Flower Girl | h.s.

7.

Daisy

"Do you want me to get you some water or something?"

The fluorescent light of the station beamed above me. The background noise of people walking behind the glass was distracting enough to allow us to have sat in silence for the past twenty minutes. It had been a long evening, and the monotony of the Santa Monica Police Department at 11pm on a Friday was just what I wanted to add peace to my existence.

The girl that sat beside me– Lottie, Harry's sister– was petite, long blonde hair tucked behind her ears. Her and Harry shared the same large, green eyes that could put emeralds to shame. They were a mossy hue, seeming to be endless when the light hit them. There were a few smudges on her face from the mascara that had started to fall, dabbing at the makeup with endless tissues that the station had provided us with once we found seats out in the small waiting room.

My eyes traveled down her posture; it was closed off from the people that had been approaching us randomly to let us know that 'it would only be a little longer'. Each time they told us that, I could tell that her eyes became heavier with exhaustion, both physical and emotional.

I didn't have to stay here with her. But there was a certain part of me that wanted to be there to support them and make sure that everyone went home to their own beds that night. While there were a lot of answers that wouldn't be given tonight, maybe not in the next few days, I knew that it was good for Lottie to sit and have someone who was calm and level-headed.

I felt, as the younger sister, that I would want that for myself in this situation.

"I'm okay," She answered me with a low voice, directed at the ground. Her bottom lip trembled in a way that insinuated that she wasn't, but I allowed her to feel whatever she needed to in that moment.

I saw another tear fall, but she quickly wiped it away almost so I wouldn't notice it. Like she was trying to put up a facade that she really was okay. 

"C'mere," I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me while we sat in the hard plastic chairs. My hand rubbed up the flannel of her sleeve to hopefully add comfort to an evening that seemed to go in a completely different direction than we both planned.

"It's going to be okay, babe, Harry will be fine."

I realized that I hadn't truthfully gotten an introduction into Harry's life, but I felt that something about this situation had given Lottie and I some time together in a moment that felt indeed intense and terrifying for a young girl to witness.

I held her for a moment, feeling her body lean into mine. A heavy breath exhaled from her nose. It sounded like the weight of her troubles had been released, and leaning into my touch seemed relaxing. Maybe it was just for the moment.

This certainly wasn't the way that I thought my night was going to end up.

Three Hours Prior

I don't know when the last time I had laughed that hard was.

From hearing about Harry's first time learning to drive a car with his aunt, to the small details of his favorite film– which he said definitely wasn't Clueless, even though I got quite a solid smirk when he stated it.

We were hand in hand, well, pinky in pinky. The ocean breeze was steady as the winds had started to come in off of the beach. This usually happened when it got a little darker, maybe rain was starting to come in off of the coast.

The silence that was held between us was mutual and necessary, as I could tell that we were coming down from a high of everything going well. Everything was going in the direction that I felt was such a huge step for me.