Nothing Good Gets Away

Chapter 43

ROWAN BASS

As I stretch my limbs out and slowly roll over in bed to wake up, it makes me a minute to remember where I am as I look around at the unfamiliar surroundings. But from where I'm laying, I can make out the picture on the dresser of Harry as a little kid, and an involuntary smile starts to grow across my lips.

With the reminder, I wiggle around to cozy myself further into the mattress, bringing the comforter up past my shoulders as I face the vacant side of the bed. I blink tiredly and try to imagine Harry laying here as a teenager, most likely sleeping in late on a Saturday morning after being out with his friends. I wonder if he had an alarm, or if his mother would come in and force him out of bed eventually.

My smile only vanishes when I hear a soft knock on the door. I clear my throat and tell whoever it is to come in as I force myself to sit up in my flannel pajamas. Harry walks in with a mug of coffee, and just like that, my tired smile returns.

"Morning," his voice is rough and thick with sleep still.

"Hi," I cover my mouth to yawn before accepting the mug from him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he sits at the edge of the bed in his t-shirt and joggers. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Really cozy," I sip from the coffee. He made it with cream and sugar, exactly how I like it. "How was the couch?"

"Loved it," he coughs out a laugh. "Are you hungry? My mum made breakfast, so."

"I'm starving, actually," I have another sip and set the mug on the nightstand. "What time is it?"

"It was just a little after 2:00 when I made the coffee."

I gasp. "In the afternoon?"

He laughs at me. "Yes."

"Oh no," I whine with my hands over my face. "We're wasting all our time together!"

Yawning, he says, "We still have all day tomorrow, and then you don't go to the airport until Thursday afternoon right?"

I pout and rub my eyes. "I don't wanna talk about it. The flight's gonna be so boring alone."

"I'm sure it'll be alright," he chuckles. "But yeah, there's breakfast downstairs whenever you're ready for it. I'll probably eat first and then shower and everything."

"Yeah, let me just brush my teeth," I peel the blue comforter off of me and Harry stands to let me do the same. "Wait, don't leave me."

"Why not?" He laughs again.

"Because I don't wanna go down alone, just hold on," I scurry into the bathroom to wet my toothbrush and slather toothpaste over the bristles.

With my mouth full of foam, I whine at my puffy morning face in the mirror and ask Harry why he didn't tell me I look so scary. He barely understands me as he leans against the doorway to watch me, but he tells me I look fine even though my hair is in tangles.

I spit, rinse, and wipe my mouth before securing my hair up into a bun, and use cold water on my face to help me look more awake. Harry leads the way downstairs, where Gemma is holding a sleeping baby Edward at the kitchen table with her boyfriend whom I met last night, and Anne is still working in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Rowan," she says, "did you sleep okay upstairs? Were you comfortable?"

"I slept a little too well, I think," I offer a laugh. "I forgot to set my alarm to wake up earlier."

"Well, you're on holiday, aren't you? No alarms on holiday."

I smile, nodding as I sit down with my coffee. "I like that idea."