Forever and Always (A Harry Styles Fan Fiction)

CHAPTER 26: Then

Rain pounded loudly against the glass windows and the harsh wind whistled through the branches of the tall oak tree in the front yard. I pulled aside the curtain and peered out into the dark, violent storm before turning to glance at the clock above the fireplace in the living room. It was 7:00 in the evening, about the time that Harry had said he’d come home. It had been raining all day, which I supposed wasn’t unusual for December in Southern California, but the atmosphere seemed to be filled with something more foreboding.

Lately, my nights had been filled with vague nightmares and unpredictable headaches, and I had been paranoid about the littlest things. Earlier that morning, I had ravaged the entire house in an attempt to find my iPod, and had eventually given up after an unsuccessful search.

A flash of lightning lit up the room, followed immediately by a deafening rumble of thunder, startling me out of my reverie. I barely had time to recover before a loud ring suddenly reverberated through the house from the phone on the table beside me. I gave a fleeting look at the caller ID and hurriedly snatched up the receiver.

“Harry?”

“Hey, Jenny, I’m almost home,” Harry’s voice said through the phone. The sound of rain pattering on his windshield could be heard in the background.

Oh, thank goodness. I let out a breath, feeling slightly silly for worrying so much before. “Drive safely, okay? You’re not using your cell phone, are you?”

“No, I’m on speaker. I’m not that dense,” Harry said, and I could imagine him grinning on the other end of the line.

I laughed. “I’ll see you soon, Harry.”

“Oh. Wait.” There was a pause and then a sigh before Harry responded apologetically. “Jenny, I completely forgot. I left something back at the recording studio. I need to go back and get it.”

“What?” My eyebrows creased into a line of concern. “Harry, just come home. You can get it tomorrow.”

“It won’t take long. I’ll just go get it and be back in less than an hour.”

“Harry, it’s pouring outside.” The anxiety was evident in my voice.

“It won’t take long, Jenny.” Harry paused. “It’ll be fine. Louis’s still at the studio anyway.”

I bit my lip, knowing that he wouldn’t do this unless it was something important. I looked through the window at the storm raging outside and shrugged off the feeling of uncertainty. “Fine,” I said reluctantly. “Harry, just promise me you’ll be back as soon as you can?”

“Promise,” Harry said earnestly. “See you soon, Jenny. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said quietly, but my words were drowned out by a crash of thunder and the call ended with a click. Sighing, I placed the receiver back on the cradle. I shifted the curtain again and stared outside into the darkness. Not even the moon was visible and the only light came from the dim glow emitted from the streetlights. I realized I was already beginning to regret agreeing for Harry to go back.

Trying to suppress my nerves, I walked away from the window and settled on the couch in a cross-legged position. My eyes roved across the room, taking in each object, from the guitar in the corner to the photos of Harry and me hanging on the wall, and finally stopped on the clock above the mantle of the fireplace. I stared at the ticking hands as I could make time speed up, but it only made the seconds seem like they were passing by even more slowly.

Unconsciously, I twisted the wedding band around my finger. It had been two months since I had lost my infinity ring. Even though Harry had offered to buy me another one, I had declined, knowing that the original ring had a significance that a new one wouldn’t be able to replace. I had the strange feeling, though, that the ring would come back to me one day.