Matilda | Harry Styles

THREE

I was stirred from my sleep when I felt a dip at the end of my bed, nudging my feet under the covers. I groaned, nuzzling further into my pillow with a huff.

"Oh - it lives."

I pulled my head from the comfort of my pillow, reluctantly, shooting a glare at the figure sitting by my feet.

"You're so annoying," I groaned, "it's too early, Grace." I turned to shove my head back into my pillow.

"Actually.." she trailed off, "it's 11:30."

I sat bolt upright, my heart dropping to the pit of my stomach. My work reports were due two hours ago.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I hissed, clambering around my bed in search of my phone. Finally, I retrieved it from underneath my covers, bewildered as I scrambled to unlock it and open up my emails.

"Good morning, Isabella - just checking in to see if you've got those reports finished up..."

"Good morning, Isabella. Just a follow-up in need of those reports-"

"Hello, Isabella - I'm becoming a little confused regarding the delay on those reports.."

"Shit," I groaned, bringing a dismayed hand over my face. I opened up the files quickly, sending them off, accompanied by a desperate apology, not entirely sure if I'd even properly finished them last night. Grace had been watching my urgency, a slightly amused look on her face.

"If you weren't so upset, this would be entertaining," she said, a teasing yet sympathetic grin on her face. "It's Saturday, why are you panicking about work?"

"Duty calls," I yawned, before flopping back down onto my pillow, defeated. I bit my lip. I knew I wanted to live a little differently, but unemployment didn't seem to be the most appealing jumpstart.

"If you've fucked up badly, do we think there's a chance they'll fire you?" she asked me, playfully crossing her fingers in mock hope, and I rolled my eyes. Grace, like Johnny, just didn't want to see me stuck in this rut any longer, and it was certainly the firm, in a literal aspect, that held me there.

"Ha, funny," I shot back, as my phone buzzed with another notification - my email had been responded to.

'Thank you for sending those over, Isabella, though they would've been much more greatly appreciated prior to the meeting this morning.'

I sighed again, shaking my head, knowing I'd made a big mistake in not getting them over to them sooner. I hadn't meant to sleep so long - I was often an anxious early riser, up far before I needed to be. It appeared last night had taken a lot out of me.

"There's nothing you can do about it until Monday, Izzy, don't stress." Grace offered me some reassurance, and I only shrugged, biting on my nail. I knew she was right, but I hated disappointing. I hated doing the wrong thing. "What you can do, however... is tell me what you were doing last night."

I glanced up at her, a tiny smile twitching onto my lips, as her own face broke out into an expression of disbelief.

"Or should I say who?!" she squealed, shuffling closer to me, catching the flush I could feel growing on my cheeks. "Are you serious?"

"I didn't say anything.."

"You didn't need to!" she exclaimed, reaching for my arms. "You went out and got laid without me?!"

I laughed at her words. "That's absolutely not what happened," I shook my head, smiling down at my lap. I ran my hand over my bare arm, thinking back to last night and feeling a slight flutter in my stomach at the recollection. "Not exactly," I added, watching her face break out into a shocked grin.