Red String 2 {h.s}

Chapter 20

Amy wakes the following morning and she feels refreshed for the first time since arriving back in Vancouver. She notices Harry isn't next to her and she grabs her phone to look at the time. She bolts upright when she notices it's already ten in the morning, meaning she missed her mom's chemo appointment at nine. Amy runs into the kitchen and sees her dad sitting in the kitchen reading a newspaper.

"Dad! Where's mom? Her appointment..." Amy trails off frantically.

"It's fine. Harry took her," her dad says, barely looking up from his paper.

"What? Why didn't you wake me?"

"You needed the rest. You've been out cold for fourteen hours. He wanted to go," her dad reassures her.

Richard finally looks up at her, standing in her pajamas with messy bed head.

"Go get ready for the day. I'll make you coffee and some breakfast."

Amy reluctantly leaves the kitchen. She takes a shower, blow drying her hair and putting on some mascara. She changes into jeans and then digs into Harry's bag for a t-shirt to wear. She gathers the rest of their dirty clothes and decides to put some laundry on. When she comes back into the kitchen her dad has made her toast and eggs and hands her a cup of coffee. She gives him a kiss on the cheek in gratitude and sits at the table where he joins her.

"You look better. I was getting worried about you," he confesses. "I should have known to just get Harry here."

"What do you mean?" she asks between bites of food.

He takes a deep breath, judging his audience before he goes on.

"Have you ever watched a time capture video of flowers when the sun begins shining? They start drooped, facing down to the ground. Then the sun rises and so do they, lifting themselves up to find the light. No one would argue that flowers aren't beautiful on their own without the light but, boy, do they shine with it. And you, Amy, you shine when he's around."

Amy looks at her dad smiling brightly at her and she thinks about his words. Something she thought was only felt by her and Harry, was apparently noticed by others too. Their connection was powerful enough that everyone around them noticed it. It was like a force field, something out of a sci-fi movie that protected them when they were together.

"He definitely feels like the sun to me," she says chuckling at her dad's analogy.

At that moment, they hear the front door open and chatter as Harry and Amy's mom come home. They're both smiley when they walk into the kitchen.

"Hey, how was it?" Amy asks. "Sorry I slept in."

"No, no. You needed to rest. And Harry was a real hit!"

"Oh boy," Amy says, knowing that wry grin Harry has on his face can only be trouble.

"Yes, the nurses said he is welcome back anytime. I think he made this young woman's day! She burst into tears when she saw him. Thought it was part of some sort of adult make-a-wish program."

They all start laughing and Amy shakes her head at Harry's bashful smile as he stays close to Amy's mom, his arm around her shoulder, almost like he already knows she'll be a bit weak and unsteady for the rest of the day. But, then I guess he would know that after experiencing all of this with his step-dad, she thinks.

"You sang to her didn't you?" Amy asks, with a big smile on her face.

Harry doesn't say anything, just blushes a deep red.

"He sure did! Voice of an angel! My future son-in-law," she says, grabbing his chin and squeezing his cheeks together like only a mother would.

"Let's get you sitting with your feet up, hun," Richard says, approaching them.