Coalescence ➳ H.S.

Eight: Impressions

Wife. That made sense. I shook the brunette woman's hand too.

"And this is their daughter, Mabel," Sperling added, turning so I was face to face with the little girl. I smiled and waved, but she hid her face in Sperling's neck; it seemed that once she was near me her excitement dissipated into timidness.

"Mabel, can you say hi?" Alexa prompted, but Mabel shook her head and clung tighter to Sperling. "I'm sorry, she's a little shy around strangers."

"It's fine. I'm a giant to her anyway," I chuckled, shoving my hands in my pockets. Alexa whispered something to Hyacinth about my accent—typical.

"I didn't know you guys were stopping over so soon," Sperling said, looking to me for confirmation from time to time.

"We thought we'd give you a surprise and show up early, but it seems like you had a bigger surprise in store for us!" replied Hyacinth as she looked around and noticed Sperling's luggage by her door. "Were you planning on going somewhere? Did we come at a bad time?"

"No, no," she insisted, "we...uh..."

"We just came back from Vegas, actually," I finished. "We spent a couple days together there."

Her dad looked like he was going to pass out.

"Vegas! Where'd you stay? Was it hot?" Alexa asked.

"Um, yeah. Really hot. And we stayed at the Bellagio," Sperling noted. Her sentences were getting choppy. I had to get her out of lying soon.

"You know, I really wish you guys had called or something. Clarine's told me a great deal about you and I've been hoping to meet you for a while now, but I'm actually on my way to Prague for a bit," I stated, placing my arm around Sperling's waist to make my story more believable. "Visiting friends and family and stuff."

"Prague? We were actually planning a trip for a cross-Europe tour and I think we're stopping there—it's Prague, right Alexa?" Hyacinth asked. She shrugged, and Hyacinth continued on. "We're heading there in a couple days, actually, and we were going to invite you"—she looked at her sister—"to come with us. It'd be really great if we could all go there together!"

"Babe, that's such an amazing idea," Alexa praised, slipping her hand into her wife's.

"I don't have the money for that, Hyacinth," Sperling said quietly, "and besides, Trevor needs to go—"

"We've already paid for your ticket, Clarine, so you're coming regardless. You still have those vacation weeks from last year, right?"

"Well yes, but—"

"Then it's settled! I got a promotion at work and they want me to do this fashion article for—"

"Can we not talk about this outside?" Sperling cut, rubbing Mabel's back. I wondered what caused her sudden change in tone, and I think she realized how sharp it was too. "Let's go inside. You guys are probably tired as it is."

Her family agreed and turned to grab their necessities—purses and whatnot—from their car while I offered to carry a few of Mabel's toys (who had fallen asleep on Sperling's shoulder). I walked inside with her while everyone else was collecting their things.

"I can't do this," she panicked under her breath, "I can't lie to my family, Harry—"

"You have to," I urged, hoping she wouldn't spill about who I really was; I was certain her father would kill me if he found out I was actually Harry Styles the con artist instead of Trevor Paxon, Clarine Sperling's 'boyfriend'.