HARRY STYLES
I'm trying to keep it down while brushing my teeth in the ensuite of my hotel room so as not to disturb Scarlett while she's sleeping, but I guess that's pointless when she suddenly calls out my name in a panic.
I spit in the sink and swing the door open to see her rubbing her eyes, and she only relaxes when she sees me standing there. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't know where you were," her voice is hoarse as she clears her throat and sits up against the headboard.
"I was just trying not to wake you up," I kneel on the bed to lean in and kiss her cheek, and she pulls me down to sit right by her side.
We didn't do any talking at all last night once we got into bed, but I think we both know that needs to happen sooner than later. As much as I want to let her get her way by avoiding the issue, we're not doing that again.
"Sleep okay?" I ask as she yawns and rests her head on my shoulder.
"Really well," she plays with my fingers in her lap over the soft white sheets. "I've been missing you every single night."
I rest my head on hers, smiling a little as she starts tracing the lines in my palm like she did the night we met. "We need to talk today."
Her fingers falter for a moment. "About what?"
"About you running away, about the reason you ran away, about us."
"Oh, that," she mutters begrudgingly, making me laugh as I lace my fingers through hers.
"Why don't you get dressed and we can have breakfast downstairs before we get some fresh air and take a walk?"
Reluctantly still, she nods and turns her head up for a kiss before she crawls off the bed to start rummaging through her suitcase for an outfit. And as she starts changing in front of me, I fully believe that she hasn't eaten since the last time I saw her. Actually, I could feel how thin she is last night when I was holding her as tight as she asked me to.
But now, in a pair of denim shorts with a light jumper, she seems to be in better spirits and she doesn't put up a fight for eating breakfast as we leave the room together. She does, however, seem to be more clingy than she was the last time I saw her in London, and I'm more than fine with that.
Because the hotel breakfast is buffet style, we both grab our plates and start going down the line to serve ourselves. Her plate is more sparse than mine, but she agrees to share a waffle with me that I stay behind to make while she picks a table for us.
She might be happy to see me, but she has no idea how happy I am to see her from across the room, sipping from her coffee and pushing her food around with her fork before she tries a bite of the eggs she put on her plate. I've been going out of my mind running circles around this godforsaken city trying to find her while trying to be discreet until the time was right, and now it almost doesn't feel real to be seeing her now. A week felt like a fucking lifetime.
As the waffle machine chimes, I lift the top and use a pair of tongs to lift the golden waffle and drop it on an extra plate for us to split. Scarlett lifts her gaze from her plate as I sit in front of her, and I can't help but notice the little smile that forms on her lips as a result.
"Is syrup okay?" She asks, hesitating with the little pot above the waffle.
"Sure," I watch her drown the waffle until the syrup is pooling around the crisp edges.
"Sorry," she gives me a guilty smile, to which I shake my head indifferently and bite into my slightly overcooked bacon. "So, um...how's Hailey?"
I nod, swallowing a sip of my coffee first. "She was sad when you didn't come home, but I texted her and Seth yesterday to let them know that we were together so she wouldn't worry anymore. Seth and Renée are staying at the house with her until we come home."
