Page 33 of House of Bass

“Why did you leave last night without saying anything?”

“Almost blacked out on my way to the bathroom,” I lie . “Did you get home okay?”

“Your friend, Richie, gave me a ride,” Harley replies, and my face twists in amused horror at the nickname.

“Please, tell me you didn’t call him that to his face?”

“Once or twice,” she says with a one arm shrug and a smirk. I start to laugh but immediately groan once my headache resumes.

She sits down on the far end of the sofa, which is notably as far away from me as possible on the other end of the sofa, which quickly reminds me we are due a conversation that neither of us can run away from.

Father always told me being the eldest meant being a guiding light and in times of unrest I would have to be the one to step up to the plate. I’m not the oldest anymore, still I take the first step in broaching the subject we were both avoiding as we lay back sipping on bad coffee.

“I’m sorry about our screaming match,” I breathe out, “especially in front of everyone like that. That was entirely out of character for me.

“I feel like I haven't given you the chance to see the real me, but you haven't either,” I accuse, and she at least had the courtesy to look a little guilty. “Ever since you got here, you've had one foot in and one foot out.” She starts to speak but I cut her off.

“Fair enough, you’ve told me your plan from the moment you arrived. Milk our father for his money then leave.” I keep my eyes pointed at her as she glares at her coffee cup as though it is more interesting than the conversation that we are having. “And I respect that completely but I can’t help the part of me that at least wants to know the girl who is meant to be my sister.”

“Maybe we won't ever be the best of friends,” I continue, “but I do want us to be cordial. You are going to be living here and nothing good will come from being at each other's throats. We’re going to still be sisters whether or not you decide to leave right now or in a year.”

“Is that all?” Harley responds with an eyebrow raised. I nod, spreading my hands to give her the floor to speak. “You weren’t the only one at fault that day.” She sighs before continuing, “In all fairness, you and I both know I started it but I appreciate you trying to take some of the heat.”

Abruptly, she stands up almost like giving an apology burns her, she mutters, “You’re right. I can be cordial.”

She leaves me sitting there on my own but gives me as much of a smile as she can muster before leaving my line of sight. The smile on my face that appeared as a result was unbreakable. I can feel myself being able to breathe a little better. I am able to stop at least one thing in my life from going wrong and I am proud of that.

It is a start and that’s all I can ask for.

14

HARLEY

After their truce, Harley’s relationship with Annabel had gone from completely strained to… okay. She hadn't made a single sarcastic comment about anything trivialising, she didn't lock her room anymore, and tried to sit in the sitting room when she wasn't busy.

That was the best she could do, she struggled with being friendly and wished it came as naturally to her as it seemed to for others, but that simply wasn't her. She was perpetually a wall of stone and had never had solid mates. None that lasted long anyway. Once they realised she was never around and couldn't spend time with them, they drifted away. She was always working, studying or looking after her mum.

Trinity and Harley shared almost all of the same modules but anytime she tried to invite her out, she declined, and in class she sat as far away as possible. She had a philosophy about not waiting for people to disappoint you when you could just do it first. But she was being cold to the only person who had taken the time to be nice to her, especially when none of the other people in her classes were worth talking to. They cared more about the contents on their phones a good chunk of the time than paying attention to what the lecturers were saying. And the ones that didn't, had their noses so far up in the air Harley was almost worried they'd break their necks from how stiff they were.

Her classmates might’ve been terrible, but rest assured the rain that caught her on the way home was even worse. Hence why she decided to finally check out the well raved about Coffea’d , Harley figured it would be a good place to hide out until the rain died down. Considering the sun had been shining so bright this morning she hadn’t accounted for the surprising change in the weather. She knew better. England’s weather was infamous for being unpredictable.

The inside was just as pretty as the outside, the walls were a pale blue, the glass and marble round tables with bamboo style chairs plus the floor-to-ceiling windows and she knew immediately she was going to end up spending far too much time here drinking more caffeine than her body could handle. Although you could never have too much caffeine, no matter what the internet might say.

There was also a display case of varying types of cakes and pastry but despite her sweet tooth, she was going to just order a drink this time. She ordered a latte and sat on an empty chair.

As time went on, and the rain showed no signs of letting up, she found herself thankful for it because it gave her some room to catch up with her classes. It had only been three weeks and the last thing she wanted to do was fall behind. Harley was certain Richard Thorne (father not son) would look for any reason to kick her out, because every time he passed her in the corridors he was giving her the evil eye. Apparently, he was never around this often, and yet she had seen him at least twice a week since she started.

She looked around. There were many other people in here, it was hectic but Harley had never been in here before to know if this was the norm or if others were also hiding from the rain. The staff all looked as worn down as she felt. This had her thinking about why she hadn't even considered looking for a job the entire time since she’d been here. She had the bank card that Posy gave her but she rarely spent the money on it, it just didn’t feel right. Still, she knew if she ever needed it, it would be there, so she had grown lax.

Harley made a split-second decision and got up from her chair to ask for the manager. Maybe if she had some income of her own, it would help feel a sense of normalcy, as if she was back home. She wore her brightest smile and the friendliest face she could summon, making sure to control her features in place as she got closer to the counter, but the girl at the till didn’t offer the same courtesy. “Hi, I was wondering if you had any vacancies?”

“We’re busy at the moment, come back another time,” the girl said to her, straight-faced like Harley personally offended her. Harley’s shoulders hunched at this and her irritation flared, but she let it roll off her back.

“There are two people in the line, you’re not that busy.”

“Busy enough to me,” she says.

“Not particularly.”