as it is || harry styles au

thirty-five

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i v o r y

     "You are one crazy bitch," Em embellished, hugging me. "You are the poster child of Boston U alumni."

     I rolled my eyes while guilt settled deep in my stomach. "I know, I know. It was last minute. But I had a gut feeling about this."

     Em took my duffle bag from my shoulder and tossed it into their backseat.

     The scent of Boston permeated my nostrils. Dunkin' Donuts, MTBA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), and Lansdowne Street. Yum.

     While the worst times of my life happened in this city, so did the best. I couldn't hate it even if I tried.

     "When's the conference?"

     "In a couple hours." I checked my phone for any messages from Lance. There were none. "Thank you so much for picking me up again. I know it's early."

     "Babe. You left for Portland airport at fucking six PM Eastern Standard Time yesterday. Are you okay?"

     No. It was seven in the morning here in Boston. I was delirious, but perhaps that was best for meeting my rapist and his chummy lawyer.

     "After some breakfast and a couple coffees, I'll be perfect and ready to get my network on by eleven."

     I tried not to let Em's side-eye penetrate my psyche too much.

The ride from Logan Airport to Jenna's apartment was only about fifteen minutes. They had work at eight, so they'd be dropping me off at Jenna's apartment where I'd get ready. I'd texted the three of them yesterday morning, saying "Happy New Years Eve! I'm flying to Boston tomorrow morning, who wants to pick me up? (:".

     Everyone replied with ranging levels of shock, and Em offered to be the one to pick me up before work. The decision to be dropped at Jenna's was last minute, but she worked a little later than Em so we wouldn't be waking her up.

     Or so we thought.

     "Holy shit," Jenna cursed, opening the door only enough so her face peaked through. "Hey, Ivy."

     Weird...

     "Hi?" I peered through the crack in the door, but only saw a sliver of her living room. She had most of her body hidden behind the door. Except for her bare shoulder.

     Em stepped into view from the hallway, eyebrows raised.

     Her eyes widened. "Em! Hey."

     The three of us stood there in silence. With every second that went by, I grew more and more suspicious.

"Uh...you gonna let us in, Jen? I gotta get to work."