isabella [h.s.]

thirty one

**You can drive all night,
looking for the answers in the pouring rain**

ISABELLA

When I wake up the next morning, I'm surprised to find that I'm still lying on the couch. Partly because I didn't plan to fall asleep here last night, but mostly because Harry is here too, both of our bodies curled into each other's, our limbs messily entangled. His arm is wrapped around my waist and his head is still buried in the crook of my neck, while my cheek is currently resting against the top of his head. The most surprising part, however, is that I find myself kind of enjoying waking up in this position.

Only a few seconds after my eyes flicker open, I sense Harry waking up too, his muscles tensing and then relaxing as his body pulls him out of sleep. He lets out a small yawn, his warm breath fanning across my neck before he moves his head back, his eyes squinting as they attempt to adjust to the morning light, simultaneously peering down at me in confusion as if he's surprised to find me here. "Hey," he rasps once he's awake enough, clearing his throat to rid himself of the gruffness accumulated there both from sleep and his cold. Yawning again, he reaches up to rub one of his tired eyes with the back of his knuckle. "We fell asleep here last night?"

"Seems like it," I reply, stretching out one of my stiff arms. "Not exactly the best idea."

"No," Harry agrees, rubbing his neck. "My back isn't going to thank me for this."

"Well, you spend all day hunched over a desk anyway," I remind him. "So I don't think your back will notice much difference."

He just smiles down at me lazily. "Haha," he says dryly, yawning again as he gestures his arm out to the coffee table. "Can you hand me my phone?"

I nod, stretching my arm out to grab his phone. The screen lights up as I grab it, the lock screen full of news and email notifications along with a reminder that catches my eye. "Book a flight to Atlantic City?" I read as I hand his phone over. "You're planning to leave New York? One night on the couch together scared you that bad?"

Harry lets out a half laugh, half cough, a smile pulling at his lips as he unlocks the phone. "No, I'm supposed to going there soon to talk to a potential witness," he explains, typing something on his phone before pausing and glancing at me from over the top of it. "You are pretty scary though."

"I think you mean pretty and scary," I correct him. "When are you going? Isn't Russell making you stay off work until you're better?"

"Yeah," he sighs, clearly still annoyed about that decision. "But as soon as Russell clears me to go, I'm driving up there. Hopefully this weekend. I don't have any more time to waste."

I hum softly, considering this for a moment. "Do you have room for a passenger?"

He lowers his phone a little, arching an eyebrow at me almost sceptically. "Why? You're not trying to babysit me, are you? Because I have enough of that with Russell."