The Book Of Anna & English

39 - Glitter

I'm so sorry it's so late little ducks but here you go!!

Triggers:

- None

***

Am I someone you talk about?

***

Harry

Welcome back to your life, this is worth living for.

Grief.

We tend to connect to something physical; we grieve at graves because someone died. We suffer when a relationship ends because something physical is pulled away from us. We don't grief about the things we can't see; we shove them to the back of our closet, in a box labeled later.

Anna's hair sticks to her forehead, her skin damp, and her breathing is ragged. I can see how it hurts to swallow, and even though we're not saying it, we know this is her body's way of turning emotional grief into something physical.

"I don't want to leave you. I'm supposed to take care of you."

"Well, let me tell you the wrath of Louis when you tell him you're missing the fishing trip is going to be worse than any flu ever can." She chokes out, coughing hard enough for me to cringe.

"Fine." I sigh, putting the back of my hand against her forehead. "Please stay in bed until I can come back."

She nods obediently. "I promise." She gives me a toothy grin, and I start to tuck the blankets close against her body. "I'm trapping you; I'll know if these blankets moved." She laughs at this, brushing her hand through my hair. I lean down, kissing her nose softly. "I'll be home soon, baby."

"Counting on it."

***

The water moves in small ripples as the boat maneuvers through it lazily. The heat is excruciating, and the rocking boat is supposed to calm me, but instead, my mind wanders to Anna, worried that she might be sicker when I return.

It hit her out of the blue; after we left the beach, she started complaining about an itch in her throat, and by the time we were home, she was full-on sick. It should have been a given that her body would give out one of these days. She's been through hell in a matter of days.

"She'll be fine, Harry; stop worrying," Niall says from his position on one of the benches. He's sprawled out, sunglasses on his face and some sunscreen thickly applied to his nose, per Anna's orders this morning. He's casually clutching a beer bottle between his fingers, taking a swig every now and then.

"I know she will, but it's no fun without her," I whine, pulling the fishing rod up and seeing the bait has been eaten off already. I throw the rod down with a sigh. "Stupid fish, can't even bite the hook." I walk over to Niall, falling into the seat next to him, leaning back.

Oliver turns the corner with Louis, who freezes in his spot when he sees me, calling out to Niall for help. He's not subtle at all, even giving me a cocky grin as he and Niall disappear around the corner again, leaving Oliver and me alone.

"'I'm guessing this was pre-planned, but you and Mr. Subtle back there." I jerk my head in the direction of where Niall and Louis took off.

"I just have a few things to say, Harry; I'm not going to pull the big brother crap on you; you're my best friend."

"How is Liam doing?" I ask, looking towards the deck to see if he's come out from below yet. "If his eyes are closed, he can go five minutes without puking, so he's sitting in the corner of the room with a blanket over his head." The poor guy didn't make it ten minutes on the rocking boat before he started throwing up. He's been missing ever since.