The Boy Next Door || Harry Styles

chapter fourteen. {harry}

As the sunlight burst through the curtains, I could feel the effects of my hangover. My head was pounding and my mouth was a dry desert. Squeezing my eyes tight, I reached up and pulled my hair back. My body reluctantly complied as I sat up on the bed.

Something felt wrong. Something was missing.

Before I could fully comprehend and become aware of my surroundings, I heard shuffling behind me.

"Oh, good. You're awake," Mel said in a not so pleasant voice. She was already fully dressed, covered with a scarf and coat, and I noticed her luggage was already packed up by the door.

"Good morning to you, too" I spoke, gently. My voice was coarse.

"I don't want to rush you, but we've got to check out soon." She bit her lip, and ended her sentence awkwardly. It was like there more she wanted to say.

"What? What time is it?" I turned to the clock, the sudden exertion of energy caused my sore muscles to scream.

"It's 2 in the afternoon." She sighed. What was up with her today?

I stood up and moved towards her, but she walked past me to fix my side of the bed. She was obviously angry with me, but I was completely oblivious to the reasons why. Had I done something last night? Had she? I suddenly realized that I had no recollection of yesterday. All I could remember was going to the club with a bunch of friends. I could vaguely remember drinking and dancing. OH. Dancing. I had danced with someone last night, but I'm pretty sure it was Melanie. I was absolutely positive. 100% sure. I thought longer. She had a blue dress on and Melanie was wearing a blue dress the other night, so it had to be her. I trailed off into the depth of my subconscious.

"Harry," Mel spoke, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Are you alright?" I could tell she was struggling to keep her calm.

"Yeah, how did we get back last night?" I turned to her. My heart patterned shirt was folded up at the corner of the bed. I had fallen asleep in my black jeans.

"Uhm, I'm not entirely sure," she paused, "But you got back around 4, nearly 5 in the morning with some friends." This led me to assume that we didn't get back at the same time.

"Oh," I was at a loss of words.

"I got back a little earlier, I wasn't feeling too well, uh, from the alcohol." I nodded as she explained. At least she had gotten to the hotel safely.

"Why don't you take a quick shower and we can hop onto our train back to Cheshire?" She looked down and adjusted her scarf on her neck. I nodded again and walked to the bathroom, leaving the tension in the room. I really needed to clear my head and figure out what happened last night.

* * *

"Yeah, I'll take a small cup of your best tea." Melanie said to the barista. I ordered the same and paid for the both of us. We were at a small cafe inside the train station and were situated at a table for two. There was still paparazzi around, but Mel had handled them well by keeping her head down. When we arrived at the station, the oddest thing happened. I reached for Mel's hand, but she flinched away. I retracted my hand, immediately, and searched her eyes. She apologized,"I'm sorry, you scared me." She held out her hand again and I grabbed it, except it was one-sided. Her hand was stiff, as I intertwined my fingers with hers.

"Are you mad?" I asked, bluntly. She shot her eyes up to mine and shook her head.

"No, why? Do I look mad?" She asked, her features suddenly softening.

"It feels like it," I stated and she shook her head.

"No, I'm just a little disappointed," she paused, "In myself." Before I could get a word out, the barista called her name and she turned her head towards the counter, revealing discolored spots on her neck. She got up quickly and I couldn't get a good look at the bruises. Where had she gotten those? Did I actually see them or was I imagining?