my voice does a hard job at convincing myself, “How are you and Niall?”

Laurie and I order and catch up before our food arrives. I tell her about the schools that I’ve applied to here in London and I smile at her excitement. The meal looks divine and the smell fills my nostrils making my stomach feel as if it would eat itself if I don’t take a bite, but I’ve lost my appetite because of the twisted picture that plays in my head. I push the steak salad around in the bowl and take a few bites here and there but by the time we finish, it looks like I’ve only eaten an ants portion of my food which is still piled high in the bowl. I would catch Laurie looking at me suspiciously every once in a while, but she would quickly catch herself and continue on with conversation.

I ask our waiter for a to go box and Laurie frowns at me. I don’t want the food to go to waste. I’m sure Harry would enjoy it.

The waiter brings my box and our checks and after we pay and stand to leave, Laurie waits with me until I get a cab.

“What time does your class start? I don’t want you to be late because of me L. I’m really okay.” I’ve had to convince her all throughout lunch and she still doesn’t believe me.

“Rea you don’t really look yourself. I don’t want to pester you, but I’m kind of worried.”

The image flashes in my head again, tainting the beautiful moment that I had with Harry. I pull H.’s hood over my head hoping that if his scent engulfs me I’ll stop thinking about the disgusting image. It’s not fully clear to me, but I know it makes my skin crawl. I look up and down the street for a cab and try to fight back tears, but the more Laurie talks, the weaker the dam gets.

“Laurie-”

“You just look so pale Rea, and when we were talking you weren’t really there. We’re studying the same thing in college Reagan don’t forget that. I can read people just as well as you.” Laurie’s normally soothing Australian voice turns a little bit harder and before I know it one tear escapes breaking the mold of the strong front I’ve tried to play in front of her.

Laurie wraps me in her arms and walks me back over to Niall’s Range Rover as the valet brings it forward. She insists on driving me back to Harry’s house and on the way I tell her what happened yesterday. When I show her the texts from Peyton, she has to pull the car over because by then she’s too upset to continue driving. We literally talk for hours in front of a park not too far from the restaurant.

I feel a margin better getting it off of my chest and having someone else other than Harry and myself know, but at the same time I’m still ashamed; of what I’m still unclear.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me that Reagan?” Laurie speaks between sniffles and I humorlessly laugh not having a real answer to give.

“I just want to put it behind me.” Laurie looks at me with disbelief and sympathy in her eyes and that’s the exact thing I want to avoid.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” she wipes her face on her cardigan before she starts the car up again with tears still spilling from her eyes.

“I don’t want sympathy Laurie. Maybe that’s why I haven’t told anyone I don’t know, but please don’t look at me that way and don’t tell anyone else. The less I have to talk about it the better I’ll be.”

Laurie shakes her head in clear disagreement, but I don’t give her a chance to voice her opinion.

“I’m fine. I’m okay, can we just change the subject?”

I think I’ve heard that from someone else before, but I can place a finger on who it is.

“No Reagan! You can’t just tell me that and then ask if we can change the subject! Have you not told anyone back home?”

I rub my hand over my forehead felling a headache coming on. I haven’t even thought to mention it to my mom dad or even Channel. If I do all hell will break loose and they’ll demand me home. I wouldn’t have told Laurie if she didn’t keep pushing me.

“No.”

“Oh Reagan you have to. This is not anything to be played with!”

“The police are handling it L. and as long as I know that I’m good, please stop yelling!” I raise my voice an octave and Laurie’s jaw tightens. I know she’s still not giving up though.

“Reagan this is crazy talk!” I open my mouth to speak but she cuts me off. “And I’m not yelling I just can’t believe....” She shakes her head and takes a deep breath steering the car with her left hand as she uses her right to wipe her eyes again.

I look at the clock on the dash board and see that it’s well past three now. H will be home and I take some comfort in that. I look over at Laurie as she gazes through the windshield while she drives still in shock from my news.

“You missed your class. I’m sorry.”

“Fuck that class Rea!” If I was blindfolded and if she didn’t have an accent I could swear that I was sitting next to Channel, “I needed to be here with you more.”

I sigh as we pull up on Harry’s block and then stop in front of his house. Three cars are outside instead of one. I recognize Harry’s jeep right away along with his mom’s car but not the third, so I pull down the overhead visor to look into the mirror and freshen up as much as possible for whatever guest Anne or Harry has.

While I pull my hair into a quick fishtail braid and use the hair tie I had on my wrist to secure it, I can feel Laurie watching me and see her shaking her head at me out of the corner of my eye, but I chose to ignore it.

“How does this look? I don’t want to be a mess.”

“It looks like you’re hiding something that you shouldn’t be.”

I roll my eyes and breath in a deep shaky breath before I smile at Laurie.

“Can you please just cooperate with me? This is why I didn’t want to tell you or anyone else but H. for that matter.” I say a little too harshly. Part of me knows she’s right, but I don’t want to deal with this with every person I tell.

“You look, great Rea.” I can tell she’s lying, “Wait, here.” She digs in her bag and gets out her bronzer putting a little on her make-up brush before she puts it on my face.

“You're just so pale.” Laurie wipes under her eye again.

“Thank you.”

“Are you sure you’re alright Reagan?”

I nod my head and give her the most convincing grin I can muster before I enter the house.

Notes

Surprise!!! Hello beautiful new and faithful subscribers :D!!! Sorry for the delay, but I think I have a solution to get you guys some updates faster. School is a beast right now, but if I go back to shorter chapters, I can post more often ( I hate not being able to post for you all!) So what did you think of the chapter? What do you think is setting off Reagan's memory and what do yo think is going to happen next? Please load me up with comments, I've missed talking to you guys!!! And please vote comment and subscribe if your haven't done so yet and are enjoying the story so far! LOVE YOU ALL FOR READING~Xx