Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Twenty Eight

It's six A.M., I can tell from my hazy view of the clock hung on the wall across the room from my position on the bed. The very comfy, warm, bed that has sheets sewn together by angels from the clouds they sit on, or at least that's what it feels like.

    Harry is sitting upright next to me, trying to coax me awake because he is an early riser and I am just not. I heard him shuffling around in here through my muffled wall of sleep, packing our things and taking them to the car I'm sure. And now he is smothering me with his soft kisses and gentle words spoken encouragingly into my ear, trying to get the last thing packed into his truck, me.

    I put up a fight just like on the night we left, grumbling in protest and asking him to let me sleep one more hour. He chuckles at my stubbornness, moving my hair from my face so that his warm breath fans onto my cheek as he speaks to me.

    "The earlier we leave the earlier we can get home." He tells me, his voice deep and rich from sleep.

    "I don't want to go home, I want to stay here with you." I complain weakly, my words being a bit incoherent as I still feel very out of it.

    He chuckles beside me once more and then places another few kisses to my cheek, nose and forehead. With my eyes still closed I lift my left hand to touch his face, feeling the smooth line of his jaw and the tips of his wet curls, letting me know that he's showered.

    "Just one more hour, Harry. Cuddle with me before you have to drive all day." I plead with him, feeling impressed with my persuasion skills in this half asleep state that I'm in.

    It must be a offer too good to pass up because after a moment of silence Harry lets out a sigh of submission as I feel the blankets being pulled back and his body settling in next to me. The rough fabric of his skinny jeans is cold against the back of my legs as he molds his body to mine, his arm draping over my front and his chin resting on my shoulder. A small shiver runs down my neck as his wet hair brushes against the skin there but I don't mind it.

    I know this must be killing him, putting us off schedule just so I can get an extra hour of sleep, but I'm glad he is because the bed feels even better with his body pressed against mine. This must be his last gift to me, letting me have a few more hours with him in one of my new favorite places before we have to leave it all behind for an unknown amount of time. He is truly an angel in my eyes.

    I think Harry manages to nap while I fall back into a light slumber, my mind content and dreamless as I snooze away. But the moment the time hits eight, an alarm on Harry's ridiculous little flip phone goes off and I know that there's no convincing him back to bed this time around. He seems to wake up instantaneously as he's already silencing his phone and climbing out of bed.

    It only takes a single wet kiss to my lips from him to wake me up this time, and I stretch my arms back to life before blinking my eyes open and seeing the satisfied smile on his face. I fight the urge to roll mine in response but settle for crawling out of bed and making him give me a piggyback ride to the car.

    The air is a little cooler outside today and the wind a little more intense as it blows the strands of hair that have come loose from my bun around my face. The sky is clouded, the sun peaking through the haze of the white and gray puffs to still make it feel decently warm.

    With me and Harry now both in the car and our things packed into the back seat with care, we set off to go back home with a long journey ahead of us. I manage to stay awake instead of falling back asleep, keeping my eyes out the window as I got to take in the things I missed on the trip here. All of  the little streets have the cutest names, like Dolphin Avenue and Starfish Drive. But the beach houses and small avenues with cute titles begin to peter out as we get closer to the end of the island.