Guns and Roses Harry styles

Chapter 41

Compromise 

My thumb rolled down on the flint, a flame igniting from the wick. I watched the blue fire that gradually became a bright orange, huffing when it disappeared a moment later. Shaking up the lighter, I pressed on the thumbwheel once more, quickly setting the brilliant red to the rod. The tar and paper began to burn instantly, and the filter was put between my lips, the light color on their surface leaving an imprint on it.

With a deep inhale, the smoke filled in my lugs. I held it in for a minute, slowly exhaling in a blurry fog through my parted mouth. I could feel my eyes burning, tears forming from the sting of the fumes, but I made sure to blink them away before my vision could be completely covered.

I unzipped my purse, throwing in the lighter and pulling out my phone, clicking it open.

Where are you?

The cigarette held between my fingers was pulled away after another drag, and I slid my touch across the screen, lazily replying to the brief text.

Will you pick me up?

A simple ‘I’m on my way’ was the reply I received, and I let the phone drop back in my purse, holding back the cough that was scratching at my throat. I let the butt hang from my lips, a hand running through my hair.

It was Thursday, 3:45 PM, and there I stood, in the only bus station in Hartford, under a run-down waiting area with holes in the roof that did nothing to shield the sun from burning my skin. The memory of my calculus exam lingered in the back of my mind, and I scoffed while recalling not understanding most of the material on it. The former brightest student in Hartford High was now barely pushing through, and with only one day left of school, I couldn’t have been happier to finally be done for good.

My knee bobbed up and down, and I tried to cross my legs to halter the nervous habit, to no avail. I brushed my hair away from my neck, feeling along my collarbones and removing the perspiration on my skin with the collar of my shirt.

My hand acted as a fan while I took a longer drag from the smoke, my lips clamping shut while I forced myself to accept the disgusting taste and not heave it all out. I rested my forehead against the palm of my hand, looking down the street in hope of spotting the familiar car that belonged to Harry. I could only dream of air conditioning and a nice, cold shower as it felt so far from reality.

My eyebrows rose at the sight of a red car, driving down the road with a speed accelerating the limit. It came to a halt before me, and my awestruck expression stood still, not changing while the tinted window rolled down.

My lips curled around the filter, and I lowered the sunglasses that stood perched on my nose.

“Hop in, darling.”

Amusement fell from my face, and my features hardened at the site of an aged person looking beyond their years. His dirty-blond hair had become lighter as summer had neared, just like it always did, and the blue in his eyes was prominent against the tan surface of his skin. I saw his fingers curl around the rolled-down window, orbs persistent.