Black Ink || Harlena a.u.

54.

Dedicated to @hrrystyIes Much love, babe xx

S e l e n e ' s  P.O.V

It was good to be home, back with Anne and back to the city I had grown so accustomed to.

Harry had dropped be off hours before, telling me that he would talk with Lance before letting me know. He left, and now I was on the couch with a cup of coffee in hand, Anne sitting a few feet away from me.

"Liam and I had been talking," she began after I told her about everything that had happened with my family and Harry. Needless to say, she was happy we were together now, and so she began catching me up with her work gossip afterwards.

Apparently, she had gotten a raise after her co-worker hooked up with her boss' husband, and now, she had some other news, "And we decided that it would be a good idea if I just moved in with him."

I felt my eyes widen and my lips purse.

"But I know that you're in a bad place right now, so I'll tell him that it's not the right time," she shrugged, but I could hear the reluctance. Great. "Besides, I don't want to rush what we have, and I don't want to just leave you hanging."

She gave me a sad smile before squeezing my leg in reassurance.

The problem with this whole ordeal wasn't that Anne would move out, or that I would literally start sleeping on the streets. It was that I was some sort of anchor on her. I mean, she didn't want to move out because she pittied me.

Yes, I had told her about my job, and about how I would have a hard time, but I didn't say it to hold her back, or to expect any sort of sympathy.

"Anne," I deadpanned. "Please don't hold back on this because of me. I'll find a way to make it work."

She shook her head, "We're in this together, and if you're not stable right now, then forget it. I'm not moving out."

As much as I wanted to hold onto her, and thank her for not leaving me when I needed her the most, I told her the exact opposite, "When we moved in here, it was because we had no idea as to what we would do. But now, you have Liam. You have a job- you have a purpose. And you can't expand that if you're stuck here living with me."

Anne frowned, but I knew she was thinking about how right I was. She had been caught up with work and her boyfriend, that I hadn't had any time with her like I used to. I missed my best friend, but I couldn't rely to have her around forever.

Eventually, we'd have to part ways and if now was that time, then so be it.

"I'll be okay, Anne," I grinned, but it didn't reach my eyes and she saw it too.

She sighed, running her hand through her hair before looking at the rug with a blank stare, "We'll see how things are in a few days, and if everything's alright, then I'll see what I'll do."

I gave her a tight smile, "Okay."

It was kind of sad, really. My best friend and I were finally going to leave the support we had struggled so hard to maintain.

We knew it wouldn't last forever, I just didn't think it'd end so soon, either.