meet me in the hallway |h.s|

16 | heartbeat

I blink a few times to make sure Harry is really standing in my doorway.

Yep, he's here.

I'm not hallucinating.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

He awkwardly chuckles and massages the back of his neck. "Well... Uhm... it was Niall's idea."

I look over my shoulder to see that Karen and Niall are gone. The living room is empty now—no trace of them—not even the plate is there anymore.

Harry walks past me and takes off his shoes, leaving the bag next to Niall's.

"Are you gonna stand there?" he asks me, catching my attention. He stands there awkwardly, waiting for me to move or say something, but I can't. I'm still trying to process that Niall and Harry came here without a warning.

I give him a little smile and shake my head, closing the door behind. We walk together to the living room and take a seat in the couch.

"Niall told me that you were both okay with it." He speaks out, resting his elbows on his knees, after noticing how surprised I am.

"With what?"

"With us staying for a week."

"Oh, okay," I say, nodding my head, comprehending what he's saying.

He frowns. Now he's the one who looks confused. "Wait, you're okay with it?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" I ask him.

I didn't expect this, of course, I didn't, but I'm not gonna make them leave. Maybe Niall can help Karen in some way I can't.

"I mean, you clearly didn't know about it." He answers, gesturing with his hands.

I chuckle. "Harry, we're friends, you're welcome at any time. Plus, we talked about you visiting."

The frown on his face disappears as his face softens. I think I said the right thing because he doesn't look anxious nor confused anymore.

And I meant what I said. I don't mind him coming here, I actually enjoy his company and we're friends, he can come here any time he wants.

"Yeah, you're right." He mumbles.

I look over Harry's shoulder and see Niall's bag. He's taking care of my dear friend, who hasn't talked with me yet, but with Niall.

He definitely knows how Karen is feeling, otherwise, he wouldn't be here.

"What did you say about Niall?" I look back at Harry and he furrows his brows. "On the phone I mean. What did you say about him?" I repeat my question.

"Ah, yeah..." he looks down at his hands, trying to remember, then he looks back at me. "He was acting weird and he insisted in coming here."

"Since when?"

"Since Saturday I think, why?"

I shake my head as an answer. I'm not gonna be mad about this, but I do feel a little bit upset because she spoke with Niall instead of me. But if she felt more comfortable with him, I'm going to respect that. At least she's talking with someone and not shutting herself from everyone as I assumed. Even if she's not talking with me, she's talking with someone we both trust.

"I didn't notice Karen and Niall were so close," I mumble to myself.

"Yeah, me neither," Harry replies.

I look up at him and chuckle, leaning back on the couch. I tilt my head back and sigh. He mirrors my action.

Memories of Matt with that woman come flooding back and I pinch my eyes close and see him again... Fuck, that was a bad idea.