Revenant || HS [ON HOLD]

Chapter Four

huckleberry flan; august 21st, 2014

    "I made these"—I hold out a tupperware bowl of black forest cupcakes—"for your girlfriend. I made sure to put into account your allergies, so if she doesn't like them, you might, which I highly doubt because I added an extra drop of vanilla and I know how you feel about excessive amounts of ingre—"

    By the looks of his worn out jeans and fairly sheer yet fancy shirt, Harry was not expecting my presence. He'd called while I was out visiting Mrs. Davis for the day and left a voicemail along the lines of, "Hi, Isla. I hope you don't mind that I took it upon myself to steal a packet left outside your house. I might have kicked it accidentally and it sounded like kitchen supplie—" It cut him off because Harry talks painfully slow, but his voicemail got me in the spirit to welcome his lady friend to the neighborhood.

    So, inviting me inside, something he hasn't done before, he gestures to his couch where we stare at each other. "Now, what are you going on about?"

    "I made cupcakes," I smile and thrust the tupperware towards him, which he takes along with my hand. For some odd reason, he presses his index and middle  fingers to my inner wrist.

     He thinks I don't notice him checking my pulse.

     I notice.

    "Yeah, I caught that. But for what reason?"

    "Your girlfriend."

    His eyebrow curves and I notice he still hasn't released my hand. "My what?"

    "Girlfriend." I find our interaction inappropriate if she could possibly be in a room over. Harry stares at me in bewilderment and I hear footsteps behind me. A girl, hair now pink, with a pink splashed towel over her shoulders and her eyes completely focused on her cell phone. I whisper to Harry, "I have a great way to get dye out of clothing and towels, by the way."

    He blinks between the girl who's now disappeared into the kitchen, loudly opening and closing cabinets, and me. "Dixie," he whispers back to save me from embarrassment, "that's my sister. She's visiting from London, dropped off some things I'd left. I'm like a human pit stop for her. She's got some big trip planned." His voice returns to normal and he picks up my hand and smiles widely, kissing the tip of my thumb, "But I will let my future girlfriend, whoever she may be, know that you're looking out for her."

    I'm not sure if it's the gentle kiss or the promise that I will have the pleasure to meet others welcomed into his life, but it warms my heart to see him smile more than normal. Looking towards his lap at the cupcakes, I sigh. "Well, my hard work better not go to waste."

    "You know they won't last long. Thank you. Stay in tonight, alright? 'Spose to storm later." He lets go of my hand and leans back on the couch as I get up and nod. "Really, Isla. I'm beginning to know how you are. Don't go out on your patio if it gets too hot in your house. In fact, don't bake. Don't cook."

    "Don't eat?" I play.

    "The day your kitchen is empty is the day... wow, I actually don't have a joke for that." He rests his hand that was rested on the back of the couch on his chin and scrunches his face a little, thinking a little too hard for a little too long.

    "Guess my fridge is going to be empty in a few months."

    Harry rolls his eyes. "Don't push it. And if you see a poor soul out there alone in the rain, don't join them."

    Dusting my hands off on my pants, I sigh again and grab my bag and package while making my exit, Harry not following me. "Then stop going out alone, sweetheart." Before shutting the front door, I yell back, "And I have to go out, Thursdays are shopping days for me and Mrs. Davis, which I am skipping to plan for her birthday." There's a catch in his throat like he wants to speak but can't.