Catching Red Eyes

I woke the next morning in a bath of sunlight pouring into the hotel bedroom. I was laying sideways on the bed and quickly sat up and instantly regretted it. The pain in my face was throbbing and I put my hand to my cheek. The gauze was peeling off my face as I made my way into the bathroom. My reflection was atrocious; my eyes were red and my upper cheek was swollen. I stuck my tongue out and saw the spot where I had bit down when I fell. I chuckled at myself in the mirror and made my way back to the foyer of the suite.

Harry was missing so I quickly grabbed my phone. I had a few texts from Laurie and at least a dozen from my mother. Panic set in as I hit the send button. She picked up on the first ring.

“Rowan! Are you ok?! I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

All day? I pulled the phone back from my ear and realized it was almost 2 PM. What the hell?

“Rowan Ann! The photos and videos are all over the internet of you falling, please tell me you are alright!”

What? My head was throbbing now along with my cheek and I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

“Have you not seen yourself all over the place?? Harry’s girlfriend takes a tumble in front of hotel in New York City. You need to come home and have your father take a look at it-“

“Mom, relax. I am fine. It’s honestly just a cut and Harry had a doctor in the room immediately after it happened. I have antibiotics. Really, I’m fine.”

My mother didn’t say anything for a little. I waited.

“Rowan…I think you should come home.”

“Mom, stop. This is ridiculous. Why are you overreacting about this? People trip and fall on their faces all the time. I have to go.”

I hung up on her as I heard the hotel door swing open behind me. Harry strolled in with two coffees and a brown bag. He had on dark sunglasses, a soft dark green t-shirt and his usual dark jeans and boots. He could wear anything and he would look like a damn model.

“Love, you’re awake. How are you doing? Let’s get that bandage off and get the cream on.” Without a word, he took my hand and led me back into the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet. With his long, delicate fingers, he peeled back the bandage. I winced a little but nodded to keep going. With the last piece off, I moved my jaw to see the extent of the pain. It actually didn’t hurt as much as I expected. I got up and looked at my reflection. There was a very small cut under my eye. It was still red and a little swollen but it wasn’t as bad as I had thought.

“I really thought I was going to look like Leatherface or something,” I said with a laugh. Harry washed his hands and grabbed the ointment. Without trying to touch the open wound he applied it all over the cut. It was cold and smelled gross. He furrowed his brow when he was finished.

“What? Wait, do I look like Leatherface for real??” I said, laughing.

“Rowan, stop…I feel terrible. You have this now because of me…I didn’t keep you safe.”

Harry stormed out of the bathroom and I followed him out to find him sitting in the living room with his hands interlaced and he was staring off.

“No, Harry, you stop. Really I am fine. Like I was saying to my mom-“

Harry’s head snapped up and a look of fear and anger crossed his beautiful face.

“Your mum called?”

“Yea…I guess she saw something online about me falling but really its fine.”
Harry got up again and paced into the kitchen.

“Harry, stop, please. I don’t know why everyone is overreacting. I’m the one who fell and I really don’t care because accidents happen!”

“That’s just it, Rowan! You fell because I didn’t keep you safe. I haven’t even met your mum and she probably already hates me.”

“Oh my God, she does not. You guys are acting like I’m paralyzed or something. Seriously, stop.”

Harry let out a frustrated breath and looked at me. “You sure, you’re alright?”

“For the last time, yes. Now enough of this. What are we doing today?”

“Well, the lads and I have to leave in about 8 hours for the next concert, so I wanted to meet your family but I am sure your mum hates me.”

The thought of Harry meeting my family made my heart swell but my mother’s tone echoed in my ears. Well, she wanted me to come home anyways. I grabbed my phone and hit redial.

“Mom, I’m coming home…but Harry is coming too. See you soon!” I hung up the phone and looked up at Harry. “Come on, we only have 8 hours!”

Harry’s face stretched into the most glorious smile and we both jumped to packing our things before heading down into the lobby. I threw my jeans back on but instead of grabbing my own shirt, I shuffled through Harry’s things and found a crumpled white t-shirt. I pulled it over my head and his heavenly scent surrounded me. I went to reach for the door when Harry stopped me.

“Wait, love, here, I got you something. Just to help a bit.” Harry had the bag in his hand that he had earlier walked in with and reached inside to pull out a pair of sunglasses.

“Harry, those are real Ray-Ban sunglasses.” I recognized the solid gold aviators because I had been begging for them almost every Christmas since I could remember. “Harry…these are well over 3 grand, you didn’t need to do that.”

“Ssh, put them on. Look, it covers the cut perfectly. And nice shirt.” Harry admired his shirt on me then glided the sunglasses onto my face as I caught my reflection. He was right, it was completely hidden behind them. I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek. We then headed to the hotel lobby, his arm digging into my side to keep me close.

I spotted a silver Audi practically parked right outside the door. I looked over at Harry and laughed at how ridiculous his car looked on the sidewalk. I also saw the cameras already flashing and the fans were screaming again. I braced myself as the doors opened and guards completely enclosed us.

“Harry! How’s your lady’s face??”

“Yea, those sunglasses are doing the trick!!”

I heard the photographers continue to yell similar things even after we were safely inside his silver Audi. I remember the last time I was sitting in this seat under very different circumstances.

The car was already running and we were on our way.

The whole car ride I admired my reflection in the window. Harry would catch me admiring myself and smile.

“So, anything I should know about your mum before we get there?” He asked, before taking my hand in his.

“Well, she wasn’t happy with me falling either but she’s fine now. She is probably on the phone with some cater for dinner and she’s honestly probably more mad at me because I am only giving her a couple hours’ notice,” I said, waving my hand.

“Oh, well, and I promise I won’t run out on your mum like you did mine,” he said with a smirk on his face.

I squinted my eyes at him and pursed my lips. “Hey now, I was very upset and I said sorry like a million times.”

“I know, I know, I am only teasing.”

With my directions to Harry, the ride to Red Bank took no time at all. I saw my parent’s home come into view and it looked just as beautiful as ever. The green vines had their flowers just starting to wake up for summer and the cherry blossom tree in my front yard was also opening up for summer. I never got over the beauty of my home.

I looked over at Harry and he was admiring my home too. “All my mom’s doing,” I said to him. He put the Audi into park on our driveway and we both took a big collected breathe and got out.

Notes