One Plus One

Chapter Fifty-One

EMILY'S POV

Harry seemed to be in a daze. We stood in the kitchen with our cups of tea looking out into the garden. No doubt he was admiring Marlie and the way she was with Alesha. Harry held the childlike glow that had been missing from him for so long. He seemed like himself again. Every now and then, when he heard Alesha squeal, a smile crept onto his face, which resulted in me making a sarcastic comment and then being told to shut up.

"Mum is right." I spoke to break his silence.

"What about?"

"You and Marlie."

Even the mention of her name set him smiling.

"What's she been saying?"

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

Harry diverted his gaze back to her in the garden. Marlie caught him looking, raising her hand to wave before catching Alesha as she ran at her.

"Yeah, she does."

"This is the first time I've seen you like this since..."

My voice trailed off slightly at the end. There was no need to carry on. Harry knew exactly what I was talking about.

"This doesn't feel the same." he stated, very sure of himself.

Harry placed his cup on the side and slid open the patio doors. He stepped out and ran over to join Marlie with Alesha. He might not have explicitly said it, but I knew he'd seen Laura. My mum warned me that he'd go back to her. I planned to keep a close eye on him. I could see how much he cared about Marlie and I wasn't about to let him mess that up.

MARLIES POV

Harry jogged over to me, a protective arm finding its way around my waist. His fingers then began to tickle at my stomach making me wiggle around in his hold as I giggled. I took hold of his hand and pried him away from me, allowing me to escape. But as always, he didn't let me go for long. He used my hold on his hand to pull me back into his arms. He knocked my knees out from underneath me as he picked me up and threw me onto the trampoline. Harry soon followed suit, jumping on it and keeping me pinned to it tickling me. Alesha came running over, climbing onto the trampoline and trying to push Harry off me. Harry grabbed hold of her and did exactly what he had done to me, Alesha's squeaky giggle rippling through the garden.

"Alesha! Come on, we have to go shopping for something for your tea!" shouted Emily from the kitchen window.

"Are you coming shopping?" Alesha asked me.

"No, princess, we'll stay here." Harry interjected.

I raised my eyebrows at him as he threw me a wink.

"We'll have some fun." he mouthed.

My eyes widened knowing he was making reference to our unfinished session before we arrived at his sisters house. Harry couldn't help but smirk at my shocked expression. Alesha crawled down and ran over to Emily before waving to us as they left.

"I know what you're thinking Harry and I'm not even going there." I warned.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Ok I do, but come on, I know you want to."

"Harry, this is your sisters house."

"She doesn't mind."

"What?!"

The words seem to screech from my mouth, sheer surprise taking over. Harry's features suddenly became tense knowing he'd made a slip up.

"You've brought girls to meet your sister before?"

"No...not exactly."

"Well?"

"When I first moved, I lived here. I was here until Alesha needed her own room and by that time I'd had a few...well you know. In fact I think this is the place I first had sex."

"Was it special?"

I couldn't imagine it was. By the sounds of things it was going to be a drunken mistake. Harry looked wary to tell me any details, but he knew my stubbornness wouldn't let the subject go.

"No, I don't actually remember what happened. I know who it was with but I can't remember what it felt like."

I began to fiddle with some loose cotton on my shirt. It didn't bother me much that Harry's first time hasn't been special, it was the reasoning behind it. I couldn't help but think it had something to do with what happened with my sister.

"Was it before or after the whole Jaz thing?"

"Why are you so curious? You really don't want to know about my past sex life."

"I need to know this."

"It was before. I hadn't long moved down here. Can we drop this now because I can tell you're not liking it?"

I nodded feeling better that my sister wasn't the reason for his less than memorable first experience of sex. It only made me firmly believe that he would make the first time we had sex special, if we ever got to that stage. I knew full well that he wanted to, but I didn't know whether that was because he hadn't had any in a while or because of how he felt about me.

"Come on, lets go inside."

I shuffled off the trampoline and followed behind him. When we got into the living room, we curled up on the couch cuddled into each other. Harry's strong scent flooded my senses as I buried my head in his chest. A sudden sadness overwhelmed me as we sat there and a few tears slipped down my cheeks. Harry must have been able to feel them wetting his t-shirt slightly.

"What's wrong, angel?"

"I just...I..."

A sudden sob escaped me. I lifted my hand to cover my mouth to stop any more, tears silently falling down my cheeks. Harry looked at a loss as he thought of what to do.

"It's just suddenly become real." I finally managed to say.

Harry encouraged my head back into his chest, not wanting me to say anymore. He understood what I was getting at.

"And Monday? I don't know if I'll be able to keep it together."

"I'll be there, by your side, holding your hand the entire time. You'll never be alone."

I fumbled around for his hand. He made the job easier by tangling our fingers and squeezing tightly. Harry's last sentence resonated around in my head. I believed him. I believed he wouldn't let me go through anything on my own. He would be there for me, no matter what.