Insider || hs

The Grind

When it came down to it, Freddie did not cry for long, simply because it was not in her nature to do so. But for the time she did, Harry held her to his chest, tenderly rubbing her back and remaining constant for her. With all that she had been through and had yet to endure, Harry knew that the best thing he could possibly give Freddie was his unending loyalty and comfort. She needed someone to rely on, and Harry was prepared to be that person in any way Freddie might need him to be, regardless of what he might receive in return.

They spent the night watching movies together as they normally did, though this time, Freddie went to bed somewhat earlier than she had been doing that weekend. She would have to return to work the next day and face Damien, and to do that without popping a blood vessel, she would need a lot of rest and a lot of logic to calm her down. Thinking of every possible situation that might play out the next day, Freddie drifted to sleep in her own bed and wished that she had more time to ignore the problems in her life.

But alas, that was no to be, because the next morning did arrive, and no matter how much she wanted to stay home, Freddie could not blow off work another day. She had things to catch up on, and she had asses to kiss, so staying in bed was not an option.

After getting up and taking a shower, Freddie got ready for work and was greeted by Harry, who had started her coffee while she had been in the bathroom. He greeted her sleepily, that cute little tired grin of his making its first appearance of the day.

"Good morning," he said, bringing his mug to his lips and leaning casually against the countertop. He was shirtless as usual, and as usual, Freddie had a hard time looking away from him. In the time that she had begun living there, Harry really had bulked up, and he looked damn fine if she said so herself. How any girl could pass him up, she would never understand.

"Morning," Freddie replied and shut her bedroom door. She walked in the kitchen and smiled as Harry held out her to-go mug to her, already filled with coffee but with still enough room to add the cream she liked to add. "Thank you," she smiled, taking it from his hand. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to."

Freddie couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest as Harry spoke to her with such kindness and generosity. She suppressed her grin and walked over to the refrigerator, where she began to fix her coffee the way she liked it. When she was finished, she stirred it and drank as large of a sip as she could without burning herself.

"This is so good today," Freddie nearly moaned. "What kind is it?"

"I'm not sure, but the lady at the market said it was the best kind she had." Harry sipped his drink, letting the flavor fill his mouth for a moment or two before swallowing. "She was right. I haven't had this good of coffee since Italy."

"What's the occasion?"

Harry shrugged, "I've been wanting to try it for a while, but I thought you might need it today, so I got it."

"You're right about that," Freddie scoffed. "What I really need is bourbon, but I don't think that would be so acceptable at the office."

"You do have like an hour train ride; they'd never know."

Freddie laughed, "You're a bad influence, but you're entirely right."

Checking her watch, Freddie groaned and physically felt her spirits deflate. It was time to go and face the wolves.

"Well, I've got to go." Freddie grabbed her purse and her still shattered iPhone. "Thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome," Harry smiled. "Good luck, and if you kill him, call me. I'll help you hide the body."