Flower Girl | h.s.

48. Part Two.

TW: this chapter depicts domestic abuse in a relationship, violence/violent themes, and descriptions of blood.

please read with caution if any of that is harmful to you.

your mental health is way more important than a story.
I love you no matter what.

"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me." - Elizabeth Bennett

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

___________________

Harry

"How long is this going to take?" Brooks asks, his feet swinging from the chair that sat in the overcast afternoon.

We were quite lucky for that, considering some days in Southern California at this time of year could reach very hot temperatures. But today, it was fairly mild.

I look at the program that we were handed upon entering the outdoor arena– Daisy was only graduating with her particular school, which meant that it wasn't the entirety of UCLA's graduating class. But it was still quite a lot.

"I'm not sure," I tell him honestly, "Never been to one of these." We packed a small tote bag full of activities to keep us all busy, "I'm going to say a few hours, at least."

We had made it to our seats which involved being in these white, wooden lawn chairs that will only permanently harm my back, I'm sure.

I'm sitting between Lottie and Brooks to keep either one of them busy if they need it. Lottie is less likely to need it, considering she downloaded a book on her phone, but Brooks on the other hand is in serious need of attention. I'm sure he doesn't care about the six speeches from people who donated a lot of money to spew their opinions to the graduating class and their respective families.

While I know that this wasn't how any of us really wanted to spend our Friday afternoon, I was pretty pumped that this day had finally come for Daisy. It was a huge step in her life; one of our first milestones spent together. While she might not feel like it was in the moment, this would be a moment she'd have for the rest of her life.

No one– not me, not anyone– was going to be able to take that diploma and hardwork from her.

She was fearless in the sense that she did what she wanted for herself without anyone else's judgment. Daisy made decisions for herself; she was starting to learn that she didn't have to make anyone else happy to make herself happy.

She pushed through and got what she wanted. It was sexy.

We had gotten here a bit early because Daisy had to line up with all of the other graduates. It wasn't ideal, but sitting in the warmth of the day started to make me feel just a bit better.

The kids and I were able to keep ourselves occupied for the time being. Lottie had endless entertainment on her phone. I brought up a small tote bag that held our books and some other puzzle games for Brooks to keep him occupied, which I decided to dig through before the ceremony even started.

I handed Brooks his copy of A Bear Called Paddington, which I had been helping him get through. I hadn't been the best at making sure his reading had been done recently, as we'd been pretty busy, but I tried to make time whenever we could.

"This book is hard," He whined just a bit, taking the book in his hands even though I knew that he didn't want to.

That was the thing about Brooks: he would complain about things that he didn't like, but he always did them when asked to. I understood where there may have been displeasure in reading and doing activities that were hard at first.