Damaged » h. styles au

Chapter 63 - Harry

“Can I join you?”

I nodded slowly, watching as her body finally appeared completely. She sat down next to me, holding her own mug whilst she did so. For a while, both of us just stared at the scene in front of us, admiring the cold and that was it, until:

“Finally free of the freaks my mom invited without you even knowing them?” I asked, smiling, and I heard Charlie chuckling next to me before she punched my arm slightly, glaring at me. “What?”

“Don’t put it like that!” she scolded, sipping her chocolate and furrowing her eyebrows at me. “Your mom is the sweetest and I know everyone that’s here,” I arched an eyebrow then, challengingly, and Charlie shrugged. “I might not talk to them that much, but I do know them.”

Then both of us laughed, letting it fade no longer after.

“Did you like my present?” I asked, looking for something to talk since, apparently, there’s nothing else inside my mind besides how I wanted Scarlett to be here with me, cuddling on the swing porch with a blanket above us, my parents showing up at the doorstep to offer us something and then end up just staring at us, smiling fondly because they know I’ve just found someone to love again. Those are just dreams, though, far enough, so I just found a way of getting rid of them by looking at Charlie as she shook her wrist in front of my face, showing the bracelet I’ve given her.

“You know your presents are always the best,” she stated then, smiling.

“That’s what you always say, and you would still say it even if I gave you a dog,” (she’s allergic to dogs).

Charlie laughed out loud at that, patting my thighs and shaking her head from one side to the other, trying to deny something she knew she would do, anyways. It was very Charlie-like to pretend she’d loved everything even when she hadn’t. Especially when it came to something I gave her.

“That is so not true, Harry. You would never give me a dog,” was her defense. It was pathetic actually, so pathetic I was really thinking of maybe giving her a dog next year, just to get my point across.

“Don’t challenge me, Husher. I’m always up to challenges.”

When she was just about to reply, the door to the porch cracked open again and this time my mom was the one to come out, a huge ear-to-ear smile plastered to her face. She made her way towards us slowly, and both I and Charlie were silent, listening to her footsteps on the wooden boards, until she stopped in front of us.

“Dave and Mark asked me to tell you they will call you this week so you can have a “boys’ night” again,” she stated, looking at me. Then, “They’re all gone, now, Charlie. Hope you had fun.”

“I did, Anne, thank you. It was a lovely surprise.”

My mom beamed at that, almost glowing, and I just wanted to sigh out loud, roll my eyes visibly and let her know how pathetic it was to worship a (now) 22-year-old girl who was extremely sweet but nothing besides the daughter of her best friend since college. And that was the reason why she worshipped her, after all.

“I’m glad you liked it, sweetie. Always a pleasure to have you here. Now, you two, wouldn’t you like to get inside? It’s freezing out here.”

“We’ll be there in ten, mom. Don’t worry,” I said softly, looking up at her and smiling until she nodded, walking back inside and leaving both of us alone again. “You weren’t surprised at all, were you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Charlie, who tried to hide her little smile behind her mug.

“Um, what’d you mean?” she pretended not to understand, and I breathed out a laugh.

“The party. C’mon, you can tell. My mom sucks at surprises. I bet she begged you to come here tonight with some odd and foreseeable excuse.”