Half A Heart

Epilogue

Harry sat in the café. Today was the day. He was going to find out why she left. His heart was pounding and all he wanted to do was curl up next to Louis and go back to sleep. He needed to do this though. The cut on his forehead sad that for him. He just needed her to explain.

He glanced at the clock on his phone ten twenty, it read. His stomach flipped and he inhaled deep and slow. The simple Hi written on his palm in sharpie was all the comfort he needed. He could almost feel Louis writing it just a few hours ago.

"If you feel like you can't handle it. Just remember I'm right there with you," he had said before he's walked out the door for work.

The bell signaling a customer pulls him from his thoughts. There she is. Just like he remembered her, only she was slightly different. Her hair was still just as shiny as he remembered longer now though. Her eyes had the beginnings of crow's feet but still just as green. The same green as Harry's own. His stomach twisted at that. Her lips were still full if not slightly chapped and laugh lines curved around them. He couldn't remember her laugh. She still smelled the same. Chanel No. 5. That smell had lingered in his home for as long as he could remember. It didn't hold a pleasant spot in his memory.

He pressed his thumb harder into his palm. This was it, no going back.

"Hello, Harry."

Her voice was unfamiliar to him. Not the same he had tried to remember as a kid.

"Hello, Anne"

He stood up and offered his hand. If he took anything from Brent it was that respect should be given at all times. She gripped his fingers and his heart leapt. She didn't get to make him feel like that. Like she cared like the heat from her fingers spread like a warm blanket. The way he felt when Louis' mom hugged him.

"How are you?" she asked taking a seat.

Harry's blood chilled slightly. "He's in jail. I'm sure he won't be there long. After all he is a good lawyer."

She looked down at that. Harry tried to feel bad for her but he couldn't seem to find it in himself. This was the women who left him with his worst nightmare. And didn't bother to look back. He pressed his thumb to his palm again.

"Look Harry," her voice cracked. "When I left I was so confused. I was young and stupid. I didn't know what I wanted. I had met Brent when I was nineteen. He was older and was in college he gave me the attention I had wanted. I had gotten into an argument with my mother and packed up and left. It's not an excuse but I wasn't ready to be a mom when I got pregnant with you. I'm not the kind to mother. I just need you to understand. I did what I though was right. I love you. I really do. It's why I did what I did. I knew he could provide for you the way I couldn't."

Harry chuckled darkly. He glanced down at the ring on her finger.

"Does he have kids?"

She glances down again. She glanced at the door and back to Harry. He could see her calculating. "Yes. They are much older."

Harry nodded his head before leaning back to take a real long look at the women in front of him. Her hair was immaculate, her nails perfect and polished. The ring was expensive. She was well off. With her new family and not having to deal with a son.

"Thank you." He said.

"For what?"

"For showing me that I have everything I already need. So, thanks for whatever this was. And you have a good life. I have a boyfriend that I need to get back to." He pushes back from the table and puts down enough to cover his drink and a tip.