Catching Red Eyes

The other end of the line rang and rang with no answer. I worriedly looked at Laurie and she returned the look. I felt like something was wrong. Very wrong but I couldn’t pinpoint it. I tried to call Harry one more time but there was nothing.

“Maybe he’s busy? Doesn’t the concert go until after ten?”

She was right. I looked at my phone and it was only five after ten. I sat down next to Laurie as she continued to eat from the white take out box. I tapped my hand impatiently and kept checking my phone.

“Row, relax. Here. Eat.”

I didn’t want the food but I took it to distract me. I opened my mouth to the chicken and broccoli and my stomach and taste buds rejoiced as I finally fed my body. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I ate the entire container plus an egg roll. I felt sick but welcomed the feeling of being full. My phone was still silent next to me. I brought it back to life and saw nothing new. I let out a sigh as I sat back in the chair.

“Go take a shower, hon.”

I looked over at her and nodded. I knew it had been awhile and I needed to continue to distract myself until Harry called. I grabbed fresh clothes and made my way to the bathroom. I switched on the water and didn’t even bother to turn the cold knob. I needed it as hot as it could be to make me feel better. I stepped in and slowly let the water run over my body. It felt glorious. I tipped my head back and just let the water fall over me until the entire bathroom was filled with steam. I quickly threw in some shampoo and conditioner, rinsed it out and stayed in the shower until the water ran cold.

I turned off the faucets and got out. My phone was still silent and no missed calls. I turned it off and threw it down in frustration and needed another distraction. I looked at my long, wet blonde hair and decided to painstakingly dry every hair on my head with a blow dryer. After a good forty five minutes, my hair was completely dry and I even mastered curling the ends a little. My ears rang as I finally shut off the blow dryer.

I swore I heard voices in the living room but assured myself it was from the dryer ringing in my ears. I changed out of my towel into a pair of sweats and baggy t-shirt with my dad’s hospital logo on it. I could have been a sight for sore eyes if it wasn’t for my rosy complexion from the hot water and the blow dryer. I opened the bathroom door and welcomed the cooler air against my face. I blindly walked into my bedroom and all but face planted into my pillow.
Right as I was welcoming sleep, I heard a knock on my door.

“Laur, just let me sleep.”

“Uh, Row, you have a visitor.”

What. Could it be Harry? My heart leaped as I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room.

“Hey Row…”

“Pryce. Oh.”

His face sank as Laurie smacked my arm.

“Shit, sorry. I mean, hey, w-what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see if you wanted to get dinner…but it looks like you’ve already eaten. Dessert maybe? I tried calling but I guess your phone is dead.”

I really did not want to go anywhere but to bed but the adrenaline pumping through me thinking Harry was here told me sleep was gone for now. I nodded and went back to my room to change. I slipped on a pair of jeans, a green V-neck and flip flops. Besides my semi swollen eyes, I looked halfway decent.

I waved to Laurie as she gave me a warning look about Pryce. I shrugged my shoulders and followed Pryce.

“So, where to?” I asked.

“Just this small pie shop in Manhattan. It has over fifty kinds of pie.”

I wasn’t much of a fan of pie but it was nice out and this was a good distraction. The pie shop was somewhat deserted which was strange for New York but I didn’t mind. I ordered key lime pie while Pryce ordered some weird kind with marshmallow and Nutella. We each ordered a coffee and water. The coffee tasted divine. I stirred it while listening to Pryce talk about working for the Globe. Even though Pryce was a bit dry, I welcomed the male attention. I was used to Harry being my shadow that I didn’t realize how much I needed it.
Harry. I had left my phone at home turned off in the bathroom. Shit. I was so distracted that I forgot to get it. The concert was definitely over now. I hoped he hadn’t tried to call me. I started tapping my foot in annoyance at myself for forgetting something like my phone.

“Row? Are you listening?”

“Huh? Wait, what?”

“Your internship? Is it going to turn into a real job or not?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure yet. I have to call them.”

I wanted so badly to come up with an excuse to leave but I couldn’t do that. I forced myself to sit and eat my pie with Pryce. The key lime pie was actually divine.

“Here, try mine.”

“I’m not really a fan of marshmallow.”

“It’s really good, come on, just try it.”

“Oh, alright.” I went to take the fork from Pryce but he pulled his back. “Open.”

I smirked at him but finally obliged and opened my mouth but before he put the fork in my mouth, he plopped a bit of marshmallow on my nose.I laughed and tried to lick it off to no oblige. Pryce was also laughing now. He picked up his napkin and gently wiped the sticky stuff off my nose. His fingertips grazed the tip of my nose and I quickly pulled back.

“Sorry…I-“

Pryce looked down as he set the napkin back on the table. “It’s because of Harry, isn’t it? Because I’ve been reading the press lately and it’s kind of dramatic with that one dude quitting.”

I stared at Pryce. What was he talking about? Someone quit?

“You haven’t heard? It’s all over the place. He released a statement yesterday about how he just wants to be a normal guy. I feel bad for the dude honestly, it must suck to be followed every day with cameras and screaming fans, it would make anyone want to just jump ship.”

Oh my God. I felt like the worst person in the entire world. While I am sitting here with another guy eating pie, Harry is probably falling apart. I felt sick. I needed to go find Harry wherever he was. I couldn’t let him be alone right now. How selfish of me to not even bother to pay attention to what was happening in Harry’s world.

“Pryce, I hate to do this but I gotta go. Thanks for the pie!”

I really hoped Pryce didn’t hate me because right now I needed to find Harry. I burst through my front door and ran into the bathroom.

“Damn, Row! What the hell?”

“Laur, tell me what city Harry is in. NOW.” I commanded as I turned my phone back on. It finally came back to life after a few seconds but I had no missed calls. It didn’t matter because I knew what I needed to do. Laurie sprinted back out of her room with her MacBook and pulled up the tour dates. “Laurie, where?”

“Pittsburg tonight and tomorrow night!”

“Find out how long it takes to get there from here.”

I felt like a captain shouting orders to my crew as I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. The plan was forming in my head.

“Well if you drove it would take about 7 hours. If you took a nonstop plane, it would take about an hour and a half.”

“Book me a red eye for Pittsburg.”

“Row, maybe you should think-“

“Laurie, book it.”

Laurie shook her head but started punching in the numbers for the flight. Within a half hour, I had a bag packed and Laurie and I were in route of the airport. I tried calling Harry again but got no answer. Laurie kept looking over at me but I kept my eyes focused on the road in front of us. I knew she wanted to ask and tell me a million things but I avoided her eyes. Arriving at the airport, I jumped out but not before Laurie called my name.

“Rowan…just be safe. Call me when you land.”

I nodded and turned my back on her and walked into the sliding glass doors of the airport.

Notes

This chapter and the next chapter are going to be really hard for us, but we will get through this together xoxo