"Brynn.. Please just.. Give me another chance. Give me a chance to make it up to you." He said.. "Do you remember when you told me that you would never do what my exes did?" I asked, and he studied my face for a few seconds, before nodding.
"Damn it.. Brynn, I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong, and that it hurt you, but—" I cut him off. "You completely betrayed my trust, and then you came home drunk off your ass and practically yelled at me for no reason. I'm not sure which one was worse at this point." I commented, and he sighed, as if remembering something..
"Your dad.." He trailed off. "He used to do that to you.. Jesus christ I'm a horrible person." He muttered, shoving his hands through his hair. He looked around for a few seconds, before meeting my gaze again. "Brynn, I'm so sorry." He said. I shrugged. "I'm not accepting your apology." I replied. "I know... Listen, um.. Can I please just take Grace home? And you can have the time you need to yourself?" He asked. "No. I'm keeping her with me." I stated. "Brynn, I need her with me." He said. "No, you don't. Because I'm pretty certain you've been getting drunk every night since we left. And I'm not putting her in that situation. That's exactly what happened to me. So, no. She's staying with me, while you sort your own shit out." I commented.
"I'm not leaving here without her. So, either you're coming back with us. Or, I'm taking her and you can go back to wherever you've been staying. Because she's my daughter too, and you can't keep her from me." He stated, taking a step towards me. I stood my ground, my arms still crossed over my chest. "I literally just told you, no. I'm not subjecting her to what I went through. And us fighting in this parking lot is just making things worse for her. She shouldn't have to see this." I commented, glancing back at my car..
"I'll stop drinking, Brynn. I promise. Just, please. I need you both there with me. We can work through this. But, honestly.. Being apart isn't going to help. So, come back. Please." He said. "Not today. I'm sorry, Harry. But, no." I commented, looking at him one more time before turning and walking back to get in my car..
As I was getting in, I saw him shove his hands through his hair and turn around, leaning against his car.. "Damn it." I muttered, then instantly regretted cursing in front of Grace. But she didn't say anything..
I got back out of the car. "Fucking guilt.. Why the hell do I have to start feeling these things at the worst times." I murmured, walking back towards him. He saw my reflection in the car window and quickly turned around..
He opened his mouth to say something, and I held up my hand. "Just, shut up and let me talk." I stated, and he shut his mouth, nodding. "What you did, is horrible. And I know that you know that.. But, I'm not going to be one of those people in relationships or whatever, that constantly try and control and manipulate the other person. Because that's not who I am.. So, I'm going to be straight with you.. I'm going to try and forget about what you did. It might take a while, and I don't know if I'll trust you anytime soon. But.. Yeah." I explained, and he studied my face for a moment. "I can't tell if you're being serious right now.. You were pissed at me like five seconds ago." He commented.
"Just..." I trailed off, making a motion with my head. He followed it, looking across the lot. There was a girl in her car, that had likely filmed our entire fight.
"Damn it.." He muttered, looking back over at me. "Can you still take stuff down? Like, what you used to do?" He asked, and I sighed. "No. Jeff would probably sue me." I said. "I don't think he would. This would be something he'd like taken down." He replied, and I nodded, thinking about it. "Okay, well.. I have to go. I've got a work project that needs to get done by tonight." I commented, and he took a step closer to me. "But, you're coming back, right? You and Grace?" He asked, and I looked at him for a few seconds..
"Yeah.. We will." I said, and he nodded, reaching up and lightly touching the side of my face. I tried to pull back, and he held onto the back of my neck. "Just for the camera. It might help when that video gets out." He commented quietly, even though I knew the girl couldn't actually hear what we were saying.
I nodded, letting him kiss me. After a few seconds, he pulled back, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I really am sorry." He murmured, tucking his head into my neck. "I know." I replied, slowly pulling back. He looked at me for a few seconds. "Can I talk to Grace for a few minutes?" He asked, and I sighed.
"Just for a few minutes." I said, walking over and pulling open the back door. I undid her car seat buckle, and she climbed out of the car, running over and wrapping her arms around his legs. I leaned against my car, glancing over at the girl, who was still recording us through her window. She didn't move when she saw me looking, and I rolled my eyes, going back to watching Grace. Harry had crouched down and was quietly talking to her...
**
After a few minutes, I put her back in her car seat, and we drove back to the hotel. I watched Harry turn to go the other direction, and sighed, shoving a hand through my hair..
"Mum." Grace said out of nowhere, and I glanced back at her. "Guess how many rocks we collected today?" She commented, and I smiled. "How many?" I asked. She sat up a little. "Thirty-six." She replied, and I laughed a little. "Wow, that's a lot of rocks. What are you going to do with all of those?" I asked.
"Well, Jasmine wanted to have a contest to see who could throw them further." She said. "Wow, well that sounds fun. Just make sure you don't accidentally hit any of the other kids in your class." I commented, and she nodded..
"Hey, mum?" She asked after a few seconds of silence. "Yeah?" I replied, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror.. "Are you and dad going to get a divorce? Because, this girl in my class said her mom and dad are divorced and that they hate each other." She commented. I sighed, knowing she didn't actually understand what divorce was.. "No, honey. We aren't getting divorced. You see, in order to get divorced, you have to be married. Your dad and I aren't married." I answered.. She seemed to think about that for a while. "Why not?" She asked, and I sighed again. Kids ask way too many questions.
It's sort of interesting though, because it forces you to think about things from different perspectives. And yet, I never know how to answer her questions when they're like this. Because the real answer is that I simply don't believe marriage is necessary. But, if I said that to her, it might change how she views it. And, it's not my place to put my own opinions in her head..
"It's complicated. I'm sure your dad or I will tell you when you're older." I said, and heard her dramatically sigh. She'd been told that many times before...
