Poppy’sPOV
The walk home was quiet, but it was a comfortable quiet. Harry was walking beside me, with Summer comfortably lodged in his arms, a peaceful smile on her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Harry cast a glance at Summer every now and then, probably checking if she was still asleep, and placing gentle kisses on her cheek.
It was only my third time meeting Harry- I knew nothing about him, nothing at all- but I could just sense that he was someone who could be trusted. Katie obviously saw that too, else she would’ve never left me with a stranger at any time of the day, let alone at night. Even Summer had taken a liking to him.
When Katie suggested that I have dinner with Harry, I have to admit, I was more than just a little shocked. But there was something about Harry, something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on yet, that made me say yes. It wasn’t attraction, it wasn’t even admiration, it was just comfort and peace.
Chase had always been a great believer in ‘Everything happens for a reason’ while I wasn’t ever too keen on that theory. It had even been the subject of many arguments between him and I, not that we’d ever needed any reason to argue.
And for some reason, as I watched Harry walking beside me, the moonlight casting an almost heavenly light on his face, the thought just popped in my head that maybe, just maybe, this summer, I was meant to meet Harry. For what reason? I didn’t know. But I banished the thought as quickly as it came, because I hadn’t ever agreed with Chase on that matter. There was no way everything happened for a reason. Had it been the case, Summer would still have her family, and I would still have Chase.
“What happened?” Harry said, breaking the silence.
“Nothing?” I replied, unsure.
“You were shaking your head, like you were disagreeing with something.”
I shrugged, “I was just wondering about something.”
“About what?”
I pondered for a second, trying to decide whether to tell him or not.
“Do you believe that everything that happens, happens for a reason?” I asked, turning my head to him.
“Yes,” he replied convincingly, without missing a beat, and turned his head to me. Green eyes captivated mine, eyebrows furrowed, seemingly searching my eyes in confusion. He looked away, and I found myself staring at his profile as he continued, “Yes, everything happens for a reason. We might not find the reason right away, it might even take a long time, but eventually we do.”
He turned to me again, his gaze locking with mine, “We just have to hold on long enough until we do.”
My breath caught in my throat and I quickly averted my gaze, looking straight ahead.
“I don’t think everything happens for a reason.”
“Okay,” he said simply.
He seemed lost in thought after that, and I was lost in my own.
Harry’s POV
I don’t think everything happens for a reason. Her words flashed over and over in my mind. It was the way she said it that stuck with me- the bitterness enlaced in her tone- just about revealing her anger. At who though?
Poppy was a puzzle. What I couldn’t understand was why I was the one chosen to figure it out, to figure her out. But I was convinced of one thing as Poppy walked beside me, as absurd and irrational as it might seem, I was meant to see Poppy that night at the pier. It couldn’t just have been a coincidence. So, yes, everything does happen for a reason.
