Prince in the City [Harry Styles AU]

Chapter 37

Hastily pulling my phone out of my pocket, I let out an aggravated groan as I saw that it was my mother calling me. It was my luck that we hadn't spoken since my argument with Vera transpired, so Mum wouldn't know of the foul mood I've been in since, but I'm not surprised to see her finally calling me.

Once I've calmed my breathing down, I sat down on the grass, fixing the grey beanie atop my head as I kept my headphones in and answered the call, "Morning, Mum."

"Oh, Harry," Mum responded, the surprise evident in her tone, "I didn't think you'd pick up. I just wanted to give you a ring before I headed off to have breakfast with your father and some friends. What are you doing up so early, love?"

I mentally cursed, realizing I could've just ignored the call since it was nearly seven in the morning, and if I hadn't picked up then Mum would've just assumed I was asleep. Deciding to allow her some honesty, I said, "Out for a run."

Mum hummed in acknowledgment before asking, "you have security with you, I'm sure?"

Phone on the grass between my legs, I brought my knees up and rested my elbows on them, headphones still in as I lied, "yeah, Dave's with me."

"Good, good," Mum responded in approval. "D'you miss home yet? You know you don't have to stay in the States for a whole year."

Expelling a breath through my nose, I tried not to roll my eyes at my mother's familiar words. Almost every time we spoke, she would say the same thing—trying to get me to come back home sooner than I planned. It was rather irritating, if I'm being honest, and the way things are going between Vera and I, I had to stay here now more than ever to make sure things worked out between us. She may be ready to give up on us—although, she had denied that the last time we spoke—but I sure as hell wasn't.

"Mum, stop," I said in a warning tone, one that had her immediately backing off. "I'm enjoyin' my time here. New York's lovely."

"I'm sure it is," Mum sighed in dramatic defeat, and it almost brought a smile to my lips. It would be a welcome change; a smile, since I don't think I've done that since mine and Vera's fight.

I chatted with Mum for a bit more, before getting up and jogging my way back to where I had entered the park from, proceeding to head back home. I kept to walking home once I left the park, feeling the sweat cling to my skin as I purchased a water bottle from a vendor. I finished the whole thing by the time I arrived to the building, successful in not attracting any attention towards myself. Despite it being Sunday morning, there were still quite a lot of people out, which wasn't unusual for New York.

But what did take me by surprise, however, was when I approached the door of my flat and stopped short at the sight of a figure standing outside. I felt my heart jump into my throat as I quickly realized that it was Vera, standing in a pair of sweats as she nervously wrung her fingers together, seemingly waiting for me to open the door without realizing that I wasn't inside.

My walk had slowed significantly as I approached her, stomach churning in an undecipherable way as I wondered what she was doing here. This could be either very good or very bad, and I was anxious to see where things would go. It wasn't until I was about five feet from her when Vera finally glanced to her left, brown eyes widening when they landed on me and full lips parting as I heard her intake a soft breath.

I stopped walking altogether, as if frozen on the spot, before finally forcing out, "mornin'." I don't think it was lost on either of us how unusually raspy my voice sounded. "What, uh, what are you doin' here?"

Vera's lips pressed together, her throat working before she responded, "I wanted to talk." Her dark eyes then skimmed me over and she hastily added, "but I can, um, come back later, if you're busy."