January 27

January 13

I wish Harry had been with me now. I missed him terribly. He would've done something to calm my mind that was in a violent turbulence.

I searched for a new rock to swing at the lake but my hand found something else. It was hard but polished on the surface.

Like a boot.

I turned behind to make sure.

Yes, I was right! A person wearing a brown boot, towered over me. He was dressed in an olive green uniform. His tanned face was indistinguishable under the sun, yet I knew who it was.

"Speak of the devil. Harry!" I jumped up and thrust myself upon him with a hug that almost squeezed his neck.

"Wow...I expected you to be the last person for getting excited on my arrival. You proved me wrong." He beamed with delight and embraced me.

"You took away my breath idiot. You could have notified me earlier!" I whined.

"Uh..huh..missy! I called you up like what..seventy eight times?" He pretended to think, scratching the back of his head.

"Shoot..I didn't lose it, did I?" I rummaged in my pockets for my mobile.

"Stop freaking out Miss Amnesia. Your mobile was stolen in an alien invasion and fought it's way safely back to your bed" Harry ridiculed like he used to do in the old days.

"Oh..shut up Harry. Are you sure it is in my room?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Figured out when Jasmine attended the first call"

"Liar! You called me what? Seventy eight times? Now you are gonna be hit by my fist seventy nine times." I warned and chased after him.

Harry knew what I was up to and began running in the opposite direction screaming, "May day may day may day! Attacking an army man is an offence! You could be sent to jail!"

"What kind of an army man runs away from a woman younger to him?"

"The kind of army man who is scared of witches. Dude, are you scamming people calling yourself a woman?" He couldn't stop mocking even while sprinting.

We ran around the shore like happy little kids. After a while we ran out of breath and came to a compromise. To be precise, I ran out of breath. Harry was fit enough to run another ten miles, nevertheless I made him forcibly accept that he too was exhausted.

Sitting by the bank we enjoyed the scenic sunset.

"Did you get anything for me?" I asked, nudging his ribs.

He reflexively held his side, "Ouch, that hurts! I came back from army training, what do you expect me to bring? Rifles? Grenades? Missiles?"

"This explains why you don't have a girlfriend." I grouched.

"Don't be silly. There's more to love than materialism. Post scriptum, I already have a girlfriend!" He revealed.

"Post what?" I queried. Harry doesn't like abbreviating, so he often put me in an awkward situation by expanding the alphabets.

Harry shook his head dismissively, "Sorry, I tend to forget you have a dull brain. I'll repeat. P.S. I have a girlfriend!"

"Wow..that's a lot to take in." I dropped my mouth open, stoked.

"You have nothing else to say?" He asked

I lifted my eyebrow, "What else do you expect? Happy married life? You have time for that."

He pressed his lips to a thin line, "News says you are in a relationship"

"That's one fudging fast news" I said neutrally, gazing at the golden surface of the lake from the sunset.

"I had a little chat with your psychologist before arrival. Are you sure the person you are dating is Nick?"

I nodded.

Harry put an arm around my shoulder, "Please don't think I'm cynical about your relationship Em. I'm just being careful. By the sound of it, I don't think he is the guy you deserve."

I hugged my knees tight, "I prefer to say otherwise, Harry."

"Em you don't know what you might be facing with him in your life. His father suffered from BPD and he too is equally broke. Living with him would be like walking around a mine field. You never know when one would detonate." Harry explained.

"I knew I made the right choice Harry. You don't know what I'm going through. It's entirely different from what you think." If I had explained to Harry what I went through, I would be on my way for a psychiatric consultation and it wouldn't do me any good.

Harry waved his hand away, "To hell with it Em. It doesn't matter. I'm here for the month so you needn't worry about anything. Let's go home. Take a break from work."

I was about to tell no. On a moment's reflection, I surmised that going home for a while might change things.

"Okay, let's go" I agreed.

Harry had previously booked flight tickets for that night, so we took a cab to the airport.

"What about my mobile and bag?" I asked Harry on the way.

Harry was texting someone and answered without looking away from the screen, "Not to worry, I've made arrangements."

Sightseeing by the car window, I was thunderstruck when I found Nick. I sensed his agony within a flash of a second. His arm was bandaged, yet he was roaming restlessly in search of me. I felt despicable, leaving him when my presence was necessary.

"Nick" I yelled instinctively.

Harry jumped up on the seat at my sudden outburst, "What happened? Should we stop?"

"Nothing. Let's keep moving" I proclaimed. I was going away for his well-being. He would be better off without me. Swallowing down the lump that formed in my throat, I made myself ready to take off.

America's finest city was my hometown. It took four hours from Colorado Springs to San Diego by flight. A nervous excitement churned the bottom of my stomach on landing. It had been almost a year since I left home. I couldn't wait to meet mom and dad.

"Will Mom and dad be at the airport to receive us?" I grilled Harry with all sorts of questions.

"Nope. But my girlfriend will be." Harry replied.

"That was quick" I muttered

We landed after midnight at the San Diego international airport. Honestly I was a bit eager to meet Harry's girlfriend. After his middle school love tragedy, this was the first time Harry dated. I desperately wanted to meet the woman who had the power to heal his heart to love again.

Post scriptum, I wasn't joking. Harry was very judgemental about relationships.

Picking up the baggage we headed towards the exit gate. Harry decided to drop the bomb at the moment.

"Emily, meet my girlfriend" he said pointing towards the woman who stood behind the gate.

My heart stopped for a moment.

That paralytic moment allowed me to blurt out

"Fuck..."

___________________________

A/N: Hola dear readers. Sorry for the next cliffhanger. It became a habit XD

Hope you liked the chapter.

Thank you for reading ❤️

Happy reading:-)