Sixteen (H.S Short Story)

Chapter Two

"Hey baby." I kiss Harry's cheek as I enter the living room.

I haven't seen him since I left for work this morning. He was out cold from drinking so much. At first his attention doesn't waiver from the screen in front of him, but I don't let it bother me.

"Hi love." He mumbles and closes the laptop before turning his gaze to me.

"How was your day?" I smile and take a seat next to him on the sofa. A tight-lipped smile spreads on his face making it seem like he's forcing himself to smile.

"Busy." He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"When I'm not at work everyone needs something from me, but when I'm there it's like I don't even exist." He pulls me towards him and casually rests his right arm over my shoulders.

"Turn off your phone then?" I suggest and feel Harry's chest rumble with a chuckle.

"You know I can't do that Sierra. They'll have my head." Hy kisses my forehead before lazily getting up and grabbing his phone off the counter.

"I'm going to order some pizza." He states and my head turns towards the kitchen's entryway allowing me to view the inside. I was a fool for thinking he'd prepare some dinner. He probably had a killer headache anyway.

"Sure." I mumble and slowly stand from the soda, stretching my limbs as I stand.

"I'm going to take a shower" I smile at him to find him already talking into the phone. He doesn't seem to realize my departure which makes my mind race with self-doubt. Does he even care?

The warm water pours down from the shower head and over my body. It feels like heaven. My tensed muscles relax as the warm water and steam envelops me. A few minutes pass where I just let myself enjoy the feeling of nothingness before I snap back to reality. The steam becoming too thick to breathe properly. I'm not too sure why I like my water as hot as hell, but I do. I chuckle and hastily wash my body. After washing my hair and rinsing properly I get out of the shower. My eyes slightly widen as the cold air hits my body causing goosebumps to spread all over. I greedily grab a towel and with the urgency to get warm I wipe myself dry. I hate feeling cold air hitting my skin after a warm bath or shower. I sigh and wrap a towel around my head. A small smile plays on my lips as I gaze at the clothes I picked out to wear. One of Harry's old black t-shirts and some red underwear. This should grab his attention- I know how much he loves it when I wear his clothes. With determination I dress myself and messily hand dry my hair with the towel. I spritz some vanilla body spray onto the T-shirt and nervously make my way out of the bathroom.

"Did you enjoy your shower?" His face lights up once he sees me. It worked. My shoulders relax instantly as I capture the boyish grin on his face.

"I did. I wish you joined me though." I shrug and slowly approach him. My attempt to grab his attention proven successful as his eyes gleam with lust while they rake over my body.

"So do I." He murmurs, his voice thick.

He slowly moves to sit on the edge of the bed. When I reach him his hands lift to rest on my hips. I give him a warm smile; however, the smile is quickly wiped off my face as his phone rings.

"Don't answer it." I whisper pleadingly. He contemplates for a split second before releasing me and grabbing it off the bedside table.

"Hello?" He answers the phone and raises a finger at me to indicate 'one second'. I frown and look down at my body. His black shirt hangs loosely on my body and my legs are bare. Am I not enough?

With a roll of my eyes I walk to my side of the bed and rip open the bed covers angrily. I know what's coming.

"Yeah, give me a few minutes." He mumbles into the phone before ending the call.

Of course, it's his damn co-workers. I don't understand what makes spending time with them so much more enjoyable than spending time with me.

"Sierra, the gu-" He starts but I raise my hand to stop him. I honestly don't have the energy to hear his excuses.

"Just go." I snap and get into bed. I hear him sigh; however, I don't look at him.

This has become the norm for us. He comes home every evening tired from work, however he still finds the energy to go to the bar with his co-workers every damn night. On the rare occasion that he doesn't feel like going out he doesn't even spend time with me. Instead he spends all his time on his laptop, phone or watching television. I was naive to think he'd spend time with me during his time off feom work. I don't understand why everything started going downhill. The bedroom door closes and with that so does my heart. How could he just leave like that? Without so much as a kiss goodbye. The realization that I am once again left all by myself hits me with a force I didn't think was possible. I gasp audibly and clutch the bed covers in my fist. Tears unwillingly spring to my eyes and my face contorts in pain. A sob rakes through my chest, causing my whole body to tremble. Maybe everyone was right. We fell in love to quickly and all at once. We were young and now we've grown apart.

As I lay, a sobbing wreck, an involuntary thought crosses my mind. Should I just end it?

After what seems like hours of crying and dry heaving, a knock sounds from the front door. Who the hell could that be? I get out of bed and run my hand across my face. I probably look like a wreck. When I reach the front door, I stand on my toes to peek through the peeping hole. Curse my short legs. I see a pizza man standing in front of the door, impatiently looking at his watch. I completely forgot that Harry ordered pizza.

"Hi." I mumble when I open the door.

"Hi." The guy stares at me apprehensively as he slowly pushes the pizza into my hands. I can see him judging my puffy and red face.

"L-let me just get money." I stammer but before I can turn around the guy stops me.

"It's alright miss. It's on the house. I hope you feel better." He tilts his hat before disappearing down the walkway.

What just happened? I stare at the pizza in my hands and slowly retreat into the house. The pizza guy probably freaked out by how crazy I must look and decided to back away while he got the chance. How thoughtful of him though. I shrug and place the pizza down in the kitchen. My stomach roars as the smell of the pizza reaches my nostrils. A sad smile crosses my lips. I guess there's no better time to eat than when you're comfort-eating.