Over Again (Baker Boy Sequel) Book 3

Chapter 23

Maedbh’s POV

The next morning, I’m greeted to a picture of Harry on the cover of The Sun. He’d gone back to London last night and apparently got plastered. He was leading some slut out of a club and into a car and the paper was speculating on who she was. I shake my head. I shouldn’t call her that. She could be a lovely girl. Volunteering at a homeless shelter when she wasn’t too busy sleeping with celebrities…. I ball up the paper, chucking it across the room. It was none of my business anyways. Papers like these were stupid. Everyone deserved at least a modicum of privacy. Who the hell cares who Harry’s newest girl was? I certainly don’t. I didn’t care that it hadn’t even taken him 24 hours to get over his supposed feelings for me. Just goes to show that I’d been right. He’d have gotten bored of me and moved on quickly. I dump my cereal bowl in the sink and head back upstairs to pack and go back to school. I shouldn’t have come home this weekend. It was a mistake and I’d known it from the minute I’d agreed to it. Caellum is gone, to a friend’s I think, and Uncle Si is working so I write a note saying I’d gone back to school, leaving it on the kitchen counter. I grab my suitcase again and open the door, jumping back in surprise when I see an equally shocked expression on the person in front of me, her hand raised about to knock.

“Gemma?” I ask in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“I just…I was hoping we could talk… Are you going somewhere?” she asks, eyeing my suitcase.

“Back to school.”

“Why?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I retort. “Why are you here?” I repeat, trying to shift the conversation so I wouldn’t have to really answer her question.

“Can I?” she asks, motioning inside and I realize we’re still standing on the doorstep. I look longingly at my packed suitcase and let out a sigh before nodding and moving aside so she could come in. I hadn’t talked with Gemma since before Harry and I had broken up. She’d always been friendly, I’d never have considered us friends. She was Harry’s older sister. We’d never hung out together or talked if Harry wasn’t there. So what was she doing here now?

“I know this is completely out of line. It’s none of my business at all. But I was just… I was hoping you could tell me what happened? What happened these past two years that made you so unwilling to start over again with him? What did he do?”

I gape at her, not believing she’d actually asked that. Her look is expectant and despite not talking for 2 years, I feel like I owe her an explanation. I let out a sigh and walk over to the couch, taking a seat on the armrest.

“It’s not like that…” I say reluctantly. “I don’t hold anything against him. I’m the one that broke up with him. I just…” I sigh, not knowing how to continue the sentence. How to tell her what I’d been wondering for the past two years.

“Then what is it?” she presses. “I know it’s not because of Luke. That guy’s an ass. Always has, always will be.”

“I’m afraid alright!” I cry out before she can continue. “I’m afraid that if I let him back into my life, then he’d just leave again. He’d leave and I would be left alone. I can’t be left behind. I just can’t.” My voice cracks and I force myself to take a deep breath to try and collect myself. The last thing I needed to do was break down in front of Harry’s sister. She remains silent and I can tell she’s considering my words.

“I thought you of all people would know better than to underestimate his devotion to those he loves. He would never lea—“

“Yea well sometimes things happen that you don’t expect, don’t they?” I snap, cutting her off. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion until realization dawns on her.

“Harry’s not going to get in an accident. It’s not like your…” she trails off unable to continue. It’s not like my parents, is what she meant. “Sorry” she says quietly.

“Look, I really need to get back to school,” I say, avoiding her gaze.

“Maedbh,” she says, as I grab my suitcase again. “I just don’t like seeing my little brother hurting.”

“Well you won’t have to worry about that anymore. He gave an ultimatum and I said no. He’s moving on.  Quickly I might add,” I reply, remembering the article I’d read earlier. She sighs, shaking her head.

“You’re both just too stubborn for your own good” Her voice is laced with disappointment and her expression matches. I shrug, avoiding her gaze and she takes that as her dismissal. Only when I’m sure she’s gone do I look up, taking a deep breath before heading out the door.

Harry’s POV

I let out a groan as I slowly come to consciousness, my head pounding. I don’t know why I went out last night. I guess it was to trying to prove I was moving on. That I didn’t care she’d rejected me for the hundredth time. For the final time. I can barely open my eyes as I slide out of bed, a wave of nauseousness sweeping over me.  I steel myself, promising myself that I wasn’t going to throw up. I hadn’t thrown up from drinking in years. I wasn’t going to start again now. I manage to make it to the kitchen before leaning against the counter, holding my head in my hands. I squeeze my eyes shut, blindly reaching for the cabinet door and feeling around inside it until my hand closes around the bottle of pills. I take two aspirin, praying that they start working quickly.

“Wow, you must’ve drank more than I thought last night,”

I jump up, spinning around to see Liam sitting on the couch.

“What are you doing here?” I blurt, looking around to see if any of the others are hear also.

“Some girl called just before 3. Said you brought her home but when you guys started talking, you started ranting about second chances and bakeries and a bunch of other stuff and she was scared so she grabbed your phone and called the first person she saw. So I called a taxi for her and came over to calm you down, but when I got here you were already passed out,” he says as I sift through my vague recollection of the night before. I wince slightly as he describes my treatment of the girl. I hadn’t even gotten her number so I could apologize. I’d hoped for a one-night stand, but I guess it hadn’t gotten that far. My attempt to move on had failed. I had failed. Again.

I let out a groan, leaning down and resting my head in my arms, wincing slightly at the impact. I hadn’t had a hangover this bad in a long time.

“Go back to bed. I’ll get you some water,” Liam orders. I don’t even bother to respond, obeying his command and collapsing back on my bed. He comes in a couple minutes later with a glass of water and I greedily suck it down.

“Now sleep. And no going out tonight.”

I sleep all day. I’m not sure what time it is when I wake up, but there’s a note on my night stand from Liam saying he had gone home and to call him when I woke. I grab my phone and call him, but only get his voicemail. I slump back on the bed, letting my eyes close again. My headache had faded to almost nothing, but I was following Liam’s advice and not going out tonight.

My phone rings and I let out a groan as I roll over and grab it off the counter, answering it without checking the caller. It was probably Liam returning my call.

“Harry? I don’t… I don’t know who else to call.  He’s gone. They can’t find him. I don’t know what else to do,” I sit up immediately as Maedbh cries through the phone. She was the last person I’d expected to hear from.

“Slow down. What’s happening?” I say, trying to calm her down enough to explain what’s going on.

“It’s Caellum. He’s gone missing.”