𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝙼𝚎 (𝙽𝚘𝚝) - 𝚉𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢

chapter xxii.

Harry's office is a perfect time capsule. He did expect to be jumped by another glimpse into his life that his mind can't seem to explain to him. But the room is unnerving. There is a cup of an almost-finished coffee on the desk, papers strewn around in an organized mess. A few plants line the window sill, all of them looking alright. Someone must've watered them.

Harry remembers the room only vaguely. He's sure some memories will surface as he spends more time there. He picks up one of the many photo frames on his desk, smiling a little at a photo of his family, complete with Paul. It must be a recent one because Noah doesn't look too little. There is quite a few of them. Harry assumes they started appearing periodically as time went by. He recognizes a photo from his and Zayn's graduation dinner. Another one is of Sadie as a baby. More family photos. Some of just Noah and Sadie. There is even one of Paul straight up modelling like a trained cat, sitting on the fireplace in their living room with his tail twirled around his paws.

He has a small plastic noticeboard on his desk littered with post-it notes. Harry takes them all off one by one, reading each. He recognized his hand-writing but the tasks on them are not so familiar. Get dewormer for Paul. Call Katie M. to reschedule. Get coloured card paper for Sadie. Get movie tickets for 28/7, any film. Reschedule Jack's appointment to next week, email him the date+time. Pick up mail downstairs.

Harry feels a tinge of anxiety at the back of his neck, spreading down and all over his body but he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited too. This is all he's wanted to do, pretty much since he was in his early teens. He does remember a bit about his job but this isn't your basic run of the mill routine for him anymore. Before his accident, his job wasn't the most exciting thing in his life. From what he's gathered so far, he is passionate about his job so it's not like he viewed this as a boring desk job that payed the bills but slowly killed his soul.

Harry's phone chimes in with a new text just as he's got his notebooks ready on a small side table next to the armchair he occupies during the sessions. It's from Zayn but he isn't the first one to text him today. He's got some texts from his mum and Gemma, Niall and a few friends too. His co-workers also sent a couple well-wishes into the groupchat they apparently have. Harry nearly teared up because he saw just how lucky he is to have so many incredible people around him. He's grateful for them, especially for the support they've given him since the accident because it hasn't been exactly easy breezy.

Zayn's text says, 'Good luck today babes x. Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up after you're done?'. Harry texts back, 'Thank you love xxxx and no, I'll be fine :) Love you xx'. They left together in the morning, dropped the kids off at camp and then Zayn dropped Harry off at the clinic. Since one of their cars had been totalled in the crash, they can't completely go back to the old routine. Before, Harry used to drop the kids off because he started work later than Zayn and then Zayn would pick Sadie and Noah up. It worked great, as far as Harry's been made aware.

Harry sits down in the armchair, taking a big breath and putting a notebook in his lap. He's not quite sure what to do but he'll get there eventually. He knows he will. His first client for today is a nineteen-year-old named Kaylee. Harry briefly looks over the notes he made about her situation, keeping the notebook at hand just in case. He'll try his hardest because these people need him, all at varying degrees. Still, they trust him and expect that he'll help them. That is precisely what Harry indends to do. He might not remember much but memory loss can't take one's empathy away.

It's not long before the door opens and a slight, brunette girl walks in. She gives Harry a weak smile as he greets her, quickly walking to the other armchair and sitting down. Kaylee drops her backpack on the ground and nervously looks around, rubbing her hands over her thighs.