Into You Series: The Complete Collection

29. Nia

CHAPTER 29

NIA

I f I have to wake up one more time with a headache pounding like fireworks on the Fourth of July, I’m going to lose it. My only form of solace is that I awake with a cup of black coffee on my bedside table and a light breeze blowing the curtains inward from the open sliding glass door.

“Hello?” I ask.

The patio creaks and Harry’s head pops in, baseball cap backward on his head and strands of blonde hair sweeping in front of his face. A toothbrush pokes out from between his teeth.

“Goob mornin’,” he says, padding across the room.

“What time is it?”

He holds up an index finger, leans over the sink, and spits.

“Time for us to leave, I think.” A plastic grocery bag with clothes rests on the desk next to a wallet, two sets of keys, and a cell phone.

“Why?” I ask, propping myself up on my elbows. I point to the coffee. “Is this mine?”

Harry nods, brushes some more, and spits again.

“Well, for one, we weren’t invited to this wedding.” He pockets the wallet, phone, and one set of keys. I notice my pink rabbit’s foot on the other ring.

“Are you leaving my car?” I ask.

“That leads me to my next point,” he says. “Grant can’t exactly drive since he doesn’t have a wallet, so I’m taking him back.”

“You’re not staying?”

He laughs. “Nah. This was fun and all, but I have a daughter to tend to.”

“And Grant?”

“He’s getting breakfast with the other guys.” Harry walks over, the mattress dipping under his weight as he sits on the side of the bed. “I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad about rehab.”

Rehab. It feels like both a dream and harsh reality that we’re even discussing the word.

“Good call,” I say. “Wow, this is a lot deeper than I figured this week would go.”

“Yeah, some deep shit,” Harry says, patting me on the leg and rising again. “Well, you’ve got your car here. It’s fixed for the time being, but you should probably still buy a new one. I don’t trust it.”

“Neither do I,” I mumble. “And, you know, I’ve been really liking Cameron’s Jeep. I’ll look into one of those or something.”

“Wow. Did you just admit you need a new car?”

“Oh hush.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stretch. I’m still wearing my dress. It’s pretty wrinkled, and I’m sure my makeup and hair are worse for wear as well.

“One small step for mankind, one big step for Apollonia Smith.”

“It’s just a car, Harry.”

“First, a man. Now, a car. Who are you?”

I halt mid-step, a t-shirt inches from my reach, but I’m somehow unable to grasp it. “What was that?” I ask.

“Ian. Aren’t you guys…I don’t know, a thing?”

Are we? I think back to last night. He didn’t exactly seem happy to see me. I was drunk—my pounding head will attest to that—and it was much worse than the night before.

“I’m not sure,” I admit.

Harry grins. “I am.”

It’s weird how Harry seems to know me better than I know myself, or at least what I want.

“I feel like a teenager again,” I say to him. My ankles twist around each other and I find I’m biting my lip at just the thought of Ian.

Harry’s arms are crossed, and his mouth is pointed to the corner of his face in some knowing smirk.

Butterflies, jitters, nervous energy flowing through me…I don’t know what this is, but I want to explore it. I finally want to explore Ian.