I woke up the next morning to a snoring Harry in front of my face. He looked so perfect when he was asleep. His head was always turned slightly upward with a tangle of curls on top of it. His lips were always barely parted. His right arm was always thrown over me and his legs were always intertwined with mine.

I moved his arm lightly, hoping not to wake him up, so that I could go into the kitchen. I wanted to surprise Harry with breakfast to make up for the dinner he'd made the night before.

I tried my best not to clatter the pans together as I drug them out of the cabinet. I was going to try to make him cinnamon rolls.

I sprayed the pan with what I assumed was the correct amount of oil and then plopped the pre-made items onto it.

I put the correct amount of time and heat onto the stove and let Harry's makeshift breakfast heat up.

I scrambled some eggs and made coffee while the cinnamon rolls were cooking.

"Good morning," a raspy voice called from the entrance of the kitchen while I pulled the pan out of the oven.

"Go back to bed! Close your eyes and go back to bed!"

He laughed and covered his eyes with his hands. He stumbled down the hallway to our bedroom, knocking over a couple random things that inhabited the corridor.

I hurriedly piled the food on a plate and poured some coffee into a mug.

I carefully carried the meal to a smiling Harry sitting on the bed.

"Good morning," I sighed.

"Thanks, babe," he said taking the plate and cup from my hands.

I sat beside him on the bed.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'll wait. Breakfast is gross."

"I will take you back to that hospital and have them give you another 'your body is a temple' speech if you stop eating again."

"That's blackmail, but I appreciate it."

He put his hand on my thigh and rubbed it with his thumb.

"Would you be interested in going on a short vacation?"

"What? Of course!"

I couldn't help but get excited. I had never been on a proper holiday with Harry.

"Where are we going?" I asked, with the biggest smile possible plastered on my face.

"It's a surprise."

He hummed as he chewed his food and drank his black coffee.

Harry liked to surprise me with dates. They went well most of the time, but the circus and the carnival were both big mistakes. A clown almost robbed us and I threw up twice on the Dizzy Dragon.

"What time are we leaving?" I asked.

"As soon as possible. Pack your bags, Marilyn Lee!"

He got up and carried his dirty dishes into the kitchen.

I pulled a suitcase down from the top of the closet. I threw what seemed to be enough clothes in it, which basically meant a bunch of pajamas and one good outfit.

I took a hot shower and fixed my hair. I even put on some makeup and decent clothes. Well, eye shadow and a flannel shirt.

I came out of the bathroom to find that he was wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees.

"Do you have everything you need in your bag?" he asked.

"I don't know. How many days was I supposed to pack for?"

"That'll ruin the surprise," he said, poking my nose with his index finger.

He apparently liked booping my nose.

I sighed as I rolled my suitcase out to the car. Harry, carrying his duffle and my floral toiletry bag, trailed behind me.

We put the bags in the trunk, his seemingly much heavier than mine. I worried about not packing enough, but I could always buy another outfit if I needed it. Unless the place Harry was taking me didn't have stores. I told myself that I was worrying about nothing and there were shops everywhere.

I crawled into the car while he jogged to the other side. He buckled his seat belt, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot of our complex.

"Ready to roll?" he asked.

I laughed. He was either a five year old or a forty year old man. There was literally no in between.

"Can you give me a hint?" I asked.

He shook his head, smiling.

"I can give you a joke."

I rolled my eyes. I always acted like I hated Harry's jokes, but in all honesty, I found almost all of them funny. Sure, they probably came out of a joke book from 1977, but they had really punny punchlines.

"Okay, did you hear about the sensitive burglar?"

I shook my head.

"He took things personally."

"That has to be the worst joke you've ever told."

His cheeks were slightly puffed out as he tried to hold in his laughter. I never understood how he could look attractive even when he was being a huge cheeseball.

"That was funny and you know it!" he said, finally letting his laughter out.

His loud chuckle filled the car. Harry's laughter was always loud and hearty and you could easily tell the difference between his forced one and his genuine one.

We had been driving for about thirty minutes when I realized that I really needed to pee. I had forgotten to go before we left.

"How much longer until we get there?" I asked, drumming my finger on the armrest.

"I can't tell you that either."

"I really need the toilet."

"If I stop, you'll find out where we are and then the surprise will be ruined," he whined.

"I'll pee right here, if that's what you want."

I jokingly started tugging at my pants, Harry's eyes growing wide.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

I laughed as he nervously looked around for somewhere with a public bathroom.

"Don't joke about that," he said.

"What? Did you experience a traumatic pee on leather incident as a child?"

He shook his head, obviously trying to hold back a laugh at my ridiculous statement.

He pulled into a 7/11 parking lot. I bolted out of the car and into the shop, trying to avoid knocking any racks down. I could hear Harry's speedy footsteps behind me, the heels of his boots click-clacking on the floor of the petrol station.

I found the bathroom soon enough. I closed the door most of the way before a hand reached out and stopped it.

"Harry, what are you doing?" I asked, pressing my legs together.

"Haven't you ever heard of the buddy system? Let me in."

"We are not having sex in here."

"I just want to make sure you're safe."

I opened the door the rest of the way, allowing him to join me in the smelly restroom.

I made Harry turn around while I used the toilet. I washed my hands while he peed.

"Do you need any snacks while we're here?" he asked, shutting the door of the toilet behind him.

"Some crisps would be nice."

He put his arm around my shoulders as I picked up a packet of crisps and he got a bag of Haribo gummy bears.

He paid for the food and we headed back out to the car. I looked around to see if any of the landscape gave me a hint to where we were going, but it just looked like normal Brighton.

I munched on the fatty potato crisps while Harry drove down the highway. I started to feel really tired as I watched our surroundings blur past us.

"I think I'm going to take a quick nap," I said, reclining the seat a bit.

"Don't let the car bugs bite."

I let out a quite laugh as I closed my eyes.

"Please do something!" my mother cried.

Tears streamed down her face while she tried to untie her hands and feet. I wanted to help her, but my feet were stuck to the floor. I couldn't move.

"Marilyn! Help me!"

I let out a choked sob as I saw a hooded figure with a knife approach her. Why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I stop it?

"Please! I have a daughter and a business and a dog! They need me!"

The figure didn't seem to care as he sharpened his knife over the flailing body of my mother.

"You should've thought about that before..." a deep voice said.

Before what? What had my mother done? Did she deserve what she was getting? Was that why I couldn't help her?

"None of that matters anymore! Just let me go!"

A hearty laughed escaped the man in the hood's mouth. He raised the knife and plunged it into her stomach.

"I love you," she whispered before her eyes closed.

I was shaking and my body was sweaty even though I could feel cold air nipping at my skin. Strong arms were holding me and my first instinct was to be afraid of them, but my brain registered that it was just Harry.

"Shhh, shhhh," he whispered, stroking my hair.

The world started to make sense again. I realized that I had just had a bad dream and that none of it was real.

Harry was holding me in an abandoned parking lot, rocking back and forth to try and comfort me.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, my voice weak.

"I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry."

I shivered. My flannel shirt was more for looks rather than warmth and the harsh wind of wherever we were was breaking through the fabric.

"Let's get back in the car," he said, picking me up bridal style.

He sat me down in the passenger side, kissing my temple.

"We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to. We can do whatever you want," he said, grabbing at my hand.

"Keep talking."

The sound of Harry's voice calmed me down and drug the worry from my mind. He didn't mind rambling on about stories that he'd already told a dozen times. I could focus on them better than I could focus on anything else.

"I didn't want to tell you, but I've been driving the long way to the cabin, you know the one that Robin always talks about when we have dinner with them. I thought it would give you time to think, since it's pretty much in the middle of the woods."

I imagined the snow on the bare branches of the trees and the fireplace inside the log cabin, but I couldn't get the image of the murder out of my mind. I knew that it was just a dream, but my mind still wandered.

"The place is probably stocked full of wintery things. I asked Gemma if she could make it all festive for you and she was happy to do it. "

I smiled at the thought of hot chocolate and Christmas movies. Harry and I really hadn't had the chance to get into the Christmas spirit quite yet.

"We can go now. I'm alright," I said.

"You sure? I wouldn't mind sitting here for another..."

"Yes, I'm sure."

He nodded and put the car in drive. He had to drive around for a few minutes, trying to find the exit of the parking lot. Apparently he had parked there two hours earlier and that was long enough to forget the ins and outs of a place.

He said that he would take the normal route so we could get there faster than planned.

He pulled into a narrow, winding road less than an hour later. The cabin came into view and it was absolutely beautiful.

It was wonderful and I understood why Robin talked about it so much. It was made of dark wood and was adorned with white fairy lights in honor of the season. Snow covered the roof and the windows and even covered a big sign on the top of the door that had the address on it.

"Wow," I said, earning a smile from Harry.

We hauled our bags out of the backseat and to the front door. With numb fingers, I grabbed the key from Harry's hand and unlocked the door. I wanted to do the honors of unveiling what was inside.

I opened the door to see a cozy little cabin with floors of light wood and walls matching the outside of the house. It was a dream come true for me, considering I loved cute and warm things.

"Harry, this place is gorgeous!" I said, dropping my bags and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Let me show you around."

I followed him into the living room first. There were two couches and a comfortable looking armchair, each of them decorated with a fuzzy throw blanket. There was a large television mounted on the wall and under it was a bookshelf stacked full of DVDs and novels. A furry, white rug was placed expertly in the middle of the room. Everything looked so expensive and nice, but the real centerpiece was the fireplace.

A huge fireplace that was wider than Harry and I combined was placed on the wall, in the middle of everything. It wasn't lit, but I knew it would be beautiful.

The kitchen was nice, mainly filled with old timey appliances. The hallway was narrow, the walls lined with pictures of Harry and his sister when they were kids.

The bedroom was absolutely one of the best I had ever been in. A king bed was placed in the middle of the room, a chandelier hanging delicately above it. The windows were lined with Christmas lights and beautiful white curtains.

"The bathroom is right there," he said, pointing to the door beside the wardrobe.

I had told him that I needed a shower from being all sweaty in the car.

He followed me into the bathroom and showed me where all of the towels and extra toiletries were. I gathered my stuff together while he made sure that everything we needed was somewhere in a cabinet.

I tossed my shirt over my head. He started to leave, but I stopped him.

"Haven't you ever heard of the buddy system?"