Strange [h.s.]

Thirty Five

Ella Frazier

The smell of Harry resides on the sheet I'm wrapped in. I take a deep breath, letting the sweet scent fill my nose as I shift around in my spot. I shoot an arm out, hoping to be met with the warmth of his skin, but I am left cold.

My eyes peel open, noticing an empty spot beside me. The sheets are made to their best ability without trapping me under them. I'm assuming Harry made his side of the bed once he got up while I continued to sleep.

I turn over in my spot, lifting my arms above my head and stretching, the feeling of just waking up coursing through me. I sit up, letting my tired eyes flick around the quiet room.

After a little while of sitting in silence, I decide it's time to get up and find him. I push the sheets off my body, slowly pulling myself out of bed. I get up and walk into the bathroom, the quietness of Harry's apartment making me feel a little uneasy, but I let it pass.

I flick the light onto the bathroom, and the warm lights flooding the room make me shut my eyes briefly, still waking up. After a second, I let my eyes flutter open, staring at myself in the mirror. My hair is messy, and my eyes clearly show signs of tiredness. I run my hands over my face, pulling down at the skin around my eyes and then laughing at my reflection.

I grab my toothbrush that has been sitting in the holder on Harry's bathroom counter for the last three days. I have not left his place since we got back from our trip.

I've been meaning to go home, but every time I think about it, I make up some excuse to stay at Harry's for just one more night. One more night has turned into three more nights, and now here we are.

I squeeze some toothpaste onto the bristles, running it under the cold water, and then sticking it into my mouth. I let the toothbrush hang there while I grab the other items that I need for my morning routine. Like I said, I found plenty of excuses to stay here rather than go back to my apartment, and lucky for me, Harry had gone out a while ago to buy the products I use for my skincare routine.

He's too perfect for me.

I place the face wash and moisturizer on the counter, finally bringing my focus back to brushing my teeth. One thing I never grew out of was singing the alphabet song in my head while I brush my teeth. So after two rounds of singing the ABCs and lazily dancing around the bathroom, I spit the foamy toothpaste into the sink and rinse it down with water.

I grab the mouthwash that sits off to the side of the countertop, swishing it around in my mouth and spitting it out. I squeeze some of my facewash into the palm of my hand, cupping my other free hand under the cold water and sprinkling some of the water into the face wash. I run my hands together, gently scrubbing my face with the cleaner before rinsing it free from my face.

I get a little bit of the moisturizer, dotting it over my cheeks and forehead before rubbing it in. I glare back at my reflection, finally awake, and smile. I put my items away back to where they belong and shut the light off, heading to the living room to find Harry.

The uneasiness fills me again as I enter an empty living room. I furrow my brows, confused as to where he could've gone. My eyes dart around the living room and over to the open kitchen, where he is also nowhere to be found.

I swallow the lump in my throat, feeling my heart rate pick up slightly out of concern. I spin around in a circle again, like if I do, he'll appear in front of me like magic.

It's Saturday, so I know he's not at work. Even if he were, he would've told me the night before that he had to go in, just like he has the past few days. My eyes move back to the kitchen, and this time they stick to something I didn't pick up the first time.