Callum & Harper (Sleepless 1)

There was a distinct buzz and an audible click before I opened the door for Harper. She squeezed past me, her front brushing mine, her hair floating beneath my nose. Warmth flushed over me. We both smiled at one another before footsteps interrupted us.

“Hi, I’m Kenny. I’ll be showing you the apartment,” the stranger said, before holding out his hand.

I shook it firmly. “Pleasure, Kenny. I’m Callum and this is Harper,” I said, gesturing to her at my side. I loved to see her there, at my side.

“You two look awfully young to be interested in an apartment,” he said, eyeing us skeptically.

For some reason, Harper took massive offense to this for some reason. “Yeah, seeing as neither of us have parents and all, we don’t really have a choice now do we?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have..,” Kenny stuttered.

“It’s okay,” I interrupted the man, before shooting Harper a ‘what’s wrong with you?’ look.

“What? He was the busy body who started making assumptions.”

“Harper,” I admonished under my breath.

“Uh, right this way,” Kenny said pointing to the elevator.

It was a long ride up to the top floor, the enclosed space felt stifling thanks to Harper’s defensiveness.

“It’s, uh, right here,” he said quietly, pointing to thirteen-oh-seven, the last door on our left. He removed keys from his pocket and opened the door. “I’ll leave you two to look around. I’ll be on the first floor if you have any questions.” He closed the door behind him and we just stood there looking at each other, listening as he stepped onto the elevator.

I broke the silence. “Even if we wanted this apartment, I doubt he’d rent it to us.”

“Uh! Why?” She asked, looking confused.

“Maybe because you were rude to him, Harper?”

“What?”

“Harper, he may have overstepped his boundaries a bit but he meant no harm by it.”

She sighed audibly, opened her mouth, but snapped it shut instead, releasing a hard breath through her nose. She walked off toward the bedroom, examined the plaster ceilings and walls. I followed her as she inspected the size, before she moved on to the bathroom.

“It’s nice,” she said to me, failing to meet my eyes.

“I agree,” I said in a hushed tone.

She stopped, examined the white hexagon tile beneath her feet. She ran her toe over the black grout. “Do you really think I botched our chances?”

“I don’t know, Harper,” I sighed loudly, running both hands through my hair and leaning against the marble countertop of the bathroom sink.

She sat on the toilet seat, burying her face in her hands. After awhile, I notice salty tears dripping from the sides of her hands. Oh, God. You were too harsh, Callum. I hastily grabbed some toilet tissue from the roll next to her and handed her a few squares, moving to sit on the edge of the pedestal tub beside her.

“I’m such an idiot and I’m sorry. Please stop crying. I don’t know why I was so short with you.” I paused for a second. “Well, it was probably because Sam came over today and anyway, please forgive me.”

She sniffed loudly and wiped at her nose. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just in a horrible mood. I’ll apologize to the guy.”

“Why? Have I upset you?”

“No! No. I mean, of course not. You’ve been nothing but kind to me. It’s just, well...”

But before she could continue, Kenny opened the front door.

“Hello!” He called out.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “We’re in here!” I yelled, wishing we could have had just five more minutes. It felt like the world didn’t want us to talk about anything of substance.