CHRYSALIS

10.

THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE.
READ CHAPTER 9 FIRST.

It's been five days and I'm feeling better. Not good, but better.

Frankie broke into my apartment on day 3 of me not returning his calls, it would have pissed me off but he was so worried I couldn't be mad at him.

He was almost in tears when he finally got through picking the lock. He had been banging on the door for several minutes that night but I just couldn't answer it. I didn't want to hear him call me a whore too. I didn't want to hear him defend Santana.

Instead, he burst into my apartment and wrapped me in the tightest hug I've ever felt, telling me that he was so worried about me and he was so scared. He kept apologizing to me, like Santana's behavior somehow fell back onto him.

After several minutes of reassurance on both ends that we weren't mad at the other, we watched a few episodes of criminal minds together until we fell asleep. When we woke, Nicki had joined us in my bed, the two of them cocoon-ing me in friendship and support. It was a refreshing feeling to say the least.

We made breakfast, Frankie made me French toast because it is truly the best breakfast food. I made bacon and Nicki made us smoothies. We ate together while we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Shortly after that Nicki was getting ready to leave, she was spending the holiday with Pete's family after I told her for the 400th time that I was perfectly okay with her going. Frankie was going to his very awkward family celebration as well, I practically had to push him out the door to make him leave. I promised him I'd answer the phone now and reply to his texts again.

He told me Santana would probably make an attempt to talk to me, that he was really shaken up about the whole thing.

I told him I'd be avoiding that like the plague.

When I had the place to myself again I decided to start cleaning, knowing that always helps settle my anxiety. I got the kitchen done and my living space cleaned pretty quickly, moving onto the bathroom after that. I was vacuuming the living room when I felt my back pocket vibrate, alerting me of a text message.

The text was coming from an unsaved phone number so naturally my first instinct was to read it, but then my brain caught up to me and I hesitated. What if it was Santana? But what if it wasn't? I finally decided to read the text...and that's how I ended up here. On a windy beach, on Thanksgiving, with Harry Styles.

"We need to put something on that corner, you cannot spend the whole afternoon pushing it down every 12 seconds, it will drive me insane." I say as I hoist myself from the blanket, grabbing my book from my backpack that holds down the opposite corner.

I toss it down on the corner Harry holds and reclaim my spot on the large beach blanket. "Talented and resourceful, is there anything she can't do?" Harry quips as he lays back on the blanket, pulling his hood over his head.

I laugh loudly before responding that there are many MANY things she cannot do. "I don't believe that for a second." He says with his eyes closed. One arm bent behind his head and the other resting on his chest.

"Mmm, you don't know me well. Just you wait Mr. Styles, soon enough you'll see that I'm very much right." I join him in lying on the blanket, pulling my hands into the sleeves of my sweatshirt and crossing my arms over my chest.

"I forget that Europe doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, what do you normally do for the day?" I ask.

"Sometimes I'll host a dinner for friends who don't have plans, sometimes I'll go back to England, it really just depends on the year."