Wish I Knew You Sooner

chapter eighteen

A/N: before we start, I just wanted to point out how the POV shifts frequently in the chapter! I titled each section, so it should be easier to follow who's view it is from:) enjoy!!

Harry's POV

I am taking in every syllable that Oakland is saying, since this is clearly very important to her for me to know. She didn't have to finish the story for me to pick up on where it was going, and I just wanted to wrap her up right then and there to hug and protect her. No one deserves to go through what she did, and I completely understand that it is traumatizing. It could have been brought back up somehow, triggering her to spiral, so I couldn't ever blame her for reacting the way that she did.

I could see tears in her eyes, making my heart sink knowing that this is hard for her to tell me. I sat there for a moment watching her, eyes were glazed over as if she was going to cry at any moment, but her mind was going too fast for her to stop crying. I couldn't quite understand what had made her think crying was bad but in this moment I just decided to let her process my words and to ask her about it another time. I took her hand in mine, squeezing just to let her know I was here and I understood.

"Oak, I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. You should never need to feel like you need to apologize." I told her, maintaining eye contact so that she could feel the words more strongly.

She started to respond but her voice was shaky so she stared back at mine, merely trying to tell me everything but without speaking a single syllable, and in the moment I knew...

She was my present.

Oakland's POV

"Aw so close!" I cheered.

Harry and I have been trying to catch fruit in our mouths for what felt like the past hour. I ended up explaining everything to him relating to Lucca: the trauma, the experience, and the nightmare... but I left out the part where he was in it instead. I didn't want to worry him or for him to think that I thought of him in that way, so I left it out. He understood fully, making me feel welcomed and warm. He told me that it was all okay, and that everything was going to be alright.

I could tell after the tough conversation, that he wanted to distract me, and lift up my emotions because I was getting a tad anxious just talking about my past, so we ended up eating the sandwiches he packed, and now we are playing with the fruit. The sun was at its peak, so I took off my clothes to also bathe in the sun.

"Here!" he said, holding up a piece of the ripe, green fruit for me to catch. I grinned big, opening my mouth and sticking my tongue out to perfectly catch it. "Unfair." he grumbled. I've caught every piece, but he misses almost every time.

I chuckled at his mumble, "maybe next time, Babe." I said picking up a strawberry for him. I looked back up to see him with a wide grin across his face. "What?" I questioned, but it instantly hit me that I just called him 'Babe'. I shrugged it off, not really caring since he always called me 'love' or 'angel'.

"Oh nothing..." he brushed it off. "Come on" he urged me to continue the game. I tossed him the strawberry, him finally catching it as well. We both cheered in his final victory, and ended the game.

I laid down on my back as I brought my sunglasses to my eyes, blocking the rays as I let the sun tan my skin. He laid down next to me, so I scooted closer, resting my head on his arm. He grabbed a speaker from the car when we first got here, and was playing some chill music to match the energy. Best Part by Daniel Caesar was playing in the background, wrapping us up in a perfect bubble.