Twenty-Two (Harry Styles)

Chapter 22

.... H's POV....

The day had pretty much gone on like usual, after everything that happened with Zed last night I made sure Ember was okay before we headed off for breakfast. I had some stuff to do today but she said her and Avery were just going to have a chilled out day and watch some movies, typical weekend things. After breakfast I'd said goodbye to Ember before Jax and I went to the gym where we had a good workout and did some boxing. I had sent Nate, Cruze and Ash out to do a scouting mission for anything they could find really, I did want to know about any potential dangers but any sort of information was handy. 

I spent the rest of my day in the mess hall with the chef and her cooks, I usually did this about once a month just so we could go over the menu and the stockpile to make sure we had enough food, it was also coming into the colder months so food wasn't going to grow as well so they were busy harvesting all the produce they could to be preserved.

After I had finished I swung by the hangout to see Ember, even though today had been a mundane day full of simple tasks I couldn't help but miss her, everything was just better when she was near however she wasn't at the hangout and rather than go looking for her I decided to go back to my hut to shower before dinner.

I walked the path back to my hut which was empty, no one else ever came this way which is how I liked it, quiet. When I got inside I rummaged through my draws for some clean clothes before heading into the bathroom but I wasn't prepared for what I seen when I opened the door, there Ember was in the shower. 

She sat on the shower floor with her back against the wall, arms wrapped around her legs and her knees to her chest, her face was buried and she didn't even look up when I opened the door.

"Oh shit sorry, I didn't realise you were in here" I quickly apologized and turned away. She had my black tshirt on, the one she'd worn last night so she wasn't undressed but I felt like I still shouldn't have walked in on her in here, I must've been so side tracked I hadn't even noticed the water was running. 

"Are you okay?" I questioned. She still hadn't moved and the bathroom wasn't even steamy, I opened the glass shower door and stuck my hand under the water, it was freezing. "Ember shit, the water's freezing" I quickly turned the water off and now I was closer I could see her shaking, she must have been so cold.

I bent down and put my hand on her shoulder and she immediately flinched and looked up at me, her eyes were red and swollen, her face stained with tears which was enough to rip my heart in two.

"Oh baby, what's wrong?" I knelt down beside her.

"The day... I didn't... umm I didn't realise what day it was" She quietly mumbled between tears "It's....um....today is my Dad's birthday" She cried out. Damn it, I wish I could take her pain away.

"Come here" I sat down and pulled her towards me so she was on my lap, a leg either side of my hips. I wrapped my arms around her and she cried into my shoulder and that's how we stayed for god knows how long, I rubbed small circles on her back and whispered encouraging words every now and then but somehow I knew that she just wanted me to be there with her, we didn't need to talk, it was enough in that moment for us to just exist with each other. 

"I'm sorry" She said after a long silence, she lifted her head and wiped her face with her hands.

"No, Em, please don't be sorry" I looked her straight into her bloodshot eyes, even with the red eyes, swollen face and snot on her nose she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I reached a hand up to push her half wet hair behind her ear "I'll always be here for you" I leant forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead "Why didn't you come find me?"