#ribsc8

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 8: True Ribs

It feels so scary, getting old

*A BIG thank you to @loveandyourstrulyh for helping me with this chapter!!!!!*

The thick, black scarf wrapped around Adeline’s neck proved to be of little protection to the cold biting at her skin. She tried to keep her tongue from swiping across her lips as it only aided the wind in drying them out. The walk from her last class to her car became longer each time she made it.

The meeting she’d had with her advisor that morning was still floating around her mind. The only thing that kept her from calling Harry with the good news she had was the opportunity to tell him in person, to see his face light up rather than imagining it while on the phone. And she’d be counting down the last few days until Thanksgiving break by the minute.

“Shit.” She slipped on a patch of ice, wobbling until she regained her footing and checking over her shoulder for anyone who saw. She took to shuffling from there on, her head conjuring up warmer days and sweeter nights, pulling her summer dresses out from the back of her closet, spending soft nights outside with Harry, under fairy lights and the gentle crackling notes of The Beatles from his damn record player he's yet to buy. Maybe a trip to the beach or lake, fireside evenings and slipping into bed after one too many fruity drinks.

She was snatched from her day dream when white flecks started falling before her eyes. She tugged the hood of her coat over her head and quickened her pace, determined to get to her car before it really started coming down.

***

"Nicole?" Adeline peeled the layers of her clothing off, tossing them in the corner next to the front door as she headed towards the living room. "Hey—��

"I'm glad you're back, I've been needing to talk to you."

Nicole's voice sounded more motherly than usual, which only ignited the developing fear that'd been crawling up her spine as of late. Her first words to Adeline after she returned from her impromptu stay with Harry at the crummy motel had been enough to humble her.

“Oh, I assumed you weren't coming back. I've already started packing your things.”

Sure enough, boxes had been stacked on her bed and piled along the walls of her room, which Adeline emptied and tossed in the trash before Nicole could get another word in. She had avoided her cousin as best she could since then. If she wasn't around she couldn't be kicked out, and maybe if she stayed away enough it wouldn't bother Nicole so much that she lived there.

"It's freezing in here. Have you turned the heat on today?"

"Adeline, we need to discuss some things." Nicole peered over her shoulder from her place on the couch, the basket of laundry sat by her feet as she folded a towel into equal thirds before smoothing it out and adding it to the stack on the coffee table.

Adeline drew in a breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever lecture was awaiting her. "Okay, what's up?"

"I think it's time you found your own apartment."

Right, straight to the point. She had no way out of this. "I don't understand why you hate me being here?"

"I don't hate it, but you're an adult, and you need to start acting like one. How long were you planning on staying anyway?"

"I—I didn't really have a time in mind, I guess just as long as needed." Adeline rounded the couch and sunk down into the leather armchair. She stretched her legs out in front of her and let her chin drop to her chest with a sigh. “Just until I got started on, life, I guess.”

"And how long will that be?"

"I don't know." Adeline shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek.

Nicole shook her head, little lines appearing across her forehead as her arms crossed over her chest. "See, this is why it's time you moved out. It's time to grow up."

Adeline’s stomach twisted in knots at the reality unfolding before her. Surely, this would blow over; she may have to seriously start helping out around here, but there was no way Nicole was actually going to make her leave.

"I'm sorry, I know I've been a burden to you, but I promise to contribute more. I can take over half of the chores, and we can alternate buying groceries each month, and—"

"No, Adeline. No more begging, you just can't stay here any longer. I'm not your mother, and I haven't enjoyed playing one these past months."

“What?” Adeline shot up from the chair, steam puffing out from her ears. “You've got to be kidding me! That's all you've ever done, even when we were kids you acted like a parent to me!"

"Don't be so dramatic. The only thing I'm concerned with is our current situation, which simply isn't working out anymore."

“But we can make it work!”

“You’re not motivated, Adeline. When I was in college one of the first things I did was get a job. I had everything planned out by the time I finished my first year, and stayed on track to graduate. I took summer classes...you’ve already dropped out of one class and it’s only your first semester.”

“The professor was crazy! I couldn’t understand anything he was saying!”

“This isn’t up for discussion.” Nicole fished through the basket until she found the match to the small white sock in her hand. “So—”

“It is! It is up for discussion! It’s my life, remember? And besides, I am motivated, I picked my major today. Filled out the paperwork and everything.”

“So you just picked it. Woke up and decided to be...what? Astronaut? Ballerina?”

Adeline stared her cousin down, swallowing all the words she wanted to say, the words she wanted to throw right in her snobby face before gritting out the major she’d been excited about announcing.

“English Literature.”

Nicole’s face didn’t move, in fact, her entire body froze. Other than a few slow blinks, she sat completely motionless with a half-folded scarf in her hands. After a few slow minutes she finally cleared her throat and continued lining up the edges of the scarf in her lap.

“Have you told your parents?”

“No. haven’t told anyone.”

“I don’t think that’s a wise choice. English, I mean.”

“And just why is that?”

“Because,” Nicole mused, “it’s not a stable choice. What are you even going to do with that degree?”

“Write. I can be a writer.”

Nicole halted her movements once again and looked up to Adeline with a roll of her eyes. “Write? And what exactly are you, someone who’s never written anything before in her life, planning on writing?”

“I don’t kn—”

“The back of a cereal box? Or maybe a corny slogan for toothpaste?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Hey! Language!”

“Shit, Nicole! I can’t—no! Y’know what? Forget it! Forget I even said anything!” Adeline stomped past her cousin, yanking her clothes off the floor as she went. Right before she stepped into the hall she paused and collected Nicole’s attention. “I should’ve expected such an answer from you, from someone so...so, so vanilla!”

She made it halfway to her room when the slur of thoughts in her head formed another sentence worth spewing out. She spun on her heel and stepped back into the living room where Nicole’s stunned face hadn’t moved an inch.

“And another thing, I haven't enjoyed your overbearing ways either and I should've left a long time ago. I don't deserve to be talked down to by someone who's only a few years older than me."

Picture frames swayed on the wall after Adeline slammed her door and the absurdly expensive cookbook she’d bought for Nicole's Christmas present was slung off the dresser, landing in a heap on the rug.

With all the anger surging through her she still felt a little relief. Getting away from Nicole is what she needed. She had just pushed it to the back of her mind to worry about later.

This is all for the best, everything will be okay.

"Adeline."

Dear God.

She threw the door open to see Nicole's stone cold face. "What?" she gritted.

"I wanted to tell you that you don't have to leave right away. Just be sure to be out before spring semester begins."

"Oh, thank you, Nicole, how generous of you."

"Excuse me? What's generous is me letting you stay here for almost five months! Need I remind you of the bills you don't pay? Or the food?"

"You cannot hold that over my head! I have offered since day one to help pay for things, but nooo. 'Don't worry about it Adeline, you're my guest.'" She was seething by now, her grip on the door frame digging into her skin, and she suddenly missed the chill from outside.

"Just forget it, you're immature and ungrateful!" Nicole’s voice raised for the first time. “I can’t believe I actually thought I could have an adult conversation with you! You have no clue about life and what it means to be independent!”

“And kicking me out solves that!? Just because I don’t have every fucking detail of my boring life planned out like you did doesn’t make me an idiot, Nicole!”

“Real mature, Adeline.” Nicole seethed, her head moments away from popping off her neck. “And yes, you moving out does solve the problem.” Her voice was sickeningly sweet. “You won’t have to worry about my boring life, and I won’t have to worry about the day I tell your parents you’ve dropped out or failed or whatever screw up is in store for you.”

The door slammed shut with a sharp jolt and the pictures swayed once again as Adeline flung herself on the bed. After screaming into her pillow for a solid ten seconds she rolled over with a tear stained face, searching for a distraction with the view from her window.

Snow pelted the glass, wind howling through the bare trees. The sky was as white as the blanket on the ground, the only color being the red brick house that sat on the corner.

She stared past the frosted glass, the falling ice and dead trees, watching the couple that lived in that little corner house step out of their door, bundled in coats and scarves, as they piled up the fallen snow into the beginnings of a snowman.

Jealousy was the basis. The bottom line, foundation, of the shattering despair fueling the tears down her still hot cheeks.

Jealous of the kids in her class who barely made it to class, a Sunday morning hangover still lingering from the weekend parties they'd spent with boyfriends and girlfriends.

Jealous of the brick house couple, who weren't as old as she’d first thought, just a few years past her and Harry that she discovered on an early morning jog back in September—married homeowners with plans of a spring baby—the newlywed had gushed while checking her mail.

Jealous of the ones at graduation who had their whole life planned out, most of them probably busy with internships, wedding plans, and credit scores while she lays here, a sobbing mess.

Jealousy and fear were not a good mix.

***

“You’re going out? But you just got here?”

“You’re going to bed anyways.” Adeline slipped her jacket on and pulled her keys from her purse. “You’ll see me in the morning.”

“I just thought you’d wanna spend all your time at home.”

“I will. It’s just one night.” Adeline pressed a kiss to her mom’s head. “You’ll have me all week.”

“Is this because of what Nicole said?”

“What? Why—”

“Well she called over the weekend and said you were pretty upset. About your major, and that she tried to explain—”

“Nicole is an idiot, okay, just—it doesn’t matter. I’ll be back by eleven.”

Adeline stormed out of her house and managed to get into her car before the tears broke through her will power. She peeled out of her driveway and took off down the street, cursing Nicole’s name at every light.

***

“Where are you?”

“That gas station where you fell that one time and hurt your ankle.”

“Al’s? What’re you doing all the way out there? It’s like an hour away?” Harry scrambled around his room to snatch up his wallet and keys. His phone was tucked between his ear and cheek as he slipped his shoes on.

“I don’t know, Harry,” Adeline groaned, “don’t patronize me right now.”

“M’not, I just wanna know why the hell you’d drive off at night—”

“I didn’t plan on a flat tire! I thought I’d be back home by now!”

“Hey, don’t snap at me! It’s almost midnight and you call me to tell me you’re stranded, I’m worried sick alright!”

Adeline sighed through the phone. “Okay, okay, just, don’t let your mom see you leave. My parents will kill me if they find out.”

“I know the drill. I’ll get there as soon as I can, alright? M’leaving now.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

***

Harry cringed when his car pulled up to Al’s. Gravel rolled under his tires and then under his feet as he sprinted inside the small concrete building, passing Adeline’s car on his way in. His chest was pulled tight until he saw Adeline hunched over with her head in her hands, sat at one of the three wobbly booths in the corner of the store.

“You’re gonna get in trouble you know.”

“I don’t even care.”

Harry slid in the booth across from her, pulling her hand that was busy tugging on the end of her jacket towards him, running his thumb over her knuckles. “Last time you got home late you dragged me under the bus. Are we gonna have a repeat of that? Need to know so I can figure out my excuse for my mum.”

“I’m not in the mood, Harry.”

He breathed out a sigh and inched closer, bowing his head to look her in the eyes. “What’s goin’ on, bug? Why’re you all the way out here?”

Adeline shook her head and twisted her face in disgust. “Fucking Nicole pissed me off. Don’t know why I’m so surprised.”

“What’d she do now?”

“I—she just, ugh! Kicked me out for one thing, then thought it’d be a good idea to practically bash my major.”

“You picked your major?”

Adeline narrowed her eyes at Harry. “And she kicked me out. There’s no way I’ll be able to get a job and an apartment before next semester! What the hell is she thinking, anyway?”

“M’sure if you talked to her you could work something out, maybe chip in on the rent.”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Adeline groaned. She pulled her hand away from Harry and resumed her earlier position with her face pressed into her hands.

Harry slid out from his seat and squeezed in next to her. His arm was wrapped around her back and he pulled her close to his side, resting his cheek against her head. “It’ll all work out,” he whispered.

“I hope so.”

“You wanna go get what you need out of your car?”

With a shaky nod she was leading Harry back outside. Her car was freezing when she slipped in, grabbing her school bag from the back seat and plopping it down in her lap. To lessen her load she began stuffing her purse inside the bag, a pointless attempt that had her pounding the steering wheel when she finally realized it wouldn’t fit. The passenger door opened a second later.

“Y'alright in there?”

“I just hate my life but other than that, yeah, everything’s great.”

“Hey,” Harry cooed, slipping in and shutting out the cold behind him. “Take a deep breath, okay.” His hand instinctively smoothed over her tense back in small circles. “You don’t have to figure everything out right away. And you’re not gonna be out on the street, darling. You know your parents will let you move back in in a second.”

Adeline’s lip was shaking when she finally looked back up into his eyes, and Harry knew it was only a matter of seconds before tears would be pouring down her face. “It’s—it’s too far to drive.”

“Baby—hey, c’mere.” He leaned over the console and enveloped her the best he could manage in the small, cramped space. His fingers swiped away the tears as they began to fall.

“It’s too long of a commute. And next semester I have an early class.” Her voice wobbled, muffled by Harry’s shoulder where he was cradling her head. “I’d have to fucking leave at like four in the morning.”

Her shoulders shook. Every positive endearment that Harry tried out fell against deaf ears. She countered everything he whispered against her hair with an unapproachable argument.

“Do you know how much that’s gonna cost me in gas? Every day? And my parents will drive me insane!” She squeezed him tighter, releasing all her pent up frustration in a crushing grip. Her voice lost its strength, coming out softly against his neck.  “She was right. And I fucking hate her for it.”

“Who’s right, love?”

“Stupid Nicole. About my stupid major. I don’t know who the hell I think I am, English Lit, I’m a fucking idiot.”

“What?” Harry pulled back, reigning in the smile tugging at his lips. “You’re gonna do it? You’re really gonna write?”

“No, it was stupid—”

“Hey now,” Harry scolded, “absolutely not. Look at me.”

Adeline reluctantly lifted her head, supported by Harry’s gentle hand under her chin.

His voice was soft but stern. “Listen t’me, alright? I think it’s incredible, I’m so proud of you. Who cares what Nicole thinks, okay. As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t move for a minute, letting Harry’s words seep into her brain as they fought for dominance with the negative mantras that’d set up camp a week prior. She wiped away a few stray tears and cleared her throat, timidly pulling out a notebook from her bag and flipping towards the front. Her nerves were on fire and a part of her was screaming, begging her to close the notebook and sooth her desperation with more of Harry’s sweet words. She didn’t need his approval. She writes because she loves it. It’s her escape and her imagination’s best friend.

Harry had been nothing short of respectful when it came to the stories she scribbled out in the book. He never pried or snuck a peek; never looked over her shoulder when she was hunched over, pen in hand as she laid down her thoughts and immersed herself into a new character.

The first time he’d seen her pull the book out he was naturally curious. It was a worn, faux leather with a strap that wrapped around twice to secure it in place. When she had opened it a few slips of paper fell to the floor where she snatched them up before he could finish the descent down to retrieve them for her.

“Is that for school?”

“Uh, no, not really.” Adeline sat back into the chair in the corner of Harry’s room, curling her legs close to her chest and angling herself so she had the perfect view of the heavy rain falling outside his window.

Harry had nestled himself on the floor beside her, wrapped up in a thick blanket with To Kill a Mockingbird in his hands. “So is that like your diary? Do you write about me in there?” She glanced down at his cheeky smirk. “Did you write about last Tuesday night?”

His eyebrows danced across his forehead and she wanted to smack them off. She rolled her eyes and bowed her head to hide the bashful look on her face. “No, you dork. It’s just, I don’t know. I like to write I guess.”

“You do?” He perked up, straightening his back and widening his eyes up at her. “Prose?”

She nodded, cheek bitten between her teeth.

“That’s fucking awesome, Addy.”

She blinked a few times but her brain hadn’t fooled her. He had the biggest smile spread across his face and if she wasn’t mistaken, pride in his eyes.

“My baby’s a writer!” he gushed. “Look at you, just when I thought I couldn’t love yeh anymore!”

“Shut up.”

“Will not.” He slid out of the blanket and shuffled over on his knees before standing up and taking her hand in his. He pressed one kiss to her knuckles and then bent over to kiss her forehead. “You’re pretty cool, y’know that?”

She rolled her eyes but darted in for a quick peck on his lips.

“So can I…”

She followed his gaze down to her notebook in her lap and slid it closer to her body. “Um, n-no.” She cleared her throat and peered up at him through her lashes. “It’s not you, I mean, well I don’t let anyone see what I write. It’s just for me.” Her voice had fallen to a somber whisper.

Harry’s face didn’t falter, and if anything his sweet smile grew. “Of course, whatever you want.” He kissed her once more and re-settled himself back into his blanket on the floor.

“You’re okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s yours, and it’s personal. I don’t own your privacy.”

Adeline ran through the memory while Harry’s hands stroked her face and arms, reminding her to breath and assuring her that she was in fact, going to be okay. “I um, well here.” She handed the notebook to Harry. “Tell me what you think. And be honest.”

Harry looked back and forth between the words etched onto the page and her face. “You sure? You don’t have to y’know? I mean, I know your writing’s private and—”

“I’m sure. If everyone else is gonna read it one day, might as well get used to it.”

Harry let his eyes drift down where he devoured the short story Adeline had poured her heart into. Her notebook weighed thick and heavy in his hands and a part of him felt like he wasn’t actually holding it, like it wasn’t actually her thoughts splayed out on paper and her mind’s handiwork resting in his palms. He was invading, witnessing the words he’d seen her drain onto the pages countless times from across the room where she’d been hunched over with her nose in the book.

He read over it once, then again, and then a third time before he uttered a word. “I, baby, this is...it’s incredible.” He looked up with a slack jaw, shaking his head in disbelief. “I always thought you’d be good...but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“You sure you’re not just saying that? ‘Cause you feel like you have to? Because it won’t bother me if you don’t like it.”

“Not like it? Addy, this is beautiful.”

“I mean it, Harry.”

“So do I. Darling, the way you described everything, and the depth and detail, felt like I was really there.”

Adeline nodded and Harry caught one last tear trailing down her cheek. “Thank you.”

He leaned over and lingered his lips on her warm skin, easing into a soft kiss. “Thank you for sharing. And I think there’s one more person who should see this. If you’re okay with that.”

Adeline pulled back and sighed. “I guess I’ll get my first real review.”

***

“Was that the last one?”

“Umm, yeah.” Adeline took the dinner plate from her mom’s soapy hands. “Did um, did Nicole say when she was leaving?”

“No, why?”

“No reason.”

“Harry sure enjoyed himself,” her mom laughed, tossing the towel she dried her hands with on the counter. “I’ve never seen him eat that much.”

Adeline shrugged and set the plate with the others back into the cabinet. “It’s Thanksgiving, you’re supposed to eat a lot.”

Her mind was elsewhere, and if she’s honest she couldn’t tell you if Harry stole the turkey and devoured the entire thing on his own while everyone else watched in horror. She vaguely remembers him sitting beside her and she’s not even sure if she ate anything at all. The only thing she’s really aware of is the small argument her and Harry had before dinner about Nicole, and then Nicole’s arrival that had the both of them scurrying off to hide out in her room.

What was really eating at her was the ridiculous fear she had towards her cousin. The power this woman who was just a few years older had over Adeline was sickening, and her tactic to plead for a second chance scarred her pride more than she’d like to admit.

“Need anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it, till next year,” her mom clapped, “I think everyone’s in the living room. I’m gonna go change real quick—you should ask grandpa to tell his fishing story for Harry! But wait till I get back!”

Adeline was left alone as her mom scurried off, but not for long when Harry peaked around the corner, a small smile on his face.

“You okay?” He strolled into the kitchen, one hand behind his back and the other reached up to pull her into his side.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Maybe this is stupid, I think it makes me look like I’m trying to hard, y’know?”

“You are trying hard. That’s the point.” Harry revealed her notebook from behind his back, already flipped to the page with the story they’d chosen together to show Nicole. “Just remember what we talked about.”

Adeline nodded and slipped the notebook into her own hands. “But what if Nicole—”

“What if Nicole...what?”

The couple turned around startled, both glancing back and forth between each other and Nicole. She stood at the doorway with an empty glass in her hand. She took two steps before crossing her arms and challenging them to speak with an irritated look on her face.

“Uh, I was wanting, to um,” Adeline stammered, “I wanted to talk about our arrangement. About me staying with you.”

“We’ve already discussed this—”

“No, you discussed it.”

“It’s my apartment.”

“You offered for me to stay with you, remember? I didn’t ask or just show up! I don’t think it’s fair that you just decide that you’re done and you want me gone, and then to expect me to just stumble across a job and find someplace to live?”

“If you had showed more motivation in your life I’d feel differently. You don’t think ahead, you have no goals. When I started college I—”

“I don’t care what you did! It doesn’t matter what you did! I’m doing what I need to do for myself!”

“Adeline, you’re not thinking about your future. You’re only concerned with the present moment, I mean, you can’t even choose a reasonable major.”

“I—” Adeline sucked in a deep breath and held back the storm of words waiting on her tongue.

Harry had been silent the entire time, standing back and watching the two women work things out...if that’s what he could call it. He didn’t want to step in and micromanage, but when Adeline looked over with tears in her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, signaling her defeat, he spoke up.

“Why don’t you read some of Addy’s writing. Might change your mind.”

“What writing?”

“I’ve been writing for a while now.” Adeline’s voice wobbled.

Nicole hesitantly took the notebook from her cousin’s outstretched arm. Her brows were raised in defiance as she lowered her gaze from Adeline’s desperate glare to the page with a heartbreaking story about love and loss scribbled out in red ink.

Releasing her book to Nicole wasn’t relieving like she’d hoped for it to be. Adeline pushed the thought of snatching it out of her hand and running out of the room away. This was a mistake, she thought. There was no way any good could come out of this. Nicole would just humiliate her once again, point out her flaws and reiterate her desire to get her out of her apartment.She was terrified, equipped with a racing heart and sweaty palms, already accepting her defeat.

Harry counted the pages as they turned, and held his breath once he knew she was on the last one. Nicole’s face had relaxed, and once she finally looked up, he saw a softness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“You wrote this?”

Adeline nodded.

Nicole started to flip the page but stopped and cleared her throat. “Can I read more?”

Harry and Adeline exchanges glances before she slipped the notebook from Nicole’s grasp and flipped the pages to the middle of the book. “You can read this one.”