the classroom - hs.

Chapter 8 - How You Get The Girl

Harry's POV: 9:30 AM Harry's House

I woke up alone in my bed.

No Brooke?

I rubbed my eyes and walked towards the door when I smelled bacon. Brooke must have been cooking breakfast. I opened our bedroom door and walked through the hallway and down the stairs. As I dragged my feet into the kitchen I saw Brooke standing in front of the stove with a skillet.

"Morning honey," I said to her, smiling.

She returned the smile and said, "Good morning, Harry. I'm making breakfast for us."

I walked to the stove and stood behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and squeezing her tightly. "I love you Brooke, you know that?" I asked her.

"Of course I do. I love you more," she says, leaning into me and turning her face to look up at me.

I leaned down to kiss her. "Not possible."

I walked over to the cabinet, pulling out two plates and two sets of silverware, placing them neatly on the table. Brooke removed the skillet from the burner and brought it over to the table. She slid an egg and two slices of bacon onto my plate. She did the same for her plate.

"Enjoy," she said, smiling brightly at me.

"Thank you, babe. So what kind of bacon is this?" I asked. I could tell it wasn't pork, but I wasn't sure exactly WHAT it was.

"Turkey bacon! You don't think that I forgot you don't eat pork or beef, right? And I remember how much you loved the turkey bacon I made last month." She laughed.

My face fell. "I don't eat any meat... Just fish. I'm a pescatarian"

How could she not know this? We've been married for FIVE YEARS.

Brooke's smile faded. "But- you loved it last time.."

"What are you talking about Brooke? You never made me ANY turkey bacon. You barely ever make breakfast in the first place for that matter. I ALWAYS cook. For me, for you, for the kids. This is the first time you've cooked in AGES. I understand that parenting involves teamwork, but that means that YOU actually need to help." My voice was getting progressively louder as I got more frustrated.

If she didn't cook for me, who did she cook for?

Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off, saying, "It doesn't matter right now. I'm going to Niall's place. I need to cool off. Then I'm picking up the kids from my Mom's and we can talk sometime later.

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Time Skip (10:30 AM Niall's House)

I knocked on Niall's door, then stood back and looked at the floor, waiting for my best friend to open the door. I heard the latch turn and the door opened. I looked up to see Amelia, Niall's wife.

"Hi Mia, is Niall home?" I ask, attempting to smile at her.

"Yeah, he is. Is everything alright?" She asked concernedly.

"Yeah- well no, not really. Me and Brooke just got in a fight and I left before we could resolve the issue. I just really needed to calm down before I could say something I'd regret," I explained. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," she says, hurriedly letting me in. "He's in the basement."

I walked into the familiar home, making a beeline for the stairs to the basement. I saw Niall sitting on the couch watching golf. He looks up from the TV when he hears me come in.

"Oh hey mate, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I need to ask you for some advice."

"Okay, shoot," he tells me.

I sit down next to him. "So you know how me and Brooke have been having some issues lately, right?" I asked.

Niall nodded.

I continue, "and you know how I'm a pescatarian, and I have been for as long as I've known Brooke."

"Of course."

"Lately, she hasn't been putting any effort into parenting OR our relationship. She's always at work and sometimes, I know she isn't at work but she chooses not to spend time with her family. She never cooks, she never cleans, she never takes care of the kids. I guess I've been feeling this way for a while, and today was the last straw. She cooked breakfast- for once- and she made eggs and bacon. Guess what kind of bacon."

Niall makes a face and guesses. "Regular"

"Worse," I saod. "Turkey. It's like she made an effort to actually remember something about me but somehow still messed it up. Then she told me that she made it last month and I loved it. She never did that! Who did she do that for then? I think she might be cheating on me. Honestly, I've been suspecting it for a while now."

Niall looked worried. "You don't actually think Brooke would do that right?"

"I honestly do. And here's where I need advice. I made a really dumb decision," I told Niall sheepishly.

"Oh god Harry, what did you do?" Niall asked exasperatedly.

I sighed and looked at my lap, preparing to get yelled at. "I went on a couple dates with the parent of one of my students, and I think I'm falling in love with her. I kissed her last night, at my house, then Brooke came home and I had to rush her out without either of them seeing each other."

I looked up at Niall's face. He was as upset as I'd expected. "Seriously Harry? How hard is it to stay loyal to your wife, the MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN?"

"You don't understand, Niall. Your marriage is perfect. You and Mia love each other. You don't have issues like Brooke and I do," I said, feeling a little resentful.

His face softened. "I get it Harry. But cheating is not the way to go. It's only going to break your family apart, not to mention it's unfair to this new woman- wait, is she the 'friend of Brooke' from last night?"

"Yes," I sighed again. "Her name is Valerie. I really like her. Oh God, what do I do?"

"You need to tell Valerie, Harry," Niall said gently. "She deserves to know. Now, about Brooke. I think you need to have a long talk with her. I wouldn't tell her about Valerie, at least, not yet. I think it would only make things worse."

"How am I supposed to tell Valerie? She'll hate me forever! I think she's already upset with me for rushing her out of the house yesterday- and her son definitely doesn't like me, this will only make it worse!" I said, a little louder than intended.

"I know it seems like it will ruin everything, but imagine she finds out the hard way. That would be way worse," he reasoned with me.

"I guess," I said, pretending to agree. "I should tell her."

Niall looked satisfied with my answer.

No way in hell am I going to tell Valerie. I'm not ruining what we have.

I got up from the couch and said goodbye to Niall, heading up the stairs. I say goodbye to Amelia and drive to my mom's house to pick up the kids.

-

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Time Skip 2:30 PM Harry's House

I didn't tell Valerie. I didn't even make plans to tell her. I was sitting in the living room watching Bluey with the kids when my phone buzzed.

Niall: Did you tell her?

Harry: No. I'm not going to.

Niall: You said you were going to Harry

Harry: No, I said that I SHOULD tell her- not that I WOULD tell her

Niall: 🙄

I could tell he was frustrated with me, but what was he going to do about it? He doesn't even know her.