The Bachelor - H.S.

Chapter 24

       

It takes me no time to descend down the short hallway, the winding staircase, and reach the door that will deliver me back to the main part of the mansion. It's now about 6:30 in the morning, and I pray none of the girls have woken.

I take a deep breath and carefully twist the knob out of place and push the old wooden door ajar. I hear no footsteps and hesitantly proceed. Half of me moves so slowly because I don't want to be heard, and another because I don't want to part from Harry. It's like the farther away I get the more mobility I lose.

Nonetheless, I have no time to let silly feelings like that get the better of me. Stupidly, without checking down the hallway, I turn and close the door as quickly as possible, eager to avoid an awkward encounter. Unfortunately, my efforts fail miserably.

Just as I close the door to the supposed 'broom closet' Amber rounds the corner and watches me push the knob back into place. A quizzical look consumes her face.

"Charlotte?" She calls from a couple feet away. I hear her voice and freeze with shock. I only have a split second to think of an explanation and try to wipe the panic from my face as I turn to meet her gaze.

"Amber? You're up so early?" I question, attempting to buy myself more time to think of an excuse. Oh, god. What the hell am I going to tell her?

"Yeah... I couldn't sleep. What are you doing?" She asks. I don't miss the slight hint of suspicion in her voice, and I inwardly cringe. I know I must seem horrible to the other girls right now. Last night I was treated rather unfairly by Harry, even I can acknowledge that. I won't be surprised if at least half of them have it out for me already.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep either. It's so damn cold in my room I thought there might be another blanket in here or something." I say, shrugging casually and gesturing to the broom closet.

"There wasn't?" Amber asks. Her tone sounds less accusatory and more concerned now. I try my hardest to prevent my cheeks from flushing with anxiety.

"No- literally empty. All that's in there is a bunch of dust and spiders- I don't recommend it." I half laugh, trying to pull off a joke. It takes a second, but soon Amber has joined me with a small chuckle and is walking forward once more. There seems to be no suspicion apparent on her face, but I'm not sure about her thoughts. I guess I should just be grateful that I've pulled off yet another lie. I do hope that she doesn't decide to go looking for a blanket herself. I really should get a key to lock this damn door.

We begin to walk back down the hall together to our individual rooms.

"If you want a blanket you could take the extra one in my room. Since Danielle went home last night there's a spare bed." Amber suggests. I'm about to turn her down on account of wanting to sleep, but I realize I must carry on my narrative. If I was cold enough to rouse from my slumber and search the house for an extra comforter, I would want the blanket Amber is offering now. I have no choice but to accept.

"Sure, that would be amazing." I respond. Within a minute I've swiped the blanket of Danielle's old bed and hauled it into my own room. When I arrive, luckily, Kiana is still fast asleep- I can tell by the light snores she lets out.

As I lay down and try to doze I find that these noises annoy me. Harry doesn't snore when he sleeps.

I elect to stay awake and think about everything that has just happened. I can't believe I spent the night with Harry again, and I especially can't believe I spent the night with Harry without getting caught. I know he slept with me in my room in Paris, but this time seemed different. Last week we were fighting. Harry slept in my room to prove a point, and not to mention all the girls had been out of the house. Last night was for pure pleasure. It would have seemed unthinkable to me only 2 weeks ago, but last night, even if all 7 other girls had come storming in, I wouldn't have been able to tear myself from Harry's embrace.