A Shot of Reality [Harry Styles]

XII. Reprise

A/N: Happy update day all! This chapter is dedicated to my dearest Elyse, whose kind words got me through potential writers block while writing this chapter. Love you. Xx

Enjoy everyone!

May 14th, 2011

"You're leaving me on my birthday?" Sydney asked meekly, but it was pronounced as more of a statement than a question as she sat a bed across from her standing father.

"Sweetie, it's for the best," he said lightly, not bothering to glance at his daughter as he proceeded to hold a blue t-shirt up and stuff it inside his duffel bag.

Sydney tugged on her pink plastic tiara as she locked her eyes downward, her silver varnished toe nails suddenly intriguing. Her seventeenth birthday had shaped up to be nothing less than awful so far. Her father, the only family she had at this point, was leaving her. He claimed he was going to rehab, Twin Cedar Rehabilitation Clinic to be exact in order to "cure" his plaguing alcoholism for her welfare.

She would've been fine with this, overjoyed in fact, if only it had been true. As Sydney had anxiously flipped through the pamphlet of the clinic three days prior, she had come across two train tickets. And they were not to Glasgow, Scotland where Twin Cedar's resided. They were two one way tickets to Munich, Germany.

At first, Sydney had pushed it off, as she presumed he was taking her with him on this journey. After all, she was his daughter, his only salvation at having his much desired "normal" life. She had even excitedly Harry about this on the phone yesterday during their nightly phone calls.

 

 "I'm just so excited for him, Harry. I feel as if he's really trying now."

"That's great, babe. I'm happy for you, and Dan," Harry said genuinely, as Sydney giggled at the use of her Dad's full name.

"Thanks, Harry. I wonder how Germany's like; I hear the boys are quite attractive."

" Oh, please. They wish they were as hot as an English man such as me," Harry scoffed playfully.

"You must use the terms attractive and man very loosely," Sydney mumbled under her breath, before they exchanged their childhood phrase and hung up with one another.

 

 "Best for whom exactly, dad? For you or for me?" She suddenly burst out, the spectrum of emotions she was feeling inside now out in the air. This was it, no turning back as a confrontation blipped onto the horizon.

"Supposedly, the weather is quite lovely in Germany. But you can be the judge of that," she sneered, knowing she had him under a lock.

His back suddenly stiffened as the t-shirt fell out of his hands and onto the wooden floor in shock, knowing his daughter had found out his ploy.

"How'd you find out?"

Sydney almost substituted her tears for scoffs at his indifferent tone, realizing how clueless she had been this whole time. Thinking that she may have meant something to her father, something besides the materialistic value that was welfare from the government. Something possibly containing of emotional value, the way a father was supposed care about his daughter. The way he once did, eight birthdays before.

"I'm not blind. There was a pamphlet right on the-"

"You were snooping?"

This time, his tone was anything but indifferent. It was angry, one that Sydney automatically knew his fists clenched to until his knuckles turned to a ghostly, unnatural white. Besides towards himself, her dad was harmless. But when he spoke in the "monster voice," as Sydney had labeled it, the atmosphere was bound to get nasty. So she stayed quiet, lacking any trace of confidence she had felt a mere five seconds before.