How Many Nights does it take to Count the Stars?

Chapter twenty one, Infinity

Harry:

I hear someone knocking on the door, I snort and unwillingly wear my slippers.

"Harry. Are you there?" It's Andora's voice. I walk towards the door.

Why is she here? I hope she didn't change her mind.

Please don't change your mind.

"Harry, who's that?" My dad yells from his cabinet.

"My friend," I say, sparing any more questions. More than a friend. Possibly more than a friend.

"Andora. What are you..."

"You weren't at the campus." She says distressed and walks in, hanging her coat.

"Yeah, I..."

"Ginger and I broke up." She sighs, eyes are sad, face down.

"Oh No." I hugged her. And as a friend, I'm devastated for her.

"Because of.."

"Yes." She says into my chest.

"I'm so sorry."

"She took it so.. grown up, I guess. We didn't even yell. Nothing ugly."

"That's good, Isn't it?" I lift my brows, trying to find her eyes in this messy face of hers.

"Yes. No. I don't know." I put her hair behind her ears.

"Part of me wanted us to have a whole yelling convention, when we tell each other all that's been wrong, unpacking all that was bad and keeping us awake at night, that she tells me how unthoughtful I've been, and how dare I cheat on her. But there was nothing, you know? And I don't know how to feel, I expected something. Should I feel more guilty?" Her gaze wanders around the room and only sometimes does it fall on my eyes, that try to be there for her, that try to empathize with what she says. I don't know if I'm doing it right.

"I hurt her, Harry. I didn't want to hurt anyone." She says, panicking, guilty, worrying.

"But you set her free. Yourself too." I try to find what to say and this is the only thing I come up with, I hope it's not that bad.

And for a second there. For a cruel, vicious second I'm happy. I know that now, we could...

"Let's go outside," I say, taking her coat and mine and pushing her gently outside from the door.

"You need air." I then say.

It's almost five pm, the sun has already disappeared, the stars lighten, and the moon smiles.

"You took your guitar?" I finally noticed it on her back.

"Yes. I thought maybe we could write." She says.

Maybe. Maybe we could.

"Okay," I say.

"How are you? Tell me." I look at her as if she didn't tell me anything before, as if it didn't exist. I focus on her eyes, knit my brows together with worry.

"I feel guilty. But I know I did the right thing. I'm gonna miss her, but yesterday seemed right. Our first kiss seemed right." She sighs, lost, trying to find her gaze until she steadies on my eyes.

"Yes. I know. And I'm so sorry." I say.

"If I could be brave enough to tell you then that our kiss wasn't a mistake it all would have turned out differently." She held her breath as I said it, silently admitting the same thing.