I Do

Chapter 20

Dedicated to... @tanvi116 for voting and commenting on so many chapters! <3 thank you beautiful.

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Chapter 20 *Before: April 23, 2012* 

-Hallie-

   My bedroom door is flung open and a startled shriek slips out from between my lips. Eyeing my mother's tightly pursed lips and narrowed eyes, I sigh, instantly predicting why she's barged in. "What do I need to clean?" 

   Ignoring my sarcasm, she plants a hand on her hip and runs the other through her tidily clipped brown locks. "Don't get that tone of voice with me, young lady. Your bathroom is filthy," she declares. 

   Barely managing not to roll my eyes, I lazily roll off my flowered comforter and walk briskly to the bathroom, careful not to stomp so I won't get shouted at. Although it's painful to admit, Mum has a point. The counter has more hair and facial products than I can count scattered across it. Piles of dirty clothes coat the floors, and the mirror is dotted with toothpaste spit and powders. I chew on my lip, staring down the difficult task. Exactly how I was planning to spend my sunny, sultry summer day.

   Just as I bend over and drape some clothes on my arm, I catch the distant chime of the doorbell. "CAN YOU GET THAT?" Mum asks loudly, although it's more a statement than a question. Obviously, she's too lazy to stroll from the living room to the front door, which is no more than twenty feet away. I assume she'll have to get a maid when I move out to attend Oxford. 

   Not bothering to hide my irritated eye-roll, I storm downstairs and twist the knob. Arabella's tearful, mascara-coated face peers hopefully at me and with a sob, she throws herself into my arms. I stagger backwards, nearly ramming into the banister. I mean, Ar is thin, not weightless. With a few encouraging words, I coax her upstairs.  

   She sniffles as I softly shut my door, snapping on my pink lamp and settling onto the floor. "Are you all right?" I question softly, wrapping my arms around her shoulders in a gentle hug. I'm actually shocked- in all our years of friendship, I've never seen her so upset.

   She shakes her head, gulping and choking uncontrollably, and shuddering with tears. "No," she spits out, squeezing her eyes closed and trembling. "Harry..." Her tear-filled eyes are ringed with red and snot dribbles down her lip. She's seemingly in complete shock, possibly speechless.

   The tiniest fraction inside me dances with excitement, but my face betrays nothing. I continue comforting her, pretending the words had no effect on me. "Harry what?" I ask kindly, weaving my strands of hair into a quick braid and eyeing her nonchalantly. My heart pounds and I sit perfectly still, unwavering. Oh God, oh God.

   "Harry cheated on me." 

   I gasp, not because Harry isn't the type to ever consider doing such a thing (he is a flirt), but because he loves Ara so much that I can't even imagine it. For whatever reason, she makes him complete, and his face lights up just looking at her. I'm not sure if it’s infatuation or actual love, but she's his sunshine. It's shocking to think that he'd risk losing her. "What?" 

    "I know," she replies sharply, swiping at the smeary mascara under her eyes. "His... his excuse is 'he was drunk and she reminded him of me'." She snorts, adding a disbelieving eye roll. "Like that isn't the typical get-out-of-jail-free card. Plus, she so didn't remind him of me. I'm like a billion times prettier." 

   "How?" It appears my brain is only functioning enough to create one-word questions. 

   "He..." she chokes up and coughs daintily, and I quietly offer her a tissue. "He was snogging an American model, Emma Ostilly or something like that. It's all over the papers."