And You Let Her Go

I sipped my tea at the kitchen table as I thought about how to write the ending of my story. “And then everyone died,” seemed like a good one; it tied all the loose ends in the story. I snorted at myself and shook my head. As I started jotting down a couple more notes someone entered the kitchen.

“Morning, Charlie,” his raspy voice spoke.

I looked up at him and caught my breath. He was wearing a black long sleeved v neck and skinny jeans. The wings of his swallow tattoos were peeking out from under the shirt as well as his cross necklace. Fuck, everything about him was sexy.

He continued to look at me, waiting for a reply.

“Oh, good morning!” I finally answered—a bit too cheery. I bent my head down and continued writing, avoiding eye contact.

Harry sat down across from me peeling a banana. “So, any plans for today?”

“Umm, I don’t think so—I was going to write but it seems I have a bad case of writer’s block today,” I shrugged.

“Good, because we’re going out,” he bit into his banana slowly. Oh god.

“We are?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Yep,” he said, adding emphasis on the ‘p,’ “you’re going to meet my mates.”

“What? Harry Styles has other friends other than One Direction?” I teased him, looking shocked.

He rolled his eyes at me and stood to throw away the banana peel.

“Yes. And you’re going to meet them tonight. So go do what girls do and stand in front of your closet for hours, figuring out what you’ll wear,” he teased back.

I scoffed at his answer, “Oh please, Styles. I’ve seen you do exactly that in your own room.”

He looked at me, eyebrows raised; his mouth forming an ‘o’ shape. I laughed out loud and ran upstairs before he could say anything else.

* * * * * *

Harry insisted we be “fashionably late” going to the party tonight at his friend’s Will’s house. I took one last look in the mirror and debated whether I should choose my floral tank top or my Harley Davidson tee. I stood in front of my closet and laughed to myself, realizing I was doing just as Harry asked. I finally picked my black Harley shirt and paired it with my dark high waisted shorts.

I decided to let my hair fall down my back after putting a little Garnier gel in it to define my waves. After spraying my neck and wrists with my favorite True Religion perfume, I went down to the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table to put on my shoes.

Harry’s mum had left for dinner with her girlfriends an hour ago, and I realized the clock already read 8:15.

“Harry! We’re already late as it is, what are you doing?” I yelled towards the stairs.

I heard some shuffling and a door slam. Harry appeared in the kitchen and glared at me. “Can’t a man get ready in peace?”

I raised my hands. “You were the one who wanted me to live here.”

He pursed his lips and nodded, “Oh yeah, that was me.”

We both chuckled and I stood from the chair. “Alright, let’s go,” I said.

Will lived a couple houses down so we walked along the paved road for no more than 2 minutes and we were already there.

Harry rang the doorbell and I could hear the loud music blasting from the other side of the door. I looked up at him anxiously. He looked down at me and frowned.

“Don’t worry, this will be fun. Have the people I’ve introduced you to bitten hard yet?” he smirked.

I smiled at his attempt to make me feel better, “Not yet,” I answered, “But I thought Louis would be the first to do that.”

He threw his head back in laughter and I immediately felt better. I knew he’d be by my side the entire time so there really was nothing to worry about.

The door opened with a brown haired boy leaning against the doorframe.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Styles,” he greeted Harry.

Harry grinned at him and went in for a bro hug, “It’s good to see you too, Will,” he turned to me. “This is the lovely Charlie.”

“Ah yes, Charlie,” he shook my hand and grinned, “Come on in, I’ve heard loads about you.”

“All good, I hope,” I answered him. Harry smirked at me.

“Among others…” Will winked.

He put his arm around me and Harry trailed behind us, greeting others and laughing. I was led to the kitchen and Will opened the cooler.

“What can I get you?” he displayed the cooler like a hand model. I spotted a couple beers I’d never seen before and grabbed a dark ale.

“Good choice,” Will smiled, grabbing the same drink.

The next hour was filled with dark ales, pale ales, light ales, and all the damn ales you could think of. I met a great amount of Will and Harry’s friends from childhood and was pleased with how normal and friendly they were. I held conversations with all of them and didn’t need Harry’s help the entire night.

Because of the gorgeous weather that night, the party was part outside and part inside. The music continued to flow through every room. If you weren’t outside, the only way you could hold a conversation was by screaming in their ear.

I went back inside to grab another ale and looked for Harry. I hadn’t seen him since walking through the door that evening. I looked for him in every room that was infested with people but I couldn’t spot his dark curls anywhere.

I decided to go pee before continuing my search. I opened the first door I came across and found two people in the bed.

“Oh well this isn’t the bathroom,” I mumbled. Two heads popped up from under the covers and Harry’s eyes met mine. Instead of leaving, my eyes stayed glued to his.

The brunette on top of him cleared her throat.

“Ah right, sorry. Umm--” I quickly turned around and slammed the door shut. I closed my eyes and leaned against the doorframe, taking a deep breath.

“Deep breaths, Charlie,” I told myself. “There’s nothing you can do…” Despite this, I felt tears prick my eyes and I rushed down the hall.

“Charlie? What’s going on?” Will turned form his conversation. I continued running through the house and grabbed my bag from the couch. I slammed the door shut and collapsed onto the blue cushioned chair. I searched my bag for my friendly journal but found nothing.

“Shit,” I muttered. I had left my journal on the nightstand in my room. The words that used to bring me comfort weren’t coming as easy as before.