oxford comma // h.s o.u

34: the one where it's the end

In the seventh installment of "8 Days of Oxford Comma," it's the very last chapter... After quite an eventful journey, it's time to see whether Suzy and Harry's relationship will make it through the night.

***

Well, it's finally here.

Like I said yesterday, there is still an epilogue to go, but this is how the story ends. Enjoy!

SCENE ONE

As soon as those six words escape Suzy's mouth, Harry is in utter shock—they had this fantastic weekend together and seem to be in such a good place together—and doesn't understand what brought this on. In fact, the words hit so hard he almost forgets to break at the traffic lights, but tries to push the thoughts out of his mind until they're back at his place; he had asked if they could talk about it at his place instead of taking her straight home.

Once inside the house, it's very awkward as Harry drops his things inside the door and offers to make Suzy a cuppa, but they're both tiptoeing around the elephant in the room until Suzy finally bites the bullet and says they need to talk about it. Harry is reluctant, but eventually agrees, as he listens while she lays everything out on the table; she loves him so much, she really does, but they're about to spend such a significant time away from one another while she's in France and he's making his next move in the world. Suzy also talks about how she jumped from one relationship to another, but she's never really spent any time on her own—she doesn't have her five year plan anymore and she barely even knows who she is anymore; she really wants to find out who she is, but she thinks she needs to do that on her own.

Harry understands her reasons and thinks it does make a lot of sense, but there's still part of him that wants to hold onto hope; he loves her and doesn't want to lose her, especially after everything they have been through and how long it took them to get them where they are. Suzy also reminds him that he's in a similar boat of trying to work out who he is and what he wants from life, which he, again, reluctantly agrees is a very valid point. He's just stubborn and doesn't want this to be the end, no matter how much sense it makes.

In the end, Harry sucks in a deep breath and nods his agreement that this is the best idea, adding that if it's this hard now then he can't even imagine how hard it might be in the future when their feelings are stronger and their lives are in even more of a whirlwind. Harry makes a comment about how this doesn't have to be the last of them, but Suzy points out that they don't know what their future holds so they shouldn't think about their future; they don't even know if they'll have one.

Eventually, over the sounds of Suzy's heart breaking into a million pieces, she says, "I guess I should go."

Before she can go, though, Harry grabs her hand and almost begs. "Stay, please. For one last time."

It's killing her to stay, but the thought of leaving him is also killing her, so she agrees to stay for one last night—this turns to one last snuggle in bed, then one last time being together intimately. As they undress each other, their mouths pressed together and hands all over one another, it's like they're trying to pull closer and closer together; their kisses are desperate, but there is an underlying sadness about it all. They barely say a word, the only noises being their soft murmurs and moans, and it's almost as if they don't want it to end because they both know what it means; Suzy tries to hide the way her eyes begin to well with tears as her orgasm overcomes her, and Harry pretends he isn't on the verge of crying himself. Before long, it all comes to an end, and silence engulfs them as they know what it means.

After a while, Harry sighs and says, "Maybe we're just two people who fell in love at the wrong time."

They lay naked together with Suzy resting on Harry's chest as they both try and ignore the way their hearts are breaking more and more with every breath, but there's something about Harry's words that warms her heart a little; to be fair, they feel like a knife has been stabbed directly into her heart, but the idea that they could've been happy together in another life is one that makes her want to smile.

"Yeah?" she asks after a while, looking up at Harry and his red stained cheeks. "What would we be doing at the right time?"

Harry is confused at first, but then understands what she's asking. "Hmm..." he ponders at first, his fingers brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear. "We would both be living here in London—maybe even in this house. You'd have a fantastic job you love, and I'll have written some record breaking albums. Probably about you, actually."

Suzy likes the sound of it all, though she wonders if this is something he has thought about before. "And we'd be happy?" she asks after he's finished with his thoughts.

"Yeah," Harry says with a nod, then presses a kiss to the top of her head. "We'd be very happy."

The thought of living happily ever after with Harry is one that warms her heart, but knowing that when she walks away in the morning her future with him is uncertain and she doesn't know if she will ever have that kind of ending pulls on a few heartstrings. Instead, she raises the idea of what else this hypothetical word where they're happy together entails, and this is how they spend their last waking moments before eventually drifting off to sleep in one another's arms.

SCENE TWO

Suzy wakes up early in the morning, Harry's arm still around her tight, and a tear falls down her cheek about the reality of the situation—this is it, this is the end. Harry sleeps peacefully beside her, but she carefully manoeuvres her way out of the bed and finds a piece of paper and a pen nearby. Suzy thought about waking him up to say goodbye, but she knows how hard it will be and she's not even sure if she could say goodbye to his face. Instead, she writes the words "I'm sorry" on the note and leaves it on the pillow.

By the time Harry wakes up, she's gone.

***

THE END

God, it feels like an absolute miracle that I actually wrote out those two words for this story. I know, I know, it's not like I wrote out the story in full or anything, but after so many years...it feels like a major relief that this story has finally come to an end.

I have had many meltdowns over the years in regard to how this story should end and whether Harry and Suzy should end up together, but this is the ending that has always made the most sense for them. They have even bigger adventures ahead of them, but unfortunately they are adventures they must do on their own; it's time for them to become independent and find out who they really are and what they want from life. Maaaybe their paths will cross one day and things will all fall into line, but this story has always been about learning from the past and, at the end of the day, being the main character of your own story. Sometimes we need to focus on ourselves and be a little selfish, but it doesn't mean it's the end of the world or a bad decision; sometimes we just need to put ourselves first.

All that being said, stay tuned for the epilogue tomorrow! Hint: Suzy steps out for some last minute groceries and ends up with a lot more than she bargained for.