Harry didn't call me the next day. He said he was too busy and he was sorry about it. Which I'm sure was, he has a million things to do...that's why he went to California in the first place.
But now he was flying to Miami to perform on the Super Bowl Pre-Game Party. Well, tomorrow at least. I didn't even know that show was a thing until he told me he would be performing with Lizzo. He seemed excited about it, but it's hard to tell emotions through text when the person you're texting doesn't like to use emojis.
There was some pretty bad news received last Sunday. A basketball player named Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash. I'm not very into basketball, but it was still a very sad thing to hear. Gianna was only 13 years old, and it breaks my heart that she died so young. She had an entire life to fulfill.
I hear my phone ding from where it sat on the top of my mattress. I immediately leap to it, hoping deep down it was Harry who was texting me. The smile on my face fell slightly when I saw who it actually was.
Mom: Hi sweetie! Just wanted to check in... How have things been since London? I'd love it if you called me.
I haven't talked to her since London, which I honestly feel a little bad about. She is my mother, no matter how different we are. Some say I'm a spitting image of her when she was younger, but I just don't see it. We both have blonde hair, but that's about it. My mom had a much more curvature to her body than mine does. Lucky me, I was born built like a board. And the fact that my sisters inherited that trait made me so angry I could cry.
Anyways, I decided to call my mom right away, rather than leave the text for a few hours and then call, like I normally do. If it's not Harry, I see no point in responding so fast.
I click the phone by her contact name and bring the phone up to my ear, hearing the buzzing as it called her. After only a few seconds, she picks up the phone.
"Hello?" She answers.
"Hi mom," I say happily. It was kind of refreshing to hear her voice after so long.
We didn't talk much after I moved away, so I got kind of used to not seeing or hearing from her very often. It made me feel very independent honestly.
"Oh, it's so great to hear your voice! Your dad and I have missed you so much," she gushes into the phone. "How have you been darling?"
"I've been...really good." I smile at the thought of what I've been up to since I last saw my mom. So much has happened in such a short amount of time that she has no clue about.
"Really good?" She repeats my words. "Not just good, but really good. What's made it better than average?"
"I..." I trail off, my smile dropping. My mom had a big mouth, and I wasn't sure if telling her about Harry and I was a good idea yet. I'm not even sure if his mom knows, and I think it'd be weird if I told my mom before he's told his...or before we've agreed on anything. "I've just been working and hanging out with Jess...same old same old."
"Hmm," she hums. It was obvious she didn't believe me...but I'm a terrible liar, so I probably wouldn't have either if I were her. "Well, I guess it's good that you're looking on the positive side of things. Anyways, I was just checking in to see how you were doing...no one has heard from you since London, so we just wanted to make sure you were still alive."
"I'm doing great," I tell her truthfully. I was doing great. I had a small part of me missing at the moment, but other than that I've been fantastic.
"I hope you're not out sleeping with every guy you meet." And then there it was. I was waiting for a comment like this. Every phone call, every conversation, every time I see her...she brings up something of the sort. If I'm not dressing inappropriately, I'm hoeing around. If I'm not hoeing around, I'm spending too much time with Jess who is a "bad influence"...even after all these years, my mother never fails to point that out. Jess has hardly influenced me at all, and if she hasn't yet, I don't think she ever will. I don't like drinking, and when I do I know my limits and I don't go past them. If Jess had any sort of influence on me like my mom tends to believe, that would've changed a long time ago.
"I'm joking," she says quickly, though I'm almost positive she wasn't.
"It was a funny joke," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Anyways, if that's why you called, then-"
"No, actually," she cuts me off and I sit down, knowing this conversation would continue on longer than I'd hoped it would. "Hailey and Leo are moving into their new place and they want the whole family to be at their housewarming party. Do you think you could make it?"
"When is it?" I ask, thinking if I had anything coming up...and of course, I didn't.
"Well they haven't decided officially but they're thinking sometime in March," she tells me and I crinkle my eyebrows.
"If they're thinking March, then why are you telling me about it in January?" I ask, shaking my head.
"So you can get a flight out here and stuff...if you want to come, that is."
"Of course I want to come, mom, I just... I don't know if I'll be able to afford it." My bottom lip slips between my teeth just after the words slip from my mouth. I'm working at Starbucks right now...I don't know if I would be able to drop at least $200 to fly out to see my family. As much as I'd like to, I don't think I will have that kind of money by then.
"Don't you make pretty good money though?" She asks, and I feel myself growing angrier with her. She obviously doesn't know I quit my job, but I would still find it kind of rude of her to push me into doing what she wants, even if I still had my job.
"I don't know mom. I'll have to think about it," I say finally hoping to put this conversation to an end.
"Well, just let us know... We all would like to see you sometime soon," she says. "The town misses you."
"Well I miss them too, but I've got to go," I lie. "Jess needs my help with dinner and J can't keep her waiting for much longer or she'll get impatient."
"Oh, okay. I will let you go then," she says slowly, obviously still trying to stay on the line with me. I felt slightly bad that I was pushing her away, but I could barely stand her in London. I wasn't sure how I would be able to stand her when she's in the comforts of her own home...or Hailey and Leo's home in this case.
"Okay, bye mom," I say, eager to hang up.
"Bye, sweetheart. I love you," she says quicker this time.
"Love you too, bye." And with that, I finally hang up, letting out an elongated sigh. I lay down fully on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Today was a long day...I worked for 10 hours because a girl got sick and I had to take her shift. I stood on my feet making coffees for 10 hours with only a 30-minute break. I guess I shouldn't complain... there are people who have it worse than I do. But it's a little difficult when you go from sitting at a desk painting nails for 8 hours to standing up for longer, doing nothing but making coffee.
Jess went to Jackson's earlier today... they had some more wedding stuff to go over. She wouldn't tell me what, but she seemed excited.
So now I was home alone, and the house felt strangely empty. My room was clean, I had gone through every social media app on my phone... I didn't know what to do. I was deathly bored. I just stared up as I lay on my back, no idea what to do.
My phone buzzes against my back, signaling I was getting a phone call again. Automatically assuming it was my mother again, I let it ring. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to her again.
But then after it stopped buzzing, it started again. Along with a sigh of annoyance, I take my phone out from underneath me and look at it. Turns out, it wasn't my mom.
It was Harry who was calling me.
Furrowing my eyebrows together, I answer the call. I hesitantly bring my phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I say slowly, insanely confused as to why he was calling me. I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be on a flight to Florida at the moment.
"Hi baby," he says, his voice low and croaky. He sounded like he just woke up...or maybe he's been crying, I wouldn't know.
"Harry, shouldn't you be on a plane right now?" I ask, glancing quickly at the time on my phone. He said his flight boarded at 3 this afternoon, and it was almost 6 PM.
"I should be, yes... I missed my flight," he slurs. He sounded different...and I knew exactly what was going on.
"Harry, are you drunk?" I furrow my eyebrows further, still wondering why he wasn't on his flight.
"I've had a couple of drinks, yeah," Harry admits. "I forgot I was flying out earlier today. And no need to scold me or anything...I already got a fucking earful from Jeff about it."
"How did you forget? Aren't you supposed to perform tomorrow?" I ask, my eyes widening.
"I perform Friday night," he corrects me. "Lizzo's performing tomorrow. She wanted me to join her on stage but...I don't know if I'm really in the mood."
He was acting weird. He always gushes about how much he loves performing, and now he's telling me he just doesn't feel like it. Something didn't seem right.
"Really? You seemed so excited to perform with her when you were telling me about it earlier." I frown, knowing something was wrong.
"I just...I don't know." He sighs. "Anyways...I called to ask you for a huge favor."
"Of course...anything," I say, nodding my head vigorously even though I knew he couldn't see me.
"I need you to book a plane ticket," he says bluntly.
"A plane ticket?" I ask out of surprise. "A plane ticket to where?"
"Florida."
"Why?" I ask. I wasn't not going to do it, and I wasn't trying to ask too many questions. I just wanted to know why he wanted me to fly out to Florida.
"Because I just..." He lets out a sigh of defeat, pausing for a moment. "I want to see you."
My heart melted right out of my chest as those words left his mouth. Maybe he missed me as much as I missed him.
"And I know you're going to say you can't afford it or some other excuse, but I will Venmo you the money...o-or I will just buy it for you straight up. I just..." he rambles before taking a deep, shaky breath. "Please," his voice breaks.
And that was my breaking point. The fact that he would call me in this state to ask me to come stay with him...how could I say no? That would just be evil of me.
"I'll have to tell Jess, but..." I bite my bottom lip. "Yeah, I'll book a flight."
"Thank you," he breathes out. "Thank you so much."
* * *
a/n: if y'all thought i was gonna make harry spend his birthday alone... what kind of person do you think i am ? ð