Introspective Strangers [h.s.]

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

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HARRY'S P.O.V. :

It was raining. On the day of May's sister's wedding, it had decided to rain. Of all days.

May had woken up before me this morning and slipped out before I had even realized she was gone. She sent me a text telling me not to worry and that she just had a few more things to take care of – Maid of honour duties, she had called them – and to meet her at the chapel in the afternoon. I knew that she had intentionally left before I had awoken, considering I never would have let her face today alone.

She had been a ball of anxiety the minute we had left her dad's place yesterday, especially after she had snuck Eve's mother-in-law's dress into the wash with a load of reds.

"No way in hell this will be white when it comes out," she grumbled as she had shoved it into the washer with a groan, commanding me to stand guard in the doorway. All I could do was grin as I watched her, in awe.

She had been different yesterday, after she had talked to me about her mom. It had taken every last thread of restraint in me not to cry out in joy when she willingly just started talking to me about her past, something so personal none the less. But I refrained and made sure that I didn't say anything too strong in fear of sending her running again.

Yet that restraint had nearly cracked when we all stepped out of the room and I could just read on her face that something was wrong. Her sister being there and the fact that she had already divulged so much to me was the only thing that kept me from grabbing her face in my hands, feeling her soft, warm skin under my fingers and practically begging her to tell me what was bothering her.

For a girl who tries so hard to keep every one of her thoughts locked up, she tends to paint all of her emotions on her face.

I knew it was also why she had left today without telling me. She had come back to the hotel exhausted yesterday after the rehearsal, mumbling only a few words before she climbed into bed and fell asleep almost immediately, curling herself against me and snoring softly.

Whatever was bothering her was something that she didn't want to deal with when I was around, as I had come to notice. Whenever she started to feel things too hard, she bolted, and it would only be worse if I cornered her and tried to pry it out.

With a sigh, I sat up in the foreign hotel room bed and outstretched an arm to the cold, empty spot beside me where May had been only a few hours earlier. Another glance at the window had me cringing as a crack of thunder sounded outside and the rain seemed to pick up in intensity.

I couldn't seem to pull my gaze away as I continued to stare out at the world beyond the window, thinking about the people below, thinking about the wedding, thinking about May. Hoping that May wasn't driving herself insane around those stupid pricks that seemed to like to antagonize her for no reason.

My hand flexed on the sheets as I ran my other one over my face, exhaling another sharp sigh through my nose. Christ, it was one thing to deal with Isaac, but it was a whole other to have to put up with her bastard ex-boyfriend who seemed to think that he had some fucking claim over her.

All I wanted to do was put him in his place, tell him to leave May the fuck alone and let him know that he had no right to be talking to her the way that he did, but I knew the minute that I opened my mouth, May would be gone. Since technically I wasn't allowed to say those things about her either, considering we were just friends.

Friends.

The word felt like a gaping wound through my mind.

And I wished to every single God every single damn night that it didn't. I wished that the word still meant nothing to me, that I could feel nothing and be the same guy I was 3 months ago, when friends was a welcome relief with most of the girls that I was with.