Chapter 65: I Will Still Kiss You
Purple’s POV:
My mom would rip my head off if she heard that her daughter asked a guy out, and Etsy would probably spank my ass until it turned red, but someone had to do it. I didn’t want to play this back-and-forth game with Harry because it was going to affect me mentally, and he didn’t look like he was going to ask.
The cab dropped us in front of the shared house, and I had been smiling the whole way because he agreed to be my boyfriend. Right now, it didn’t matter who asked at all.
Then I remembered that Etsy was waiting for an explanation at home. “Uhm… what are we going to tell Etsy?” I asked as we got out of the cab. I never expected him to hold my hand and pull me into him right there on the street.
“Nothing.”
I shook my head in denial. Etsy doesn’t deserve to be pushed aside from whatever it is that was going on. “I’m joking,” he sighed when he saw the look on my face, but we both knew he wasn’t joking.
We got to the door and he was about to pull out his keys to unlock it, but the door pulled open. There stood Etsy in a set of shorts and a light top. Her gaze dropped to our intertwined hands, and then she looked at me with a raised brow. When I nodded, she smacked her lips and walked in as we followed.
“Don’t you all know the friendship rule?” she asked loudly. Chris, who was busy eating cornflakes at this hour, looked at us. His gaze also moved to our intertwined hands; I tried to pull my hand away, but Harry wouldn’t let it go.
“Don’t borrow money from a friend? You already did that countless times,” Harry answered jokingly. Etsy snorted and sat on the couch with her legs crossed.
“You enjoy giving me your money even when you know I can’t repay you, so don’t bring that up right now. But you both can’t be together.”
I pouted because I didn’t just bring myself down to ask a boy out for her to come tell me this.
“Want some cornflakes?” Chris asked loudly from the kitchen as we all shot him a glare. He shrugged and continued eating.
“Don’t you have anything to say about this, Chris?” Of course Etsy would ask him; she just wanted backup.
“I think I liked her better with Yvan,” he answered, and I pulled my hand from Harry’s and approached him.
“Really? You were hostile to him, and whoever I choose to be with isn’t supposed to be a topic for discussion in this household.”
“What did you just say? You…” Etsy stood up, walking toward me when Harry stood before her.
“I will empty your shopping cart.”
Etsy seemed to calm down and tilted her head to smile at me. “Well, maybe you both being together isn’t that bad.”
This girl.
Then she walked over to me and extended her hand. “But let’s make a deal. No matter how bad this turns out—which it will…”
I rolled my eyes because she was already so sure that this wouldn’t work out.
“No one is moving out of the shared house to avoid the other. We will still continue being friends and not be expected to choose sides.”
I made the deal.
\---
After I freshened up, I walked to the closet and pulled out my backpack to pack some essentials like my passport, a little lip gloss, medical documents, and all. Mom already got my ticket for the day after tomorrow, and she said there was no need to travel with a single piece of clothing because, while I was here in Roonie, she missed me so much and completely renewed my wardrobe.
My phone dinged with a notification, and I smiled when I realized it was a message from Harry. We lived in the same house, but he just had to text me.
Harry: Are you hungry?
Purple: No
Harry: Thirsty?
Purple: No
Harry: I will bring a soda, you must be thirsty.
I giggled at his message before glancing at my door; he sure needed an excuse to come in here, huh? Then my brain started analyzing ten things at a time. I quickly picked up the clothes on the floor and shoved them into my closet, then hurried to my reading table and organized my stuff before remembering I needed to pack some books to read once I would be at Paul’s—anything to keep me busy while I am there.
My phone notified me of a new message again from Harry.
Harry: Open up.
I sighed heavily and checked myself out in front of my mirror. I was dressed in a thin-sleeved nightgown that ended just above my knee; my hair was held up in a messy bun, and my glasses sat nicely on the rim of my nose.
It was just Harry, I tried to convince myself, so there was no reason for me to act up. I walked over and pulled the door open. He stood there with a bottle of soda in his hand. He looked at me with lowered eyes, and I can’t lie, I felt like I was walking on clouds.
“Uhm… thanks for the soda.” I extended my hand to grab the drink, but he yanked it away from me and walked into my bedroom without an invitation.
“Do you know how hard it was getting this soda? And all I get is a thanks?” He kept throwing the soda from one hand to another. I sighed and closed the door before walking over to my study table and grabbing some books.
“I know how hard it was; I mean… the refrigerator is that hard to reach with a broken spine,” I joked and expected him to laugh about it, but instead, it was silent. Then I felt him wrap his hand around my waist and hug me tightly from behind.
“You will be fine.” He kissed my cheek, and I melted into his arms. Everyone says I will be fine, but I am the one always being too careful, because just one fall might send me back to that place I call a nightmare.
“And even if you end up in a wheelchair, I will still want to kiss you.”