Anti Blue Skies

Was it possible to still feel hungover from three nights ago? Because my head was still pounding and my body ached like it was beaten to a pulp. I didn’t want my drinking to get out of hand in front of Louis, and at first it hadn’t. He would ask me bland questions about my family and how I grew up and I would answer them wholeheartedly, he even agreed to come to Jeff and Mary’s wedding with me, saying he had a nice pair of dress shoes he hadn’t gotten around to wearing.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his mind on my offer after the way I slammed down drink after drink as soon as Harry entered the bar with a bunch of his friends I recognized from his parties. I never questioned whether or not he was stalking me, instead I tried my best to cower behind Louis while he continued to pay for more drinks. Louis might have seen Harry, but he was respectful enough not to mention him considering their last encounter was so uncomfortable. If Harry would have spotted us he probably would have stormed over like King Kong to cause a ruckus.

The next morning I looked blankly at the walls in my room, curious as to how I got home. I assumed Louis took care of me because I could faintly remember him leading me to his car and pushing me through the door of the passenger seat, but anything after that was non-existent.

I rubbed my temples as Manny sat beside me, clicking a pen while focusing her attention to the cross word lying idly in her lap. After the twentieth click, I sighed in annoyance, leaning down to rest my head on the steering wheel.

“Five letters, second word Winfrey,” Manny stammered, biting her lip in deep thought. “American talk show host.”

I lifted my head to peak over at her. She was scratching at her head while chewing on the pen with furrowed brows. I let out a silent laugh, the answer was easy, but to Manny it was like high school Algebra all over again, which she had taken twice.

After a minute, she scrunched the paper up in her hand and crammed it into the front pocket of her purse. “Bloody hell, I don’t know squat about the states.”

I rolled my eyes, then looked out the window as Lucy stepped onto the parking lot pavement. Her dark hair bounced against her shoulders, styled in goldilocks curls and a headband. A step up from the last time I had seen her with a ratted nest she called hair.

“Oprah,” I stated, unlocking the doors for my sister.

“What?”

“Oprah,” I glanced at Manny. “That’s the five letter word, Oprah.”

Her eyes narrowed at me as she crossed her bare arms over her chest. “Too late now. Should’ve thought of that sooner before I went all aggro.”

I did think of it sooner, I knew what the answer was right as she read it, but I chose to keep my mouth shut. The passenger door opened and Manny scooted over to the middle so Lucy could fit. My truck may have been a beast but it didn’t have a back seat. At least the front was laced with three seatbelts, so technically we weren’t illegal.

“Hey punk, how was school?” Manny nudged Lucy’s backpack to catch her attention. “Can you still see Mr. Devito’s trouser snake through his gym shorts?”

“Manny, she’s fourteen!” I scoffed. “But can you?”

Manny laughed loudly, slapping her knee in the process. A small smile fell through my baby sister’s lips as she squinted through the sunlight, a glimmer in her eye I hadn’t seen in what felt like ages.

Lucy cleared her throat. “Yeah you can, and it’s the most disgusting thing ever.”

Manny’s smile grew bigger as I turned onto the highway. She turned her body to face Lucy who was now awkwardly trying to take her backpack off in the crowded space, seeing as we were all seated shoulder to shoulder. “He should be fired by now. You know, one time he asked me if I was wearing a sports bra under my t-shirt. I thought that was wildly inappropriate.”

Lucy’s mouth fell agape like that was the most traumatic thing she had ever heard, but I couldn’t help but laugh to myself, trying my best to stay out of Manny’s over dramatic story I had heard one thousand times already. Manny always repeated the same story, but minor details changed with every time told.

“Well, were you?”

“No, but that’s not the point. He shouldn’t have been staring in the first place!” Then without another word she reached forward and turned the stereo on and danced along with her favorite Kesha song blaring through the speakers. Immediately my head began to pound against my skull. It didn’t help that the bass didn’t work properly, so instead of a thud it was more of a loud crackle.

In discomfort, I flicked the radio off, earning a sour face from my best friend. Even though I didn’t look at her, I tried to keep the topic of conversation flowing.

“You know, it was probably hard for him to look anywhere else when your giant boobs were hitting everyone in the face while we ran the mile.” I snickered.

“I still don’t see where that’s any of his concern,” She said, crossing her arms over her chest again. “If I want to let them breathe, I’ll let ‘em breathe.”

Lucy giggled and I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my face, knowing she was on my side and happy was enough for me to call it a day and go home. But none the less, Manny and I still had to go shopping for pant suits for her new job. I don’t know if I really trusted her working in a bank, but she was excited therefore so was I.

It took about twelve more minutes to get to my dad’s house and when I pulled up and put my truck in park, we were greeted by his friendly face mowing the lawn. He immediately seized the power to the mower and wiped sweat from his forehead with a dirty rag he kept in his back pocket. It warmed my heart when Lucy ran up to him to wrap her tiny arms around his large ones. Something in Lucy was different today, better.

When she ran into the house, her backpack trailing along the pavement behind her, dad approached the window. He gave a wave to Manny behind me while I cranked the window down the old fashioned way.

“You girls up to no good?” He asked with a chuckle, resting his arms where the window disappeared into the door.

“Nope, we’re gonna head up to the shops. I have to buy a dress for the wedding tomorrow anyways, and Manny needs some ugly professional clothes or something.” I signaled to her with my thumb, still staring at my dad.

Manny leaned over, practically falling completely on top of me while attempting to speak to my dad. “We could shoplift if you prefer, Eddie.”

My dad got a good kick out of that. When Leslie and I were young, we would walk home from school together. Since the walk was extremely long, we’d stop and take a break at this little gas station that was kind of run down and hardly ever had customers. I’ll admit it wasn’t a place suitable for children, but I couldn’t help but be drawn to the bagged candy floss in the corner by Leslie’s favorite wax bottles. On the count of three we’d stuff as much as we could into our backpacks when the cashier wasn’t looking, then make a run for the exit. Deep down we knew better, but it was right around the time where mom left us and dad had to pick up extra shifts. I was only five and a half so whatever my big sister told me to do, I did.

“What’s up with Lucy’s change in attitude?” I whispered while Manny went back to her crossword. “Did she have some sort of epiphany?”

“Maybe if we were religious,” he laughed, putting his hands into his pocket.

“But seriously, daddy. I was really worried about her and seeing her today was like I had gone completely mental over nothing.”

Before he could even speak, Manny shouted, throwing an arm up in the air. “Oprah fits!”

I giggled and dad shook his head, “Actually, I’ve been taking her to see a group with other kids her age who have epilepsy. A support group, if you will. Surprisingly she really likes it and even though it might be too early to tell, I really think it’ll fix her.”

“She doesn’t need fixing, dad. What she needs is acceptance.”

"I know," he nodded his head, frowning. “It’s just hard when I can’t be her hero.”

I sucked in my lips, unbuckling my seatbelt. I could tell Manny was listening in on our conversation when she went completely still, so she wasn’t at all surprised when I opened the door to give my father a firm hug.

I rested my head in the crook of his neck, taking in his spicy scent I had grown so accustomed to. “You’re my hero, dad.”

When he finally pulled away, his eyes were a little wet, but I knew he wouldn’t cry in front of me. He was taking Lucy’s situation hard, blaming himself for every little thing. He just needed to start believing that he was the best dad in the whole world. So what if he was cheap, and sweaty, and irrationally clumsy. He was my dad and no one could take that away from me.

Manny and I drove in silence for about ten minutes before she decided to speak up. “You know if you ever want to talk about anything…” she trailed off, but I knew what she was getting at. Sincerity wasn’t really Manny’s thing.

I smiled, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze. “I know.”

Finally we arrived at the strip, traffic was super busy and I was starting to panic at the amount of honking and traffic violations. I had never seen it this busy before, but it was that time of day where everyone was getting off of work. Also, the sun was beginning to hide behind grey storm clouds and if growing up in London taught me anything it was that people loved to shop on rainy days.

“Where the hell are you taking me?” Manny exclaimed, draping a sweater over her body like a shield.

“If you would’ve taken one moment away from your precious cross word, you’d know this is the only ramp open.” I asserted, turning into an empty parking space next to a wall of graffiti.

“Are you sure this is the only place?” She looked around in her seat, hesitant to get out of the truck. “This place is really sketchy.”

I scoffed, sticking a piece of gum into my mouth. “And where I live is the fancy, high end, rich side of town, right?” My speech oozed sarcasm.

After locking the doors, we began our journey into the mall, but that didn’t stop Manny from talking my ear off as we pulled open the front doors.

“Speaking of where you live, how is Quinn keeping up?”

I pursed my lips, shaking my head. “She’s pretty decent until she goes all ballistic over Harry. It’s like I can’t catch a break, ever.”

Manny laughed, holding up a tank top and placing it over her stomach. Her brows furrowed, not enjoying the way it looked on her. “I hate that bitch.”

“You hardly know her,” I started, running my hand over ruffles from a stack of dresses. “You’ve met her like, twice.”

“So? She doesn’t know me either, but that doesn’t stop her from being a nasty witch.”

“That’s just the way she is. You get used to her.”

Manny shot me a look from over a table of jeans, “You shouldn’t have to get used to people, Lydia. You either like them or you don’t, quit sticking up for people who don’t deserve it.”

Harry had said that same thing to me, except he might of held back a little. Leave it to my best friend to come out swinging. Maybe they were right, maybe I was too nice, but maybe I just thought I should be the one to give others a chance because no one ever gave me one.

I didn’t find anything I liked in this store, but Manny found just about everything she needed. I stood next to her while she paid for her merchandise, pretending to be interested in my phone.

“Did ya find everything alright?” His heavy Irish accent broke through the air.

Manny smiled in a flirty manner. “Obviously. I didn’t ask you for help with anything, did I?”

The blonde boy took security sensors off of her new blazers and dress pants. He gazed up at her through his noticeably long eyelashes, a playful smirk dancing on his lips. He couldn’t see it, but Manny was nervously tapping her foot behind the counter. She was totally digging this guy.

“We got a spitfire in this one, eh?” Once again his strong accent was enthralling. I squinted my eyes, trying to read his name tag. After taking a second glance I was pretty positive it read Niall. Either that or Nail, but Niall seemed like the more reasonable choice.

“Just check me out already, yeah?” Manny laughed, rolling her big brown eyes and trying to get him to hurry up at the register.

Niall bit his lip, giving her a once over. “Gladly.”

She giggled, glancing over at me for approval, but I wasn’t holding her back. It’s been a long time since she found someone she was into. She was so picky, I was glad she was letting her hair down. Ironically, her hair was tied back.

“I’m Manny.” She introduced herself.

“Manny is a dude’s name.”

She laughed, “I get that a lot. It’s short for Manuella.”

“Ah, now that makes more sense. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

Lame, but Manny seemed to be eating it up. But the more I stood there, the more I started to feel like I was intruding on something intimate and personal between the two of them. So I started to fidget with the jewelry wall.

“So Niall, can I ask you why you work in a lady’s department?”

“You just did, boo.” I said, getting a bit irritated while dragging her out of the store. I needed to find a dress and she was done purchasing her clothes minutes ago. I wasn’t cock blocking her, we could always come back, or better yet she could come back by herself.

“All the cougars think I’m gay. They don’t mind dropping their granny panties for a gay bloke with blonde highlights!” He shouted over the dainty music playing throughout the store. An elderly lady next to Niall let out an audible gasp in disgust, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and continued pulling apart hangers.

I could feel Manny laugh by the shake of her shoulders. “He’s something else.”

I linked my arm with hers, “So are you, now help me find a damn dress.”

**

Finally after hours of shopping, I had found a dress that was wedding appropriate and approved. Nothing to take any attention away from the bride or leave me uncomfortable. It was a soft coral color and covered in lace designs, hopefully Louis thought it was something.

The sun had set hours ago, the sky now dropping hard bullets of rain. A series of thunder erupted from the storm as Manny and I ran to my truck in parking ramp ‘Z’. When we approached further, I gasped noticing all four of my tires slashed and a solemn Z written in yellow spray paint on my tailgate.

I could have cried at the sight of my destroyed baby, but before I could think too much into it Manny interrupted me. “For fuck’s sake, now how are we going to get home? I told you parking here was a bad idea.”

I inched closer to her, a sting of hurt and regret plunging through my veins. We each examined a side and when I tried to open the driver’s door, it wouldn’t budge. Not even when I tried using my key.

“Shouldn’t we call the police or something?” Manny asked, running a hand through her hair and reaching into her purse to grab her phone.

I shook my head, feeling extremely overwhelmed. “I don’t really want to deal with all of that tonight. Let’s just call someone to pick us up, I’ll get a hold of the cops tomorrow.”

She stared at me like I was crazy, but when I wouldn’t give in to her pleas, she let out a breath of air and started furiously moving her fingers over her phone screen. “Fine, I’ll call my parents.”

When she went over to the wall to lean against it, I started calling my dad as well, but no such luck. He went to sleep around eight, so in all reality I should have called him hours ago. I shivered from the cold, thankful there was still a roof over my head to block the rain.

Manny shook her head, having as much luck as me while trying to get a hold of someone. I tried my sister Leslie and her fiance, but I was sent straight to voicemail. I called Quinn, but she never set up an outgoing message, so I hung up after the fifteenth ring. I contemplated calling Louis, but he worked until midnight.

My eyes grew wide as Manny shouted and growled, clearly pissed she wasn’t getting the answer we needed. We just needed one person, that wasn’t too much to ask.

“Sidney is sleeping and has to get up early, Celine’s breastfeeding, and Clyde is a douchebag who’s too pussy to get his feet wet. Is nobody a decent human being anymore?” She yelled, asking nobody in particular while pushing herself off the wall.

Our heads snapped towards the open darkness in the opposite direction when a loud shuffling swept over the cement. We weren’t alone, I could feel it. Like waking up from a deep sleep the moment eyes are staring, or when air feels heavy on humid days, unavoidable. My breath hitched in my throat and my body froze, paralyzed in an oil puddle below my feet.

“I like to think we’re pretty decent guys. Hey mate, this girl seems to think there’s no good people left in the world!” A grungy voice shouted.

I heard the drop off metal before two men came walking towards us, emerging from the darkest corner of the ramp. My heart pounded against my chest, almost begging to jump out. Manny stepped closer to me, staring daggers into the two strangers. One was of a short, boxy stature with broad shoulders and a gut, while the other had a shaved head complete with a dark goatee and stained muscle shirt.

“You ladies having some car trouble?” The short one asked, licking his lips while he rounded my truck, examining the slashed tires.

Neither of us said anything. Quietly, I searched my contacts for a specific name I was hoping I wouldn’t have to call. The last person I wanted to ask for help. After pressing Harry’s name, I opened a message box and typed the name of the mall and parking ramp, before adding ‘Hurry’ to the bottom and pressing send.

“I reckon they are, Marv.” The bald one stated, shooting daggers in our direction. “What are two fit birds like you doing around here on your own?”

I took a deep breath, twisting my brows together, turning around to make sure Marv wasn’t harming my vehicle further. I was the first to speak, my voice coming out softer than I was hoping.

“You know, getting some shopping done.”

“Shopping, eh?” The bald man stood next to Marv who was now applying pressure to my back tire. “You get me anything?”

They both erupted with laughter, shoulders shaking up and down like that was the joke of the century. Manny and I cringed at the breathy sound the tall one made when he heaved over, coughing from laughing so suddenly.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself some pretty bad flat tires.” The one by the name of Marv explained, coming down from his laughing streak.

“Yeah, no shit.” Manny rolled her eyes, growing more and more angry by the second. My blue eyes bore into her, I needed her to keep her cool until Harry came and got us. If he came and got us.

“Oi, this one’s got some spit in her.” This earned a smile from the tall, bald man. His cold eyes looked Manny up and down, rolling his lips together. He took a step forward and on instinct, I stepped in front of my best friend.

“By any chance, do you guys have some spares with you? I know how to change a tire so I’ll do all the work, I’ll even pay you for them if that’s what you want.” I stammered on, trying to sway the subject, and some wandering eyes, off of Manny.

Marv stood up, dusting off his hands with his jeans. “Nah, I haven’t got any on me. I don’t just carry around four truck tires, that would be ridiculous. But I know this nice twenty-four hour shop down the street, me and Tate can walk you over there if you’d like?”

Manny looked to me reluctantly, but I ignored her and nodded my head to the guys. I didn’t really plan on letting them walk us to the shop, but I was willing to let them walk us outside. Out in the open and away from the closed off parking ramp where if we got slaughtered, no one would be able to find us.

We didn’t get two steps before we heard the screeching sound of brakes cutting through the silence and a bright pair of headlights. When I looked up, Harry was bursting out of his Range Rover before I even seen it stop, leaving his door wide open.

My shoulders fell, I never thought I’d feel so relieved over seeing his face. He actually came, and not because he was getting anything out of it, but because I simply asked him to.

“Excuse us,” Marv said to Harry when he got closer. “We’re about to take these little fitties to the shop, car problems and all that rubbish. D’you mind not blocking the exit?”

Harry’s face turned sour, a snarl over taking his lips. “You’re not taking them anywhere. Girls, get in the car.”

Just then, Tate stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, but he was facing Harry and Marv. I could tell his eyebrows were furrowed together and he was giving Harry a pointed look.

“He giving us trouble, mate?”

Harry took one long glance at Tate and scoffed. “You’re both giving me trouble,” He said, forcefully pulling the back door open with a tight grip. “Get in the car already.”

His raspy voice was sharp and pointed directly at me, but it was all the warning I needed before pushing Manny forward to lead her into his car. As I passed Harry, I swore I could feel the hot steam radiating out of his ears and nostrils. His eyes were staring at me like this was the worst thing I had ever done.

“Hey!” Marv shouted, reaching out to me. “We saw them first, you can’t just kidnap them.”

Harry scoffed again, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “Watch me.” He articulated, before shutting our door with a loud slam.

“What the fuck, biggie! Didn’t your mother ever teach you any proper manners?” Marv decided to voice his thoughts. I cringed, listening to their dispute through Harry’s open front door.

Harry’s face was burning red and looked like it was about to explode in rage. “Is it proper manners you want to talk about?” Harry spat, taking a slow and menacing step forward.

“He didn’t sutter.” Tate added, trying to act tough. But I could already tell he was beginning to feel inferior under Harry’s presence.

Marv laughed cooly, popping his collar as he stared up at Harry, who was at least a whole foot taller than him. “Who do you think you are?”

“Who am I?” Harry snapped, pushing himself forward, taking hold of Marv’s shirt between his fists. “I don’t recall it being me trying to take advantage of two helpless girls in a parking garage!”

I was so focused on listening and watching the events right outside the car, I hardly noticed Manny lay her head on my shoulder, a muffled sob escaping her lips. My eyes grew in surprise and when I stared back out the window, Harry’s arm was locked back in a tight fist, ready to throw a punch.

I sucked in a sharp breath of air. “Harry!”

Another whimper elicited from Manny, hot tears falling onto my shoulder. She was scared, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of our long night and current situation at hand, or if she was scared of Harry.

“Harry, stop! They’re not worth it.” I begged, playing delicately with Manny’s ponytail to help calm her down.

Harry paused, and I could see the screws turning in his head just by looking into his deep green eyes. Then, he placed his fist down at his side and pushed Marv backwards, not bothering to watch him fall on his arse next to Tate’s feet before sliding into the driver’s side, slamming the door.

He pressed down on the accelerator with a heavy foot and sped out of the building, turning right onto the busy streets of London. The windshield wipers swooshed back and forth at a quickened pace, keeping the rain away long enough for Harry to see where he was going. He hadn’t said a word since he started driving, but he didn’t need to.

Through the rearview mirror, I examined Harry’s stern green eyes hooded with furrowed brows while he intensely stared out onto the road ahead of us. When he slowed to a stop at the first red light, he stared at me through the mirror and I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. My eyes were stuck on his and his on mine with nothing but the sound of rain hitting the roof of the car.

I couldn’t speak, scared to frighten my friend who was now silent but still producing tears. So, I mustered up the strength to mouth ‘Thank you’ to Harry, still holding my stare with him.

He didn’t show any sign of recognizing it, but I knew he had seen it. He was watching me too intently to miss it, yet his eyebrows stayed pushed together.

When the light turned green, his line of vision flashed as he focused on the road again. I quietly gave him the directions to Manny’s house, leading him in the fastest shortcut. He obeyed my soft demands, but still said nothing.

We dropped her off safely, not a scratch on her, and I got out with her to walk her to her front door. After a long embrace, she smiled and waved me and Harry off. What she needed was a hot bubble bath and an episode of Skins and she would be back to normal in no time.

I opened the passenger door and scooted in effortlessly, slamming the door behind me. Before I could even buckle myself in, Harry stepped on the accelerator, quickly speeding up to forty.

“Is she gonna be alright?” That was the first thing he had said since getting in the car himself.

I nodded, clicking my seatbelt in securely. “She’s just shaken up a bit.”

“Oh,” he muttered, staring blankly at the road again.

Staring down at my feet, I noticed they were surrounded by an endless supply of Nando’s wrappers and coffee mugs. A pillow was resting on the dash and a fleece blanket was sticking out from under the seat. It was like a complete home in the front seat. Then it hit me.

Harry might have been living in his car. But now wasn’t the time to ask.

When we pulled up to my apartment building, Harry parked alongside the curb, keeping each of his hands locked on the steering wheel. I should have just thanked him again and gotten out of his car, but I sat still, staring at him. He looked angry in a black t-shirt and dark jeans, but when I looked past his hard exterior and into his glistening eyes, I saw a smidge of guilt and sadness.

He was a hard person to read, but in that moment, it was as easy as breathing.

“Harry?” I asked after a minute, trailing my fingers to the door handle.

“What, Lydia?” He replied without a moment of hesitation.

“Do you need a place to stay, tonight?”

Before he replied, I watched the muscle in his arm spasm against the wheel as he tightened his grip on it. “But Quinn--”

“Is sleeping.” I finished for him and I couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto my lips.

He glanced over to the floor of the passenger seat, to the wrappers and dirty napkins, then up at me, sighing. “Yeah, alright.”

With that, he cut the engine and followed me up. After what he did for me tonight, there was a couch with his name on it for as long as he needed it.