Chasing After You | 18+ | ✓

24: mirabelle

I wake up with a loud pounding in my head. I move slowly to pull the blankets tighter around myself. What the hell happened last night?

The pieces quickly come back to me. Quinn, the club, calling Henry, Henry carrying me in front of paparazzi, Henry telling me we'd talk tomorrow which I guess would be today. Me telling Henry I'd like to have sex with him and him promising to stay.

My arm stretches out to see if he kept his promise and my eyes flash open, way too fast for my hangover to comprehend. He isn't here. He lied, Henry didn't stay.

Then I notice a shadow in the corner of my room and my brain immediately flips to the fact that the police never caught the arsonist despite everything. I sit up quickly and flip the lamp on next to me. The burst of light blinds me momentarily but the adrenaline shoves my headache to the side.

It's just Henry.

I let out a sigh of relief as he smiles sheepishly at me. "What are you doing?"

He sits on the bed next to me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I have to go to morning workout, but I didn't want to just leave without saying goodbye. I was going to leave this on your nightstand." His hand unfolds to offer me a short note.

He wasn't just going to leave.

"What time is it?" I ask quietly, putting a head to my temple as the elephant stomping in my head continues.

"Just before six."

I've usually already gone for a run by this time. I never sleep this late. I start to push the covers off so I can get up when Henry shakes his head. "Mira, it's okay to sleep in. You don't have to be up at the ass crack of dawn every day. I'm honestly shocked you're even awake right now." Me too. I am exhausted and hungover.

"On a scale from one to ten, how bad was I last night?" I ask hesitantly, knowing the answer is probably going to be on the higher side.

Henry chuckles which doesn't make me feel better at all. "You weren't that bad, but you might want to check your phone at some point. Stacey left me a voicemail before I even got up this morning with some very choice words in it. I'm not sure if she left you one as well, but if she did, I hope it's a lot nicer."

I drag my hands over my face. "Great. Just what I need right now."

"You don't have to worry about it right now. You technically don't go into work until eight." He points out and I shake my head.

"No, I should go in early. I have a deadline on an article for tomorrow. I should at least face the music now." And then it dawns on me that Henry and I are supposed to have our talk today. Amazing. I look at him hesitantly and it's almost like he can read my mind.

"We'll talk tonight, okay?"

I have half a mind to protest and say we can talk now, but I know he has to go to the stadium. "Awesome."

He offers me a slanted smile that makes my heart beat faster as he presses a short kiss to my forehead, "I'll see you later." My heart melts at what a softie Henry is despite having such a tough exterior.

"Alright," I agree, shoving the covers back the rest of the way now that Henry is no longer on my bed to hold them in place. I don't bother checking my phone to see if Stacey left me a voicemail, I'm sure she did.

It's only when I'm leaving that I realize Henry still managed to leave the note on my nightstand without me realizing it.

Didn't want to leave. Have to go to the stadium. Hope you're feeling alright when you wake up, I left meds for you. We'll talk later—Henry