Arcadia [h.s.]

Chapter 14

Quisiera ser el brillo de tus ojos / I would like to be the brightness of your eyes

-
Arcadia

Harry woke up to whimpering.

His eyes were so heavy that when he looked at the alarm clock beside him and read 5:30 am, it took a minute to realize that he wasn't alone.

Oh.

Noel's back was facing him, curled underneath the thick blanket, but she was shivering as if her body couldn't fathom the bitter weather she was experiencing. How could it be so warm in here yet she feel so cold?

But when she started to emit soft, incomprehensible cries and murmurs, he realized that she wasn't battling her way through Harry's treacherous cold presence, but a nightmare.

She was having a nightmare.

"Um," Harry murmured, "Noel," he sat up and leaned over to see Noel with her eyes shut tightly. She had one hand fisting the blanket while the other was laid out in front of her, fingers were digging into her palms roughly.

How was he supposed to react to this? Were people supposed to be woken up during nightmares? He had a dog once and he remembered being told never to wake it up when it was having a nightmare because it could react violently if woken.

But, Noel wasn't violent... or a dog.

She just looked terrified.

"Noel..." He nudged her, this time with his hand on her shoulder. She was nowhere near as cold as she seemed to be.

He hesitated. Then he brought his lips to her ear.

"Hey," he muttered and pulled away when her breathing started increasing to the point where she'd woken up. She sat up immediately, looking around the room, clutching the blanket to her body. She looked around the atmosphere as if she were somewhere unfamiliar and un-inviting.

Harry hoped she didn't feel uninvited, even though he always made it seem that way.

He had this issue where people perceived him as mean even though he couldn't even tell when he was being mean unless it was visibly intentional.

Noel looked at Harry with wide eyes, before mumbling to herself incoherently. She got up from the bed quickly, not taking notice that she was wearing his T-shirt.

Harry watched while she kept mumbling to herself and he couldn't decipher what she was saying. Honestly, he couldn't even tell if she was one hundred percent conscious.

After collecting all of her things, pulling her skirt up to her waist, and tossing her coat on, she looked just about ready to leave.

"Noel, I can drive you," Harry interrupted when she was grabbing her bag.

She turned to face him and it was as if she was just now realizing he was in the room with her. Her cheeks were red, her lips swollen from last night, and her pupils were no longer dilated.

"No," she shook her head, "um..." She hesitated and shook her head again, grabbed his doorknob, yanking it open, and left the room after mumbling another, "no."

Arcadia

What was worse than the feeling of blood gushing out of your vagina? The cramps that followed along with it a week before and a few days during.

And to think, Noel's package of the month from Nordstrom came with a cute pair of white winter jeans with snowflake sequins. Those would've been perfect for today, especially since it was the first day of December. Just 25 days until Christmas.