Drowning

Sixty Six; Epilogue

I'd paced my apartment more times than I could count. I'd paced and I'd paced. I'd rang Luke and I'd paced some more. He offered me some reassurance and some guidance and then I did some more pacing. Luke always knew what to say. Pace, pace, pace.

After pacing for far too long, I sat. But sitting was still and pacing was not. So, I stood back up again and paced some more. I called Luke again.

"Dude, what now?" Luke laughs.

"What if she never speaks to me again?"

"She will."

"What if she thinks I'm a psycho?"

"She will."

"What if she decides she can never be with me again after reading my actual brain splattered onto 84 pieces of paper?"

"She won't." Luke laughs. "Please, sit down."

"I've tried that." I say.

"All I can hear is your heavy footsteps." he jokes.

"Think about my neighbours," I say. "I must be driving them mad."

"Sit down, then!"

"No, I've tried that." I repeat. "Do you think she's read them yet? I mean, it's been a few hours-"

"Why don't you ring her and ask?" he asks me. I scoff.

"Are you insane?"

"Apparently so," he says.

"She might have already blocked my number-"

"Dude, did you confess to killing one of her family members or something? Why are you so nervous? She'll love it. Girls love shit like that."

"I didn't do it because 'girls love shit like that'," I groan.

"I know you didn't," he chuckles. "You did it because you're a lovesick loser."

"Exactly."

"Lauren said Zahara's just left her bedroom." Luke whispers down the phone. My heart rate began to increase. "Lauren said she can hear keys jangling."

"Is Lauren pressed against the door, or something?" I laugh.

"Yeah, actually. She is. Look, bro. We're doing this for you so don't judge." Luke tells me quietly. I shook my head in amusement, though he couldn't actually see me.

"Okay."

"Front door just slammed. Prepared to have your dick sucked, my friend-"

"Luke, that's disgusting. You're vulgar." I hear Lauren shout in the background.

"Oops." he says. "Or, prepare to have it chopped off."

"She might not even be going to Harry's!" Lauren says.

"No pessimists allowed! Am I right, Harry?" Luke says. He sounded far too amused.

"Shut up, Lu." I chuckle. "I don't think she's coming over."

"Well, give her some time. She's not magic. She can't teleport herself there." Luke says.

"No, idiot. I just don't think that she is. I haven't heard from her at all."

"Zahara rarely texts before doing something." Lauren says. I could hear her close by now, she must've been beside Luke.

"Can we switch this to FaceTime?" Luke asks. I press a few buttons until his request was granted. "That's better. Ha. I knew you'd look like that." he smiles.

"Like what?" I sigh.

"Rosy-cheeked and nervous. You love her so much," he coos.

"You look frazzled, Harry. Sit down and calm down. She'll come by if it's meant to be. Maybe she's clearing her head and will call later. Just sit down, calm down, and forget about it all for a while." Lauren says, looking at me in the way a concerned mother might. I, personally, wasn't overly familiar with this look but I'd seen others receive it many times.