𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐒 two years ago, my life changed forever. All it took was one night to alter the rest of my life. I wasn't sure about a lot of things however, there are two things that I was absolutely certain on: what I wanted to wear and who...
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"Why don't you give her a ride?" Harper calls over as she trots next to me on Rose down a quiet country lane.
"I'd rather you did," I mutter, walking next to her. We came up last night to Surrey for dinner with her parents, stayed the night and now we've been out since about eight o'clock this morning. My feet feel like they're going to fall off.
"Don't be gross," She laughs, coming to a stop and turning around so we can make our way back. "I have an idea, actually."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Maybe when I'm older, not now, but maybe like a riding school. Only for kids aged between six and ten. Any older than that and they scare me and any younger, they're too rough with animals, I don't like it."
"Do it, it's a great idea." I'm never one to turn someone away with a business suggestion even if they are bad but this one isn't. Harper's smart, incredibly so. This is perfect. So many kids in our world can't do 'normal' kid things because of the media and people being weird.
This sort of thing would be so highly appreciated by families. People know Harper, trust her. She's creative, fun. Her personality is so much more than what people think it is.
We get back to the stable's around the back of the house, at the bottom of the garden. She starts sorting Rose out, gives her some water and feeds her. Don't know a lot about horses, just spent over a hundred grand on one though.
"So..."
"What?" I lean back against a stack of hay as she continues facing away from me.
"Haven't seen much of Albie lately, have you?"
First time she's mentioned him since the night in the kitchen. "He's in the house in Switzerland. Think it'd do him good to have some time out, time to think."
"Yeah," she spins around, wipes her hands on her beige riding leggings. "Me too. He was such a prick that night—I can't believe he said that." Harper looks at me with this broken expression, her eyebrows scrunched up like she's confused.
"Anyways," She claps. "What are you doing for your birthday then? Celebrating with him or...?"
Hadn't even thought about my birthday. Our birthday. Celebrated together every fucking year apart from when I was locked up. Always some big fuck off party. Something crazy every year since we were kids. I mean, they got a bit more R-rated as we got older.
"Dunno," I shrug. "Haven't really spoke to him about it."
Harper frowns. "Well, don't let me get in the way of your shindig. If you want to do nothing we'll do that but if you don't, then we won't. We can do something big."
I nod, we walk away back toward the house. "I need to talk to you about something," I nudge her before we get to the front door. She hums, goes over to a small bench beneath a willow tree.
