He didn’t answer for the longest time. I was starting to wonder if he had died.
“I can skip that question....” I trailed off. “I mean, I guess it actually answers all the other questions.....”
“There aren’t words to describe you,” he said. He looked up at me. “You’re crazy, stupid, and an idiot. You always have the best ideas and you’re not afraid to stand up to anybody. You’ve always wanted to be a lawyer or an artist and you’ve done absolutely everything that you’ve put your mind to.
“You make the best French toast, you taught me how to speak French, in more ways than one,” he said. The corners of his mouth turned up when he said that. “You’ve always had a potty mouth, you love trying weird new foods, you couldn’t keep a plant alive to save your life, and you’re amazing with kids.
"Even though you're younger than I am, you've always been everything I ever wanted to be and more. You're my best friend."
I didn't know what to say to that, but thankfully, I didn't have to say anything, because Harry kept talking.
"I never realized how much you really meant to me until I lost you."
Okay, now THAT was something I couldn't figure out. But it's not like I could ask him, because he stood up and left.
Dang it. Now I had to wait longer to have him answer my questions.
It's probably pretty selfish of me to say that, I know. But I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. So why worry about it?
I pulled my knees up to my chest and shivered, despite the warmth of the quilt I had wrapped around me. I heard the screen door slam, and I looked up to see who it was. It was a tall girl with dark brown hair, and she was carrying a baby carseat on her arm. Two other girls followed her, one who looked to be about five and the other was probably in her early teens.
"Hey! Are you okay? I heard about your fall," the tallest one said. Her eyebrows furrowed, then she spoke again. "Oh, that's right! You lost your memory. I'm Veronica, and these are my sisters, Amy and Carly. And this chubby kid is Christopher, my baby brother." She motioned to each sibling individually.
"Um, hi," I said, offering a weak smile to all the girls. I turned to Veronica. "So who, exactly, are you?"
"I'm your best friend," she responded. "Well, your second best friend. You knew Harry before you knew me and you guys were always the closest. I was kinda jealous of the relationship you guys had. I mean, there was absolutely nothing romantic about it, if that's what you think I'm implying. But you were always so comfortable around each other."
Huh. I heard more about Harry and me from her four sentences than I had in a week from the boys at the hospital.
"Well, anyway, I just stopped by on my way to drop the little ones off at daycare and Amy at summer school. And I have to go to work, so..." she trailed off, shrugging. "I work at the coffee shop on seventh if you need anything. It's usually not very busy, so stop by if you need anything. Like a large triple mocha with whole milk and a tower of whipped cream. Which, by the way, is today's coffee special." She laughed. "But seriously. Call me or stop by if you need anything. And I mean anything. Okay? Bye!"
She waved and walked away, followed by her sisters and leaving a kinda confused me on the porch swing. I grabbed my sketchbook and a charcoal pencil and started drawing. I heard the porch door slam again, and heavy footsteps approaching. I looked up, and felt warm lips press onto mine.
"I had to do that. Just once." And with that, Harry walked away.
I looked down at my sketchbook and realized that I hadn't just been drawing at random.
I was drawing someone.
A certain someone.
Harry.

Notes

YAY!!!!! I FINALLY got the chapter (that's been nagging me) out of my head!!!! YAY!!!!! I'm so happy!!!!!!
What'd y'all think?!
I think that North Dakota needs to see some more SUN. I'm PALE!!!