The Story of Us // L.S

Twelve.

Songs for this chapter are:

-The Promise // Emma Blackery

-Over and Over Again // Nathan Sykes

-I wasn't Expecting That // Jamie Lawson

*

"Hey don't talk to him like that okay? He did his best for you." Louis' voice cut through the silence causing my blood to boil. Why couldn't he just shut up? I rested my hands on Isobel's knees and pushed myself up so I was standing once again, and turned myself to face Louis. "You're not helping. This is all your fault in the first place, don't make it worse." I spat my words at him with venom and he winced slightly. 

"I'm trying to help."

"By doing what exactly? Ruin her life all over again? She's upset. I'm upset. Do you know how long I have wished and waited for you to come back? How often I would lie awake at night and hope you'd come home realising what a terrible mistake you had made? Well I take it all back. I don't want you here. Belle doesn't want you here. You, yourself, do not want to be here."

"Harry...."

"No, listen Louis...."

"Harry, she's gone." 

My breath hitched as I span around to face the empty chair behind me. I felt myself start to run a hand through my hair and I pull at it before facing Louis again. "Are you happy now?" My tone had become softer, making Louis aware I had run out of energy to fight him. 

I didn't wait for a response from him before racing to the door. I paused, flicking my head to look both ways down the street and found myself going right. The rain was still falling down and I felt drops trickle down my face as I ran as fast as I could in my search for Isobel.  

"Harry?!" Louis' voice was calling after me but I didn't care. I finally didn't care. In the years gone by I would have given up everything to hear him say my name one last time. I would have given anything for him to chase me down the street and declare his undying love for me, but now that it was happening, I couldn't think of anything worse. 

His footsteps splashed and echoed behind me as his voice called after me, getting somewhat lost in the sounds of traffic and rain. My legs carried me further than I thought they could before I had to stop and catch my breath. I placed my hands against a brick wall trying to ground myself and started to inhale deeply. 

"Haz!"

"No." My body snapped up to face Louis who was jogging towards me and slowing to a stop. "No. You lost the right to call me that 18 years ago. You lost the right to chase after me down a street and you lost the fucking right to see your daughter." 

"Harry I'm so sorry. I just...I want to explain everything."

"I don't care Louis! I don't care anymore! You left 18 years ago without any warnings or goodbyes. You left a note to me and that was it. That's all I meant to you. Now, you pop up out of nowhere and ruin Isobel's life. Everything was fine, she was fine. She's in uni and wants to become a writer and now in one afternoon's work you've ruined everything. She's never going to talk to me again." I ran a frantic hand through my damp hair and watched as he kicked the pavement and spun around facing the road before turning back to me again. "I didn't mean any of this. Not a day goes by where I haven't thought about you Harry. I've missed you every damned day. I've missed her every day. I couldn't help but wonder what she looked like, if she looked like me or what she might be up to. I didn't even know her name!"

"It's Isobel, Belle for short." He inhaled like her name had hit him like a train and a small smile crept onto his lips. "Belle?" I nodded as he mulled the one syllable over in his mind. "And she looks more like you every single day." He chuckled. "I can't believe I've missed so much." 

"She's one special kid Lou, she deserved having you around." He nodded and licked his bottom lip in thought. "I fucked up Harry. I really did."