Shine On

Harper walked down a narrow, grey corridor, hearing the loud rumbling of the plane’s engine getting quieter as moved closer to the airport entrance. It had been a little more than a week since she had been in Heathrow Airport, every step she took reminded her of the state she was in when was last there. After days of bickering back and forth with Melody and her own thoughts, Harper decided to finish her semester in London. The girl she was before she met Rupert would have came to London for just that; to go to school, not for some guy. As much as she wanted to be that girl again, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Everything reminded her of him. Even walking into her dorm room reminded her that he was the last person in that room with her. The feeling of loneliness suddenly overwhelmed her. She was alone in that room. She was completely alone. She hated herself for ending things the way she did. She hated herself for pushing him way. More than anything, she wanted to call him and ask for her best friend back. She knew that anyone in their right mind wouldn’t even wanted to see her after what she did. Luckily she had tons of e-mails from her professors giving her lists of things to be done before classes started that Monday. That should keep her mind away from things it shouldn’t be on.

The first week of classes after spring break dragged on slowly. Her work load was light and easy. She asked her professors if they needed any help with grading papers or if they had any extra credit to give her. She got a few offers here and there, but not enough to keep her mind off of the one person she didn’t want to think about at all.

Friday night rolled along and Harper finished a big photography project that wasn’t due for another week. She heard music and loud chatter outside her room. If only she wasn’t so shy she could go out and join them. She wasn’t in the mood for parties and mingling. She paced her room thinking of something she could do. Loneliness was starting to creep in on her again. She hopped on to her laptop to check if any of her friends from home were online. Of course no one was online, it was Friday night. No one would be stuck at home on a Friday night. She noticed her phone laying next to her laptop; it hadn’t been turned on for two weeks. She fiddled around with her phone, spinning it in circles while having a heated debated with herself inside her head.

Finally, her depressed state got the best of her and she pressed the green phone button on her phone and quickly dialed his number, not wanting to see what texts or voicemails might be awaiting her. After just two rings, she heard his phone. Her heart immediately started racing. “Harp!” He chimed to Harper’s surprise. She thought he wouldn’t want anything to do with her, but he actually sounded happy to hear from her.

“Hi.” She replied quietly. She nervously toyed with the hem of her shirt.

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying phone you since you left.” He asked. In the background, she heard loud laughter and chatter.

“Well...” She replied apprehensively. “I’m back...here...in London.”

“Hold on...” He told her. She could hear the noise in the background getting lessen until she couldn’t hear anything at all. “What are you doing tonight?”

Harper thought about her answer for a moment. The more she thought, the more she wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him how lonely she was and how much she wanted to see him. ”Uh...” She played around with several ideas in her head. “Oh I don’t know. I’ll probably just get some rest, I had a busy week.”

“Are you sure?” His voice cooed through the phone. His accent still made her heart melt, in fact, she missed hearing his voice.

She took a deep breath considering telling him that she wasn’t sure, because, in fact, she really wasn’t sure about her decision at all. “Yeah, I’m really tired. I’m just going to go to sleep.” It was the first thing that came to mind.

“Oh, alright.” He replied, his voice dripping with disappointment. She could just the sad expression he had on his face right now. “I’m...erm...really happy you’re back, Harp.”

A corner of her mouth curved up. “I am too, Rupe.” It was probably the only truthful thing she said to him during the entire phone conversation.