petrarch | h.s.

017

"GEMMA!" 

"Geez, Harry! What the f---"

"Ya went to Italy with mum and ya didn't bother to tell me?" Harry frantically asks his older sister.

"Wait, what? What're ya talkin' 'bout?"

"You both went t'see Vesper, innit?"

"How d'you know?"

He immediately called her sister when he found out that his family went to see his ex girlfriend without telling him and to ask why they haven't told him yet. It's not like he's angry at them. No, he could never dare. But they know his struggles and desire to see and hear anything from Vee for two years, why didn't they just told him instead, they flew all across the globe to go to her?

He feels a touch on his shoulder, making him turn around to see a timid smile on Vesper's lips. Seeing her smile again distracted him from her taking his phone off of his hand and away from his ear. She brings it up to her ear and speaks.

"Hi, Gemma. It's Vesper." She greets her politely.

"NO BLOODY WAY, THANK HEAVENS YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER NOW!!!" Gemma shouts excitedly on the other line, making Vee chuckle. He was about to take his phone from her but she dodges.

"Listen, sorry for his sudden outburst on you. That's totally my fault." She says as she remains eye contact on him. "But I got this and I have a lot of explaining to do so I gotta go."

Now it's Gemma's turn to chuckle. "No worries, babe. Right, I'll let ya two catch up then. Hopin' to 'ear from ya both soon."

She nods even though she can't see her and Gemma hangs up so she returns his phone to her and he accepts it.

"You didn't had to overreact and call her, she probably got stuff to do. I'm here. Ask me questions and I'll answer them for you."

He sighs as if he's holding his breath throughout their conversation. "S'just that you've had quite a few days... Look, ya don't 'ave to tell 'em to me right now..."

"You need answers, I get that. Don't worry about me..." She reassures but he's still hesitant so she starts anyway. "They didn't mean to hide something from you. They had every intention to tell you. It was me who asked for a favor. I wasn't ready to see you at the party so I ran away. Then a few days after, your mother came to my work place so I can't just avoid to not meet her. Then we caught up a bit and next thing I knew, your sister's with us too."

"When d'you meet up?" He asks curiously with a little confusion still.

"When you had the phone call from you were in Malibu..."

He thinks back thoroughly when was he at the said place. Then he recalls the time he was shooting the music video for his single, Watermelon Sugar, and called his mum and sister. His eyes widen and brings up his index finger from scratching his chin, pointing at her in realization.

"That was ya! That s'your voice, innit?!" He exclaims. "Oh, I knew that voice was familiar."

She nods slowly as he starts to sink everything in.

"Mum said she met someone named 'Ms. Luna' or somethin'." He narrows his eyebrows.

"My name as a writer is Starr del Luna." She confesses slightly embarrassed for revealing the pen name she uses was his nickname for her.

He then looks back to the waiter who called her that nickname when they met to talk which based from what he remembers, made him jealous. Only to find out that she's using it as a pen name.

"I didn't mean to make your family hide things from you... It's just that I thought it was all too soon. Meeting you again after I broke up with you, it's just a lot to take in for me at the time... Sorry." She explains nervously.

The fact that she did broke up with him and left him haunts her that one day, she'll meet him again and humiliation will be her initial reaction. And so it did happen but with an unexpected turn of events.

"Don't apologize, I get it, yeah?"

He reassures her and she shyly smiles then looks down to hide her blush. He stares at her reaction with a small smirk but slowly drops when he notices she's wearing a white knitted sweater with red and black checkered overall dress and black ankle boots. He looks behind her and sees her suitcases that made him furrow his eyebrows.

"Where are ya goin'?"

"Oh, yeah, about that. I really just want to thank you for all you've done, Harry. You know I genuinely appreciate it. But I can't stay here any longer..."

"Course you can, why can't ya?"

She pauses, hesitant to answer his question. What was she going to answer? That him taking care and letting in the girl who broke his heart a few years back is too humiliating for her? She's already too embarrassed after everything she has done to him.

"I'm going to meet a friend of mine, probably best if I stay at his place while I look for my own place."

He knits his brows more and asks with a slightly bitter tone, "His?"

"Renz's place will be vacant for a while so I might as well just stay there for a while, I guess." She shrugs.

"Florence's brother?" He asks rhetorically, mainly to himself for he already know the answer. "No, you're not stayin' with him nor in his flat."

"But---"

"No ifs, no buts."

Wow, just like before.

"D'you even consider his fiancée's reaction if she finds out that there s'a woman stayin' at her partner's flat?"

He has a point. What would she feel if she finds out that there's a woman in her boyfriend's place? And not just any woman, the woman who almost--- Wait a second.

She widens her eyes and her skin automatically pales as realization hits her. "You knew?"

"Knew what?"

"That I was Renz's mistress?"

"You're what?"