Nothing Good Gets Away

Chapter 36

HARRY STYLES

Due to the unusually rainy weather, I decided to use the gym in the complex for maybe the third time since I moved in. I spent both Friday and Saturday night high and eating junk food, so I felt like I owed my body a run...maybe as a slight punishment.

While Rowan has undoubtedly been having the weekend of her life playing house with her boyfriend, I've been coming to terms with everything Sienna dumped on my lap when she came in like a tornado and left me as confused as ever. After two days, I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to say to Rowan when I see her.

And speaking of which, I nearly trip on the treadmill belt when I see her walking Scout through the lobby to get to the dog park. She has her overnight bag over her shoulder still, and thankfully, she's too preoccupied with getting her dog outside that she doesn't notice me before she's out of sight.

I slow from a run to a walk and use one of the complimentary sweat towels to dry my face. My heart is still racing as I breathe through my mouth, but not the way it does after strenuous exercise. Rather, the way it does when I see Rowan unexpectedly. I've come to know the difference.

With my eyes trained on the mirror across from me, I only naturally glance over to the glass door again when I see movement from my peripheral vision. It's Rowan again, but this time we both make double-takes at the other. She waves with a smile and lets herself into the otherwise vacant gym.

"Hey," she laughs, clearly surprised to see me.

"Hi," I feel like I'm looking at her for the first time, when all I can picture is her opening all my drawers and reading my private thoughts.

"Scout, stop," she pulls back on the leash when he strains to get to me, so I halt the treadmill and step off to pet him the way he wants. "Sorry, we didn't mean to ruin your workout."

"It's alright," I ruffle Scout's ears before standing to my full height, reaching for my towel to wipe the sweat away again. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"It was good, yeah, but I wanted to come back semi-early so I could do my usual routine at home. Are you hungry? I was thinking about making breakfast for dinner."

As a natural instinct more than anything else, I find myself nodding to agree. "Sure, uh...I'm done with my workout, so I'm just going to need to shower first."

"Yeah, of course," she takes a step back, "I need to throw my laundry in and everything so take your time."

"Alright," I watch her turn to leave, and I wonder if I should have just asked her for the truth right then and there. The only issue with asking her is that I'll have to explain how I would know that, which means she'll know that Sienna was in my flat. Maybe I'd be a hypocrite not to tell her the truth about my part in that situation too.

Either way, I'm not exactly in a hurry to get up to my flat. I take my time drinking two glasses of water from my fridge, and I drag my feet in my sneakers to my room to strip and get in the shower. Even after my hair is washed, and I know all the shampoo and conditioner is out, I'm still standing there raking my fingers through the strands.

After maybe 15 minutes, I get out and change into a pair of joggers and my Rolling Stones tee. I'm only bothered to slip socks on, but leave my shoes in place when I'm only going across the hall. I give my hair one more unnecessary shake through with my towel and grab my phone before I lock up to leave.

Rowan opens the door for me in her own loungewear. It's a matching set, of course, and I'm assuming she showered when I see that the baby hairs by her ears are slightly damp. She tucks them back as she moves out of the way to let me in.