Lara opened her eyes the next morning to find herself tangled up in the bed sheets with no sign of Harry by her side. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over, only to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.

“Harry?” She said tiredly. Despite sleeping at an early hour the previous night, she had had a fitful sleep.

“Hey.” He smiled weakly. “Did I wake you?”

“Nope.” Lara replied. “How are you feeling?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I still can’t believe it.” He said.

“Let me make you some tea.” Lara said, feeling a little powerless. She left him sitting on the bed and headed for the kitchen. Once the tea was poured, Harry listlessly wandered up to the counter and smiled.

“Thanks Lara. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”

“I don’t feel like I’m doing anything to help you.” She said.

“You’re doing more than you know.” He replied.

They sat in silence as they drank their hot tea. Soon after, Lara began to make breakfast and for a few moments it felt like old times. But that notion came crashing down as soon as Harry received a phone call from Julian. He had just finished breakfast when the call came and it was not hard to see that Harry was now agitated.

“He’s coming here.” Harry said dully. “I think he’s bringing a doctor to have a look at me.”

“A doctor?”

“He’s done it before like when we…” Harry trailed off.

“When we broke up?” Lara said quietly and Harry nodded.

“He’s worried, so I guess he thinks I need to pop a few pills to feel better.”

“Why today, where was he yesterday?” Lara asked.

“I told him my Mum was with me, but now he thinks I’m alone.”

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to go.” Lara said. The last thing she wanted was to face Julian.

And she knew she would not be able to hold her tongue if he spoke down to Harry. But as she regarded him now, as he forlornly sat on the kitchen stool, she felt a surge of sympathy. He seemed so weary but the last thing he needed was to be drugged so he could feel nothing. It was better if he talked through his feelings and cried it out, rather than mask his emotions with pills.

“I don’t want to see him.” Harry told her.

Lara regarded him for a few moments before she made her decision.

“Come with me.” She said and Harry frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Come home with me. The last thing you need to do is to see Julian.”

“But how… how am I supposed to… what about Tony?” Harry asked looking confused.

“You don’t have to worry about Tony… I’m taking you somewhere else.”

He still looked confused but was too preoccupied to question her any further. He nodded as if his mind was a million miles away as he stood up to head to his bedroom.

“I don’t want to see him.” He muttered to himself and she was not sure if he was referring to Tony or Julian.

Lara moved quickly to wash up and then to check on Harry who had pulled on a hoodie and sneakers. They hurried down to Harry’s Range Rover and after assuring her he was fine to drive, they made their way to her apartment. Harry seemed too preoccupied to question why they were not returning to the apartment she once shared with Tony. He solely focussed on driving and even though he wore dark sunglasses, she could still see his sleepy green eyes.
They were walking up the stairs of the apartment building when Harry abruptly paused.

“Exactly where are we now?” He asked.

“This is where I live.” Lara said quietly.

“And Tony?”

“We broke up.”

He did not hide his surprise, but Lara turned to climb the stairs not waiting for a response. Harry was not the only one surprised. Camille happened to enter the living room just as they walked in and her eyes widened when she saw Harry.

“Camille.” Lara said, trying to hide her smile. “This is Harry… Harry, this is my roommate Camille.”

Harry shook her hand and then looked from Lara to Camille and then back again.

“Is it okay if Harry stays the night?” Lara asked and Camille immediately nodded.

“Of course.” She said her nervousness bringing out her strong French accent. “I was just about to leave… I’m meeting up with Jason.”

“Cool.” Lara smiled. Camille raised her eyebrows at her and Lara slightly shook her head.

She could only imagine what was going through Camille’s head, but she didn’t have time to explain. As if on cue, Harry’s phone began to ring and things moved quickly. Camille headed for the door, Lara followed her and Harry moved to the side to take the call.

“It’s not what you think.” Lara quickly told Camille. “I’ve just kidnapped him.”

Camille did not hide her shock as Lara closed the door behind her.

“We’ll talk later!” Lara could hear her call.

Harry’s voice echoed in the kitchen as he spoke and Lara took a few steps closer to listen.

“I’m with a friend.” Harry was saying firmly. “I just need some time to myself…”

It was obvious there was a little opposition because Harry began to sound impatient.

“I’m okay… I don’t need a doctor. I’m fine. I just need to be alone damn it.”

Lara settled on the couch and waited for him to emerge. When he did, it was hard not to notice how pale and exhausted he looked.

“Are you okay?” She asked concerned as he curled up on the couch next to her.

He did not answer and she found herself gently rubbing his back as she had done yesterday, in a bid to comfort him.

“I can’t take the guilt.” He finally said in a small voice.

“Why? Why do you feel so responsible?”

“She cared about me, Lara. “ Harry said. “She cared about me a lot and… I don’t think I treated her very well.”

“You helped her.” Lara said. “You gave her an awesome opportunity when you helped her get that recording contract.”

“Yeah and what a waste that was.” Harry muttered.

“Why?”

“She shouldn’t have supported us… she should have done her own thing.” He said referring to the time when Skye was One Direction’s supporting act.

“You never forced her to do anything.” Lara told him. “You never-“

The phone was ringing again and Harry angrily switched it off and threw it over his shoulder.

They looked at each other and smiled.

They spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies on the couch. Camille sent a message to say she was spending the night at her boyfriend’s house and Lara ordered pizza. It was a cosy night in and like this morning, Lara felt the same feeling she did while they were having breakfast. It was hard to not be reminded of the old times, when she had really wanted him and had done all she could to keep him. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sensation that she was being watched and she turned to see Harry staring at her.

“What?” She said self-consciously.

He smiled at her and she could not help but respond.

“I just can’t believe we’re here.” Harry said.

“Do you think Julian’s going to call the police?” Lara said and they both laughed.

“Maybe.” Harry said. “They don’t know where you live, do they?”

“No.” Lara said, relieved that Ben no longer had her address.

“I just need a couple of days.” Harry said seriously. “I’m just so tired… I could sleep all day.”

“You want to get some sleep now?” Lara asked checking the time and surprised to see how late it was. Harry nodded and she looked down at the couch.

“You never liked sleeping on couches did you?” She said and recalled how shocked she had been when Harry had explained his sleeping habits to her.

“We should go to bed.” Harry had yawned.

“You go to bed, I’m already sleeping on mine.”

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch… just come with me.” He reached over to take her
hand.

“You mean you have a spare room?” Lara asked hopefully.

“Nope, but I have a great bed that I’m willing to share with you.” He pulled her to her feet and led her towards his bedroom. She pulled back looking decidedly reluctant.

“I-I don’t know Harry. I don’t think we should…”

“Should what? I’ve already told you, I hate sleeping alone. There are some nights when I leave the house because I hate it so much.”

“I can sleep on the couch.” Lara said. “You can sleep in my room.”

“I’m not going to let you sleep on the couch.” Harry said.

“Well then, maybe you can sleep on the couch.”

“I ain’t sleeping on a couch either.” Harry said.

“So what are we going to do?” Lara crossed her arms.

Harry sprang from the couch and then looked back at her.

“Where’s your bedroom?” He asked and she reluctantly pointed to a closed door. He walked in only to stop dead in his tracks.

“Single bed, huh?” He said. “Well, I’m game if you are.”

Lara made a face before realising he was being serious.

“I don’t take up that much space.” He said.

“You’re like six feet tall!” Lara cried.

“Not quite.” He said flopping onto the bed.

She couldn’t help but shake her head as he lay down as close to the wall as he could, leaving a sizeable gap beside him.

“There’s room for two.” He said. “Well, kind of.”

Lara awkwardly lay down next to him and was slightly surprised when he pulled her closer to him, allowing her head to nestle on his chest the way she had always done. They lay in silence for so long, Lara suspected he had fallen asleep, but just before she was about to check, Harry spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had broken up with Tony?”

“Harry we haven’t been in touch in so long…”

“Yeah that was going to be my other question. Why did you just disappear?”
“There have been a lot of changes in my life.” Lara said, measuring her words carefully. “I just needed to do it alone. I didn’t want any distractions…”

“So you got rid of me and then you got rid of Tony.” Harry joked.

“Ha ha very funny.” Lara responded. “But yeah, I needed to start doing things for myself. So I’m back at uni now.”

“You’re back at uni?” Harry said genuinely surprised. “Lara, that’s awesome.”

“I knew you’d be happy.”

“That makes me very happy. Finish what you started. If I had had the chance, I would have been at uni too.”

“It’s not too late you know.” Lara smiled.

“Maybe not.” Harry said. “But you can break the news to Julian, not me.”

They laughed and Lara felt so relaxed that she almost forgot she was lying in Harry’s arms.

But it felt so nice and comfortable and she held onto that feeling until Harry’s eyes closed. As soon as she was sure he was asleep, she slowly untangled herself, thinking that the best solution was to sleep on the couch for the night. But before she could get out of bed, Harry gently gripped her arm.

“Please don’t go.” He said. “I need you here. I need you right here.”

Lara paused for a moment before lay down in his arms again. He squeezed her hand in thanks and she nestled her head onto his chest again, listening to his heartbeat before sleep overtook her.

Notes