The Girl That Was Left In The Dark

~Chapter 25~

Those days are gone, they're just memories- Eminem

After saying goodbye to my parents before they left to go to the airport, I walked back inside the front door. I leaned against the door once I closed it and slid down to the ground.

I folded my legs and hugged my knees to my chest, crossed my arms over my knees and rested my forehead on my arms.

This has been one hell of a day. First, I get drunk and trash my kitchen – which thankfully Jayde and Brianna cleaned for me – and then I got that package from Anna. That was such a bittersweet moment. When I was looking through all the items she placed in there, I couldn’t help but laugh at the funny moments we shared together. She knew me so well and we shared so many great memories together.

Then the reality hit me when I realised that that is exactly what they were, memories. We would never again make any more memories and laugh with each other. We would never confide in each other about our deepest darkest secrets. We would never have any more sisterly moments. Because Anna was no more.

I heard a shoe scuffle across the floor and then stop in front of me. The body crouched down in front of me. They pulled me closer and pulled me into a hug.

“Are you okay, beautiful?”

“Yeah, Harry, I’m fine.”

“That’s alright then. Wanna have a chat?”

“About what?”

“Anything at all. We have twenty minutes to kill before the lads and I have to leave to pack. So we can just… chat.”

“Okay. You choose a topic though,” I say, still enveloped in his arms.

“Alright… Well, seeing as you have known Niall the longest out of all of us, have you got any embarrassing stories?”

“Oh, god. Where do I start?” I laugh.

“Is there really that many?” Harry asks and I nod, “well what about something really embarrassing?”

“Sure. Well, one day Niall was at my house with Josh and Ryan, just chilling, while Brianna and I were at work at the local music store…”

Flashback

“That was the longest shift we have ever had!” Brianna exclaims as we step through the front door of the apartment.

“It so was! How many people want to come and bombard us in one day?”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

We stepped into the living room, threw our bags on the couch and plop down on the other couch.

“Is there a reason that the boys aren’t in the living room, but their pants are?” Brianna asks after a moment of silence.

I look at her quizzically and she gestures to the floor where, sure enough, three pairs of jeans lay discarded in a heap. I quietly chuckle.

“Oh, Ryan, what the fuck!?” I hear Niall yell.

“Dude, you got it everywhere!” Josh yells.

“Well this was your idea, Niall, and you’re not even helping me!” Ryan retorts.

“I don’t want to get it in my hair. And if I help I will get it in my hair because you’re putting everywhere!” Niall says, raising his voice.

“What the hell are they doing?” Brianna asks and I shrug.

“Let’s go check it out,” I say and she nods.

We get up off the couch and listen to the boys’ voices to navigate us around the house to find them. We eventually reach the bathroom and I push the door open. As soon as the boys come into view, Brianna and I laugh hysterically.

“What. Are. You. Doing?” I ask in between breaths.

“Niall did it!” Josh and Ryan shout in unison and point to the blonde haired culprit.

“Hey! You guys wanted to do it too!” Niall calls out.

“Whatever. But why would you want to do a fake tan?” Brianna asks and the boys’ faces flush red. Hearing Brianna say it out loud makes me laugh uncontrollably.

“I. Can’t. Believe. You. Guys!” I choke out in between breaths.

“Shut up, Hayley!” Niall yells.

“I can’t! You guys tried to fake tan each other. Now it’s all over the bathroom floors and Josh’s legs are almost orange!”

“Yeah, whatever…” Josh mumbles and we all break out laughing.

Flashback

When I finish telling Harry, he is in full hysterics.

“I can’t believe they tried fake tan!” Harry says once he calms down.

“Yeah they did. It was quite amusing. It took us ages to get it off the bathroom floor. And it took forever to get Josh’s legs back to normal.  It truly was a great day!”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure, Harry, anything.”

“When did you realise you loved Niall?”

“That’s a pretty heavy question…”

“You said anything.”

“It seems all you boys ask this question, Louis asked me the same thing. Anyway, we went camping once, Josh, Ryan, Niall and me. I stayed in Niall’s tent one night because the boys told me that ghosts hunted the woods where we were staying. And that was the night I told myself that I loved him.”

“Cute.”

“I thought so.”

“Now how about something even more personal?” He asks.

“Okay…” I say hesitantly.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“Oh now that’s crossing the line, Styles,” I say jokingly and he chuckles.