The Night We Met

XIII

Sorry for the delay x

Also this pic ^ is the Harry vibe I get for this story. 10/10

...

Harry

It's a little past eight as I drive Roslyn and I to our destination. It was supposed to be a fun surprise for her but I feel on edge. My mind is everywhere other than where it should be and where I want it to be. 

"How was your day?" Roslyn asks me in a small voice. It's the first I've heard her speak since I picked her up about twenty minutes ago. We've been sitting in silence, besides the car radio, since. 

"Oh," I say. I clear my throat. "It was fine. I worked in the studio earlier with Mitch and Brandon, one of my writers. Didn't get too much done, though. My manager ought to be thrilled about that..." I mumble the last part. 

Roslyn hums. 

"How's Mitch?" she asks.

I glance over at her and see her staring out the side window while she picks at her cuticles. She's nervous, I think. I wonder why. 

"He's good," I say, redirecting my attention back to the near-empty road. I purse my lips and hesitate before continuing. "He said he saw you yesterday."

I see Roslyn turn to face me out of my peripheral vision. 

"Oh yeah?" she says. "Where? I didn't see him..."

"That clothing store, Lovestitch. He was walking by with Sarah and saw you from the window," I tell her. 

"Oh! I had no clue. I wish he came in or that I saw him. I would have loved to have said hi."

I chuckle, although it doesn't come out right. It sounds forced and fake. 

I don't answer Roslyn which allows silence to fall over us once more. I furrow my eyebrows, feeling lost in my own head. My brain won't fucking shut off and it's driving me crazy. If Roslyn wasn't in the car with me I would either speed down the highway to feel a jolt of euphoria and adrenaline, or do a line of cocaine in the backseat. 

"Harry?" Roslyn asks, causing me to briefly look back over at her. A look of concern is etched on her face. "Are you okay? You've been...off since you picked me up." She pauses. "Did I do something wrong?"

I shake my head and look back at the road. After making sure there are no cars around, I pull over to the side of the road on the dirt. Roslyn shakily breathes as I put the car in park. I roll my lips together as I try to figure out what exactly I want to say. 

"I just...I don't know if you're only interested in me," I nervously stammer. I look at Roslyn and see her give me a confused look. She furrows her eyebrows and cocks her head to the side. "It's okay if you're not but I do want to talk about it because I'm only interested in being with you and only you. I know there are probably other people who want to be with you and if you'd rather be with them then that's fine - it's your decision and I'm okay with that - but I just want to know where we stand so we can move forward."

I feel flustered as I finish my rambling. My face gets uncomfortably hot and it only increases in temperature when Roslyn looks taken aback by my words. She scoots away from me so she can look at me properly. 

"Harry, what are you talking about?" she asks me, her tone of voice somewhat defensive. "Do you think I'm playing you? Or interested in other people?"

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I wipe my sweaty palms on my shorts, desperately regretting bringing this up although I knew I needed to after what Mitch told me last night.