Where Do Broken Hearts Go? | Unexpected Series Book One

Chapter 19: Mistletoe and Chinese Takeaway

A/N: Can't wait for your comments...I think you're all going to like this one! x

Beth's POV

I said it.

It's out.

In the open.

Now I'll just wait for Harry to leave.

I don't know what I thought I'd feel after I said it.

I'm still not quite sure now.

There's nothing but silence between the two of us, but I'm aware that Harry's hand has moved from my back as I continue to stare ahead.

It's okay, I'm not surprised.

I don't want to look back at him.

I'm too scared to, if I'm honest.

I don't want to see him walking away.

I know it will hurt.

I mean, why –

His arms suddenly engulf me from behind and wrap around me, pulling my back flush to his front, his chin rests next to my head.

He still doesn't say anything.

Sometimes it's okay not to say anything to people I guess. You just need to be there for them in that moment.

And Harry is here.

I breathe in and let out a shaky exhale which causes Harry to tighten his grip just a touch.

"We'd just finished our Christmas lunch," I begin, "there was roast chicken, turkey, ham, pork...I fucking hate pork, and a heap of vegetables. And it was crazy cause it was forty degrees. Who the hell cooks a roast lunch in fucking forty-degree heat? We did!" I laugh at our stupidity, "and do you know why we did it? Because Nick saw an ad on the television and the family was having a traditional Christmas feast and he said 'why can't we do that? We never do that!' So we did it. Usually it's a barbeque cause it's so bloody hot, but no, we did the full Christmas spread," I tell Harry.

"Was it a good lunch?" Harry asks me.

His question surprises me.

"Yeah, everyone raved about the turkey, even Chloe, and that kid is so fussy she could pick the fly shit out of pepper!"

I feel Harry silently chuckle against me.

"Yeah it was a really good lunch," I say, "then Heath's pager went off and they needed more members to attend a fire that was out of control. It was in a coastal town about 45 minutes away from us, but this is the kind of beach town that to get to, you need to drive through forest to get there."

"Your husband is, uh, was, a firefighter?" Harry asks.

"Voluntary, yes," I go on to explain, "a lot of small communities around us are made up of volunteer firefighters. They have the same training as paid ones do, so they are highly skilled and competent. They do it to protect their communities."

"That's a pretty selfless thing to do," Harry says.

"It is," I agree, "and Heath had twenty-one year's experience so it wasn't like he didn't know what he was doing, he'd led strike teams before."

I stop for a second and take a deep breath to try and calm myself. I'm no longer crying but I feel drained.

"I won't go into details, but long story short, communication failed his team," I swallow the lump that's forming in my throat, "details of a wind change were never relayed to his team and they never made it out," I finish.