one minute || h.s

twenty-øne

So...I've been super inspired for this story, you lucky ducks. What is this? Like, eighteenth update in the past 24 hours? (jk I wish) UM...short but important chapter, hope you enjoy!

Song toward the end was The Light by The Album Leaf (on repeat, for real the top most played song in my library...think around 3,000 times? It's super emotional, take a listen!)

PS: dedicated to ALL of you who vote and comment on every single chapter, I love you all so, so, so much. I hope you know that always!

Okay, bye, enjoy xox

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Hallie.

“Okay, so that man right there…he’s a head hunting director. He’s looking for a woman to role in his new alien vs. predator porno—” My laugh had to be too loud, because people turned and watched us. They all had to have been wondering who the two freaks were, wearing sunglasses and ridiculous wigs inside a fairly nice restaurant, but we couldn’t have really cared if someone paid us. Our feet played footsie under the table and we were the only ones in the place, or so it seemed. The man who Harry had been talking about turned and looked at him.

“And now he’s strongly considering offering you the role.” I said with a silly smile.

“I’d be hot in a porno like that, are you kidding? I’d fücking blow them all away—” We paused as what he’d said sunk in, then our laughter resumed because that was real fücking punny. He sipped his drink and my eyes fell upon the couple holding hands and walking inside. My stomach plummeted to the balls of my feet and my throat became dry and I felt sick, absolutely sick to my stomach. “Hal? Hey…monkey, what’s wrong?” I continued to stare at her. She laughed at something he said and he kissed her neck and I knew that I’d throw up if any more time passed by. Maybe it wasn’t her? Maybe…then I saw the charm bracelet on her wrist. My matching one was on my dresser back at the apartment. “Hallie, jesus…what is it, doll?” He followed my gaze and it took him a minute, but from the pictures hanging up around my place, he had to have known. “Oh shit…” I continued to stare and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Maybe it’s not what it looks like, love. Do you want to go talk to her?” I remained still. Frozen in my place because my mother was sitting across from a man who absolutely was not my father and she was kissing him and holding his hand and if I wasn’t mistaken, that’s a little thing called cheating and she was cheating on my dad. My mom was cheating on my dad. I went to stand up when Harry stopped me. “Woah, hey, hey…baby, think about what you’re going to say—” I shook his hand away and threw my napkin down and the mystery prick saw me first and gave me a puzzled look, then she turned around. 

“Can we help you—” I tore my sunglasses off and the sparkle in her eyes was gone in an instant. 

“Hallie…sweetheart…this isn’t—this isn’t what it looks like—”

“You’re cheating on dad.” My voice was broken, despite the anger quickly boiling up inside of me.

“Honey, please—oh god, please just listen to me…” I turned around ready to walk away when she grabbed my arm and then Harry was at my side with my purse.

“How could you?!” I knew I was loud, but I didn’t care. “Why—why? How could you do this to him?”

“Hallie, please! Please, baby, hear me out!”

“How could you cheat on him?! How could you do this to us?!”

“Listen to me right now, Hallie…you can’t tell him—not yet—” She was disgusting and so despicable at that moment, I could barely stand the sight of her.

“Go to hell, mom.” I sneered and before I knew what was happening and before I could think twice, my fist was colliding with the douchebag’s face and then I was being carried—presumably by Harry—away and out of the restaurant. “Let go, Harry—fücking let me go!” I tried to shake him away but he was too strong and suddenly, I was being tossed inside the passenger side of my car.

“Breathe, okay? I need you to breathe, baby…” I was fuming, fuming to the point where you actually feel the temperature in your body escalating. “We’re going back to mine, okay?” I could only nod, and even that was brief. Obviously, I wasn’t mad at Harry. Not in the slightest bit, but my mind and body were working on intensely irrational overdrive and I couldn’t think straight for the life of me. We drove in silence, not one word was spoken and the only sound came from the low volume of the radio. The car wasn’t even in park yet when I was stepping out of it and slamming the door. I ran through the garage and inside, making my way straight for the guest bedroom. I heard his footsteps following close behind, but before he could catch up, I was slamming the door and locking it behind me. I tore my wig off, throwing it onto the floor before collapsing along with it. I hugged my knees to my chest as tears finally began to pour out from my eyes. My back was against the door and I could hear the shuffle of feet on the other side, until I heard the thud and then sound of fabric sliding down. He must’ve been in my same position. Nothing was said for the first few minutes as I cried, but then when he spoke up, his voice was gravelly and soft and I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. “Baby?” Without standing up, I opened the door and crawled out, only to be pulled into his lap. I clutched onto the fabric of his button up as his arms secured tightly around me.

“She’s cheating on him…how…how can this be happening? Why would she do this?” One of his hands was holding my head underneath his neck and I felt him shrug.

“Some people, Hallie…they mess up…they make mistakes—”

“I understand Adam cheating on me…I was just a stupid girl, but they’re married! They’ve been married for twenty years! How does someone just go and cheat like that?” I knew he didn’t know the answer, and I didn’t necessarily need it—especially not from him—but I needed something. 

“I don’t know, baby, I don’t…” I shook myself out of his arms and stood up.

“I need to go home.”

“What? Where?”

“I need to go see my dad…he needs to know.”

“Hey, Hallie, stop! Stop it, okay? That isn’t your place!”

“Not my place? Not my place, are you fücking kidding me? It’s absolutely my fücking place, I’m her daughter and he’s my dad! He has—”

“You have to let her tell him. You can’t do that, Be mad at her, don’t talk to her, fine. But do not tell him. That needs to come from her.”

“Since when are you the expert on this? I mean, I forgot. You’re the expert on everything. You’re the fücking expert on cheating spouses, love…what the hell else Harry? The one fücking relationship in my whole fücking life that felt so safe…I wanted to marry someone and have the kind of marriage that my parents had! What the hell am I supposed to do now? My mom…I thought she loved my dad! But she cheated on him. I thought Adam loved me but he fücking didn’t! He didn’t love me! I was a joke to him and he cheated on me—what am I supposed to fücking believe in now?!”

“I love you Hallie! I fücking love you! Me! You’re supposed to believe in me!” His voice was powerful and booming and his words went straight to my stubborn heart. “I’m yours. Your rock! Your fücking safety…it’s me! It’s always been fücking me! I know this sucks, I know you’re hurt and angry and scared and I wish I could take all that away. I wish I could make it all disappear…make it better, but I can’t. I fücking can’t. I can only stand here and tell you that I am in love with you—that you…are the love of my life and that I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to fücking leave you or cheat on you and you need to believe in that. Believe in me, Hal.” My legs moved without my consent and before I could reroute myself, I was in his arms, holding onto him for dear life.

“I believe in you, Harry. I do, I promise I do.” We stood there, holding each other and it didn’t make the previous day’s events go away, but for a little bit, it made the hurt not hurt so bad.