Collision

After another few hours of talking, we both decide that we should get to bed. Harry grabs a few thick blankets and a pillow from his bed before guiding me across the hall to a spare bedroom.

“It’s not much but it’s either here or the couch,” Harry flicks on the light switch and a small bed with a dresser and a nightstand appear in the room.

“This is fine,” I tell him and begin moving to get ready for bed. We say goodnight to each other before he disappears into his room, leaving me alone. I fold my dress that I was wearing earlier and put it on the dresser along with my phone. Taking one of the quilts, I drape it across the bed followed by the other two.

My eyes feel heavy by the end of the task and I crawl into bed, surrendering to sleep.

The next morning my eyes open to the sound of someone moving around downstairs. I sit up, stretch, and make my way out of the bed towards the bathroom. I take a quick shower since I didn’t take one last night and put on the dress from yesterday. After combing and braiding my wet hair, I decide to join whoever it is downstairs.

I’m surprised to find Anne in the kitchen, making what look likes to be breakfast. She spins around when she hears me enter the room and hugs me tightly.

“I made breakfast!” She beams as she slides the plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me. I thank her and sit down at the bar, chewing slowly to spend more time with her.

“Is Harry up?” I ask, noticing his absence. A tiny twinge of panic spreads through me at the thought of him ditching me.

“God, no.” She laughs and turns off the stove. “That boy doesn’t rise before noon. He gets that from his father.” We both laugh but our humor is cut short when his voice startles us from behind.

“I get what from my father?” Harry’s voice is raspy but nothing short of perfect.

“Just sleeping late.” Anne murmurs, turning back to wash the few dishes she used. The mood in the room as shifted from light to tense. Whatever happened between the two of them and Harry’s father, wasn’t good.

“The breakfast was delicious.” I praise Anne’s cooking and offer to clean my plate. She dismisses me with a shake of the head and tells me to sit back down.

“Why are you dressed?” Harry frowns down at my dress as he takes the seat beside me.

“I didn’t want to come downstairs dressed in night clothes,” I furrow my eyebrows, confused.

He nods but doesn’t say anything more. Him and Anne their breakfast and Harry and I prepare to leave as she cleans the kitchen.

“Stop by for dinner this week!” Anne calls to us as we leave the house. The sky is cloudy but by the way the wind is moving it will clear up by noon. I hope it doesn’t rain for our date.

“Where are we going?” I ask, remembering our prior engagement this afternoon.

“It’s a surprise.” He grins at me not knowing something. I roll my eyes at him as he opens the passenger side door, waiting for me to get in.

“Is it going to be outside?” I press him as he gets into the car. He laughs as he starts the car and heads out.

“Just wear something warm.” He instructs. It must be outside since he told me to dress warm. Or maybe we’re going to an ice skating rink. My mind reels at the possibilities and I barely notice him laughing at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Stop worrying. It won’t suck, I promise. No dinner and a movie.” He says and my body floods with relief. Movies and dinners are nice but they’re too cliche, especially for someone like me and Harry.

“I’ll pick you up at two o’clock,” He tells me as we stop at my house.

“I’ll be ready,” I unfasten my seatbelt and climb out of the car.

“You should go ahead and start getting ready. God knows it takes you girls all day,” he rolls his eyes. I stick my tongue out at him and shut the door, heading up the driveway.

As soon as I step inside the house, my phone begins ringing. I groan at the sight of my parent’s number popping up on the screen and answer.

“Hi, honey!” Mom says upon me answering. There’s too much noise in the background and I can barely hear her.

“Hi Mom,” I reply, walking into the kitchen. Since it’s around noon, I decide to go ahead and eat something. I stick a small pizza in the oven and sit down at the kitchen table as I wait for it to cook.

“It turns out that your father and I won’t be coming home until tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” She asks. I close my eyes in relief, all the worry I had about me coming home with Harry to find the two of them waiting on us disappearing.

“That’s fine. I think I’m just going to hang out with Anna,” I lie. Anna has unknowingly become my scapegoat for getting out of trouble with my parents. I don’t usually lie to my parents but there is no way I would tell them what I’m actually doing.

“Okay, sweetie. Just remember to do your homework and clean up the kitchen,” she begins nagging me. I promise that I will and tell her I love the both of them before hanging up.

My pizza is done about ten minutes later and I sit in the living room, watching a Hallmark movie about Christmas as I eat. One of the best times I had with my grandma before she died was watching these movies, sometimes laughing over their corny elements, sometimes crying to the tragic love stories. I know it’s not much but it was something special.

After I’m done eating, I clean the kitchen like my mother asked before heading upstairs to get ready. I skip to getting dressed since I already took a shower and walk into my closet to pick something out. None of these clothes seem casual enough to go out with Harry. Just as I’m leaving the closet, something catches my eye. I pick up the white sweater and the blue and red print scarf that goes along with it, quickly changing into it along with a pair of black skinny jeans. Not too casual but something comfortable enough to be outside.

Thirty minutes later I’m finished applying makeup and the french braid looks perfect. I put on a collection of bracelets that my grandmother gave me along with the charm bracelet I received last year as a going away present. As I’m sliding on my black flats, I hear a horn honk, signaling Harry’s here. Checking my makeup another time, I finally head downstairs.

“You look great,” Harry blurts out as I sit down in the car. I give him a questioning look. He doesn’t usually compliment me like this, out in the open. He also looks especially nervous for some reason.

“So do you,” I look down at his solid white t-shirt and skinny jeans. His jeans are perfectly ironed with no wrinkles or holes in them. I know it’s not much but it’s a big improvement for someone like Harry who is confined to wearing no other color but black.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I lean against the console, pleading for him to tell me the question that’s been bugging me all day.

“Nope,” he smiles.

About an hour later we’re pulling into a desolated parking lot that’s surrounded by woods. Why would Harry bring me here?

“Wait, how are we supposed to get in?” I frown at the closed gate that stands in front of us.

“Shit,” he curses, unfastening his seatbelt. He climbs out of the car, forcing me to follow him, and we walk up to the fence.

“We can just come back,” I offer, grabbing his hand.

“I drove for a fucking hour, we’re not coming back.” He says and walks forward, grasping two bars with each of his hands. Instead of trying to force it open, he begins climbing the fence. I watch as he flips himself over the top and drops on the other side, landing perfectly on his feet.

“We can’t just break in!” I tell him.

He rolls his eyes, “Come on, we’re not going to get caught.” The playful smile on his face and the fate of our date causes me to do the same as him. Although it’s not as graceful as when he did it, I still manage to get myself over the fence and onto the other side.

“We’re almost there,” he takes my hand and guides me down a dirt path that leads into the forest. As we walk down the trail, I can hear the faint sound of a stream nearby and the wind blowing through the trees. Light breaks through the thick foliage, spreading warmness around us as we walk through the woods.

We walk for another few minutes before walking into a huge meadow. Filled in the grassy area is bright gold, white, red, and orange flowers. Harry laces his fingers with mine as we walk forward through the beautiful flowers.

Notes

Sorry it's been a few days since I updated but I had a lot going on. So as an apology, here's the chapter before their date. I know it's a bit of a cliff hanger but that's what makes my story interesting!