Aberration

Chapter 48

"Harry?" I spoke, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I looked around the room, tossing the covers off me and swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. He must've gotten up before me. I could hear sounds from downstairs, the familiar clanging of pots and pans of the morning.

I stepped downstairs and into the kitchen where Niall and Lauren gathered, the aroma of hash browns filling the room. "Hey," I said quietly, taking a seat at the bar. I had the urge to ask where Harry was, but I held it back. It was none of my business and it's nothing to worry about I told myself as they greeted me back with a plate of hash browns and eggs. "Thank you." I smiled, picking up the fork and beginning to eat.

"Sleep good?" Niall asked over his shoulder, I began to nod but muffled a yes when I realized he wasn't facing me. I always slept good when I was around Harry. Even last night when he seemed that he could crack any second. "How about you?" I asked, swallowing the reminisce of my food. 

"Horrible," he grumbled, wiping down the counter. Lauren took a seat next to me, suspiciously quiet as she ate her food. I squinted my eyes at her but turned back to Niall. "Why's that?"

He sighed, loading the rest of the dishes before turning to the bar, leaning forward on the counter top with the palms of his hands. "This stupid owl sat outside my window all night," he began, running a stressed hand through his hair, "It wouldn't shut up for shit."

"I tried everything, banging on the window, yelling at it, I even threw one of my shoes at it." he grumbled putting his head in his hands. I held back a giggle as I cleared my plate, putting it away neatly. Taking a seat back on the bar, I put my head in my hands sighing. 

"Wait, Ava," Niall asked, a confused expression growing on his face. "Shouldn't you be at school? It's Monday."

 I groaned at the mention of the place. I hadn't gone to school in at least a week and a half. I just haven't quite been up for it. As shitty an excuse as that sounds, it's true. I've been so torn up between my mom leaving again, Harry, and the party incident, I would've gotten as much work done at school as I would get done at home sleeping.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I should."

Thankfully, Niall didn't question any further. He gave a comforting pat on the back as he walked by out of the kitchen, Lauren following silently in tow. I once again scrunched my eyes at her, but she didn't meet my gaze. She had seemed fidgety and uncomfortable all morning.

I sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time this morning, leaning my elbows on the counter and placing my fingers on my temples. Everything was too much.

I began to think about what Niall said about school, and I settled on going back tomorrow. At least for the rest of the week. I would have a shit load of stuff to make up but I couldn't bail on everything. It was my senior year and if I messed my grades up now, there'd be no way in hell I'd make it into college.

I had even quit cheer a few weeks back just to focus on school. Practice had left me almost no time for homework and I couldn't do it anymore. Of course, my coaches weren't so happy, being as close to Worlds as we were, but what's done is done. "So much for that," I grumbled to myself, sitting back up.

I spent the next hour or two printing out all my make up work from school. Now motivated for some reason, I finished more than half of it before I heard the front door slam open and shut. "He's home," I mumbled, penciling in my name on the next packet of Calculus homework. I was never one for Math, or school in general, but it felt nice to get back in the groove of things and be busy again.

Being busy leaves little room for mental error and focusing on other things. I'm definitely going back to school tomorrow I think to myself as I continue to work.