Emily
Harry had been here for close to a month now. Seeing as he didn't have much to do on the so called 18 month break, he was pretty free.
He'd spent every day either chilling in the apartment, helping around the cafe or going out with me whenever I was free. But as much as I loved going to sleep with him at night, waking up in his arms in the morning and spending a lot of my time with him, I didn't want to get too comfortable with the feeling of having Harry around all the time. I knew he wouldn't be able to stay here for ever and that he had his own home to get back to.
Niall had also been staying here with Molly. He was being extra careful around her, as though making sure their baby couldn't get hurt. He wouldn't let her lift anything, was always making sure we were stocked up with the foods she was craving and he was constantly chatting to the baby. Needless to say, everything with Molly's pregnancy was going well.
There was only two things on my mind. The first being what was going to happen when the baby was born. I knew Molly would have to take a lot of time off before and after the baby was born, but that wasn't my problem. My problem was whether Molly was going to be moving in with Niall or whether they would continue to travel to and from each other. I could tell this had been on Molly's mind as well, but she wasn't letting it bother her this early on.
The second was my little problem with Harry. Well it wasn't much of problem, I just still hadn't said I love you to sober Harry. Don't get me wrong, I did love Harry. I loved him a lot. But I was just scared for his answer. And I know it shouldn't bother me seeing as he'd said it already. But the fact that he was drunk when he said it, made me unsure of whether he meant it.
I'd talked to Molly a few times about this, and every time she'd reassured me that I don't need to rush into it. She'd also reminded me of the saying 'drunk words are sober thoughts', but I still felt the sense of uncertainty about the whole thing.
The sound of the apartment door opening pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Harry and Niall walking in with a few shopping bags in their hands.
"How's the brownies coming?" Harry asked as he and Niall placed the shopping bags on the counter and began putting away the food.
"Good, I just put them in the oven" I told him. Niall stopped what he was doing to take a peek at the oven. I let out a chuckle before he returned to putting the groceries away.
"Where's Molz?" Niall asked.
"She's taking a nap" I responded as I made my way over to the shopping bags. Niall nodded in response as I pulled out the yogurt. I made my way over to the fridge, looking down at the food in my hands before stopping.
"This yogurt goes off tomorrow" I said reading the due date on the container. I turned to face Harry and Niall as the two looked to each other.
"All the more reason to eat it before then" Niall replied, taking it out of my hands and putting it in the fridge. I rolled my eyes and continued to help.
The groceries were unpacked quicker then usual, due to the fact that I had help from two others. Niall walked off to Molly's room once we were done and Harry turned to me.
"I ran into an old friend at the shops" He said, sitting his hands on my hips. I looked up to him, placing my hands on his chest. "And she wanted to catch up"
"She?" I asked.
"Yeah, we're just gonna meet at a bar or something, but if you don't want me to then I can cancel" Harry replied, causing me to chuckle lightly.
"No you don't need to cancel, I'm fine with you going out" I responded. I knew I could trust Harry and I believed him when he said that she was just an old friend.
"Really?" Harry asked, as though he didn't think I was being serious. I chuckled before giving him a quick kiss.
"Yes, really. I trust you and I know you wouldn't do anything to break that trust" Harry smiled down at before giving me another kiss.
. . .
Molly, Niall and I were all sitting on the couch watching a movie. Harry had gone out to the bar to meet the friend he ran into. He had told me he would be back by around 8:30 and it was only 8:15 now.
Suddenly the movie was paused and I looked over to Niall and Molly but only saw Molly seated on the couch and Niall walking away.
"Where are you going and why'd you pause the movie?" I asked, annoyed because we were at a good part.
"Popcorn" Niall replied. I sighed and readjusted my position on the couch. Molly got out her phone to mindlessly scroll through while we waited.
"What the hell?!" I looked up to Molly who was still looking at her phone with both an angry and confused look on her face.
"What happened?" Niall called out from the kitchen.
"Nothing Ni, it's fine" Molly responded, sending a quick glance to me before returning back to her phone. I could hear the uneasiness in her voice and knew she was lying.
"It's not nothing, what happened?" I asked. Molly just shook her head and turned her body away from me so I couldn't see what was on her phone. "Molly" I warned, now positive she was hiding something from me. "What did you see?"
"It's nothing" Molly said quietly. I quickly lurched forward and grabbed her phone from her hands. "Emily no"
I ignored Molly, holding my hand out to stop her from taking her phone back. I looked down at the screen to see a tweet of none other then my boyfriend and his so called 'friend' who were looking very cozy together.
"I'm sure it's not what it looks like" Molly said, uncertainty evident in her voice telling me she was not only trying to reassure me but also herself.
"Niall who did Harry see at the shops?" I said, ignoring Molly and standing up. Niall stopped what he was doing for a split second.
"I- I don't- when- huh?" Niall stuttered. Molly shot her head up to Niall who turned his back to the two of us.
"Niall Horan you tell me who he saw at the shops right now" I said sternly, marching over to him and taking the popcorn bowel from his hands.
"I- she's just a girl he met a while back" Niall said uneasily.
"Was she a friend or did she mean something?" I asked, now questioning my trust for Harry.
"No- I mean... well I don't know" Niall replied. My breath hitched and I shoved the popcorn bowel back into Niall's hands.
"You can play the movie without me" I said, turning and walking off to my room.
"Em, I'm sure it's not what it looks like. Harry wouldn't do anything to hurt you" Molly said, but I didn't respond and instead slammed my door shut.
. . .
It was now 9:21. Fifty one minutes after Harry had said he would be home. I sat on my bed, twisting my ring and staring at my bedroom door, waiting for the familiar sound of the apartment door opening.
Molly and Niall had finished the movie not long ago, and Molly had come in to check on me. I could tell she didn't believe me when I told her I'm fine, but she knew that I didn't want to have the conversation and dispersed to her room with Niall.
Finally, after another three more minutes, the front door opened. I quickly lay down in my bed, pulling my doona over me. My bedroom door opened and in walked Harry.
"Hi baby" Harry said, slipping under the doona beside me and pulling me towards him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and sat his hands on my stomach as usual, and as much as I wanted to remove myself from his hold, I knew I couldn't... yet.
"How was your night?" I asked, holding back the emotion in my voice.
"Yeah it was good, how was your night?" Harry responded, nuzzling his head into my neck.
"Good?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Yeah, good?" Harry said, removing his head from my neck to look at me. I kept my head facing the wall so he couldn't.
"Was it cold?" I asked.
"Was it cold?" Harry repeated, confusion evident in his voice.
"That's what I said" I remarked, starting to get annoyed that he wasn't answering my question.
"I mean... no, I don't know. Why do you care if it was cold?" Harry asked, turning my body so I could look at him. His brows were furrowed in confusion and his lips were pursed.
"Well I thought maybe you might have been cold. Your so called 'friend' looked like she was keeping you warm by having her arm around your neck and her hand on your cheek. You certainly looked very cozy together and also seemed to be having a great time with each other" I said, now unable to stop the annoyance from rising in my voice.
Harry didn't say anything and instead looked at me like a deer in the headlights. I grabbed his hands from my stomach and removed myself from his hold.
"What do you mean so called 'friend' and arm around my neck and- what?" Harry stuttered. I stood up from my bed, suddenly feeling cold from the lack of doona.
"I mean, your 'friend' that happens to be more then just your friend" I responded. Once again Harry was back to staring at me with wide eyes. "That's right, I know about how the two of you meant something to each other in the past. But you told me she was just an old friend and you told me-"
"She is just an old friend"
"No she's not" I snapped. "I asked Niall if you two meant something to each other and he didn't say no" I said. Harry took in a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.
"We spent time with each other a few times but nothing ever happened. Yeah I guess I liked her back then, but nothing ever happened and nothing will ever happen" Harry responded. He took a step forward but I took one back.
"How am I supposed to believe you when you lied and said she was just a friend?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest to keep myself warm.
"I didn't lie. Why does it even matter?" Harry said, the tone of his voice telling me he was getting frustrated.
"Because I don't like the fact that you lied to me and said she was just a 'friend'. There was no reason to lie about who she was, but you did. And now I'm second guessing whether I can trust you"
"You can trust me. And she was just a friend. Nothing ever happened" Harry replied, continuing to run his hands through his hair.
"But just because nothing happened doesn't mean she was just a friend"
"Well in this case it does!" Harry yelled. I stepped back quickly, not expecting him to get so mad all of a sudden. I reached down for my ring. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell" Harry's hands fell to his sides.
"Why don't you just sleep on the couch tonight" I sighed. Harry stepped back, not expecting for my to suggest this.
"Ok" He said, no emotion in his voice. "Keep warm, it's cold" He added before he walked out of my room.
I let out a shaky breath and turned my light off. I lay back in my bed, pulling my sheet and doona over me to keep me warm. It was absolutely freezing tonight and I only felt more cold not having Harry beside me.
I knew I shouldn't be this mad over the photo because Harry did sound like he was telling the truth when he said nothing ever happened, but then again he also sounded like he was telling the truth when he told me she was just an old friend.
I closed my eyes and turned over, trying to get in a comfortable position to sleep in, but I couldn't find one. It was freezing cold and this doona was doing nothing to keep me warm.
I realised how cold Harry would be on the couch, and suddenly felt guilty about raising the idea. I quickly got up from my bed, grabbing my doona cover. My bare feet came in contact with the cold floor again as I walked to my door.
I slowly opened my door and made my way to the couch in the dark, still holding my doona.
"Harry?" I said quietly, making sure not to be too loud because Molly's bedroom light was off, telling me her and Niall were asleep.
"Yes?" Harry whispered. I was just able to just make out his figure in the dark. He was resting one hand underneath his head and his other was sitting on his stomach. His head was turned to look up to me.
"It's too cold to be out here tonight" I whispered back, removing his hand from his stomach and carefully laying down on top of him. I rested my head against his chest and attempted to pull the doona over the two of us from behind me.
"So you came out here with your doona to keep me warm, when we could just go back into your bed?" Harry chuckled lightly. I stopped what I was doing, realising that that would have been a much better idea. But he was not going to get the opportunity to tease me right now.
"Yes, now can you pull the doona up please" I asked, acting as though my idea was completely normal. Harry pulled the doona cover over the two of us and I wrapped my arms around his torso. He sat his cheek against my head.
The two of us fell into silence and the only sound heard was the crashing of the wind and our breaths.
We continued to stay silent for a long time. But I could tell Harry wasn't asleep because his thumb was still tracing small shapes on my hip.
"I don't like fighting with you" Harry whispered, breaking the few minutes of silence.
"I don't like fighting with you either" I sighed. Harry's thumb stopped it's movements and I looked up to him, knowing he couldn't fall asleep that easily.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about her" Harry said. I took in a quick breath and rested my head back on his chest, not wanting to fall back into this conversation right now. "Em?"
"Can we talk about this in the morning" I asked.
"No, you need to know that nothing happened between us. She only posed like that for the photo and it was straight after that I told her I'm going home. I didn't like the fact that she was so close. But her Uber wasn't going to arrive for another forty minutes and I didn't want to leave her by herself at night. But I promise you, I would never do anything to break your trust or hurt you" Harry said. I kept my head on his chest, unsure of what to say.
I did believe Harry and I knew he would never do anything to break my trust. But something was stopping me from saying anything. There was something telling me to stay quieter a little longer.
Harry let out a sigh and his thumb went back to tracing patterns on my hip. We both fell back into silence again, the crashing of the wind still accompanying us.
"Em?" Harry said, breaking the silence once again.
"Mhm"
"I love you" I slowly lifted my head up to him. Harry had just said it. He'd said what I'd been wanting to hear for over a month.
My lips turned upwards as I stared at Harry in the dark.
"I love you too" I replied. Harry's lips mirrored my own before the two of us lent in, meeting each other half way and pressing our lips to each other. The kiss was warm and sweet. It was comfortable and full of emotion.
We both pulled away and I rested my head back onto his chest. Harry's grip on my waist tightened before he pulled me closer towards him so my head was now resting in the crook of his neck instead.