The Story of us

Chapter 29: Never eat ice cream while wearing a bridesmaid dress

Boston, Massachusetts

After the confusing mess that had been last night, I realized when I woke up the next morning that I only had one option left. (Besides going up to Brielle and confessing everything that had happened, of course, because that was Harry's job.) I needed to talk to the one person who knew everything that was going on. The one person who would understand me and stick by my side no matter what: Niall.

I pulled out my phone and quickly composed him a text, which I guess was pretty last minute, but since it was Niall, I knew he wouldn't mind. And, just like I had predicted, I was right. In fact, he barely even took a minute to respond.

hey, can we meet up somewhere for coffee? I kinda just need someone to talk to rn

yeah sure, lex. is everything ok??

I hesitated for a second, unsure of whether or not I should be honest with him. Then I realized that if I wasn't, then there was essentially going to be no point to our meeting, and so I held my breath as my fingers slowly began to type a message to him.

not exactly. how about we meet at the Dunkin donuts in Waltham in 20 mins? you're still in MA, right?

shit ok. yeah, i'm still here, see you then.

okay see you. love you ni x

He didn't bother answering my final message, but I didn't think too much of it. I knew that he was staying in a hotel somewhere in the city, so it would probably take him longer to get there than it would be. He was probably already beginning to scramble for a taxi. I, on the other hand, had already jumped in the shower earlier, so all I had left to do was pick out an outfit. After a minute of searching through my closet (it still felt weird to even open it up), I decided on a pair of denim shorts and one of those gray Sachi halter tops from Brandy Melville. However, right when I was about to make my way down the stairs and out of the house, I was stopped by somebody calling my name from behind me.

"Holly," I said slowly, unsure of why she was even talking to me. I liked her and I was pretty sure that she had no problem with me either, but it wasn't as if the two of us had suddenly become best friends after only knowing each other for one night. "Um, hi. What's up?"

It was at that moment that I realized how different her face looked from the last time I had seen her. Last night at dinner, she was all smiles and cheerfulness, and now...well, now her expression was pretty unreadable for the most part, but even I could tell that she looked a little pissed. About what, though, I had no idea. However, I could feel myself slightly beginning to understand when Harry stepped out from behind her, an uncomfortable look resting on his face.

Did she know? There was no way that she could know. But, if she had somehow figured out, how had she figured it out? Who else knew? Was she going to tell anybody this? I desperately wanted to spring all of these questions at her, but then I realized that I could simply be in over my head about all of this. Freaking out on her like that might mess up everything, so I gulped nervously and asked, my voice sounding unnaturally higher than it usually did, "Is, uh, everything okay?"

Once again, Holly chose not to answer my question, but I could tell by Harry's familiar 'we're fucked' body language that I already knew things weren't good. She didn't do much to terminate my worries when she said stiffly, "We need to talk–all of us do." I watched as she stared pointedly at her younger brother with her final three words.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This was not good at all. I tried my best to mask my anxiety, though, when I told her, "Actually, now's not actually the best time. I have someone to meet, so how about tonight instead?" And when I said tonight, I actually meant 'never'. I wondered if she had been able to pick up on that.