I Love You. [h.s]

8.

||H A R R Y||

Saturday 1st February, 2014.
4:45pm, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.

"Harry, you've been in there ever since we came back from Dad's."

"Your Father and that stupid mouth of his. The fact that HE'S mouthing off about his sons's raising of his daughter, when he wasn't even there for his own children."

"Anne, how about we leave him to himself just for a few more minutes? Just let him calm down and then he'll come downstairs by himself."

I winced as more insecurities listed up in my head.

I knew I wasn't fit to be a Father.

Katie would just be surrounded by an expanding amount of attention that's four year old like her shouldn't get.

She'd be judged for being a 'mistake'. She'd be judged because her Dad was a 'man whore' who had no care for women. She'd grow up to see the real reason why she wasn't wanted. She'd grow up to see what her own Father faced while being the relentless target of the media.

What would I say when people even saw me in public with her?

"Mister?"

My eyes widened at the familiar little voice, my heart beating as fast as it could. I could hear her feet patter against the wooden flooring, but I didn't give her a chance to see me as I cocooned myself in my thick duvet.

"Oh no."

I held in a slight snicker as she groaned to herself, her footsteps continuing.

"GOTCHA!!!"

Loud groans of pain had left my mouth as Katie rocked from side to side, her hands trying to grope any free corner of the duvet.

"I'M GONNA GETCHA!"

I decided to play along, making incoherent noises as giggles came from an overjoyed Katie. "You can't hide from me anymore!" A girly squeal came from my mouth as I was exposed go the light, Katie's face holding a grin and twinkling green eyes.

Her hair was curtaining around the frame of her face, my fingers raising to tuck them behind her ear, "Right, I think we should control your hair a little bit."

A chuckle left my mouth as squeals left Katie's, my body sitting up as she enthusiastically said about how it felt like a ride. "How are you going to do it?" Katie asked, her head tilted as she looked at me weirdly.

"How normal people do it, you silly girl." I laugh, motioning her to turn around so that I could do her hair in a better position. My fingers went to comb through her slightly tangled blonde locks. "But Uncle Chris can't do my hair so how can you?" As soon as those words left her mouth, all actions froze.

My hand stopped gathering her hair, my eyes stopped blinking and my heart stopped.

Who was 'Uncle Chris'?

"Katie, love, who's Uncle Chris?" I asked, some worry laced in my tone as I moved my head slightly over Katie's shoulder to see her face.

"He's Mommy's big brother, silly!" She replied in a 'duh' tone.

In all of my years of knowing Katie's mother, I'd known her as an orphan. She was dumped on the steps of an orphanage when she was a mere 2 days old, her parents having no care on what an amazing girl they'd created.

"D'you think my parents hate me?" She asked, my head raising to look up at my girlfriend. Ever since it was our fourteenth birthday, she'd asked the same question she hadn't gotten tired of for the last 7 years.