Forever and Always

Chapter 18

Author's Note
Yes, I'm putting this in the beginning because I want you to read it.
So the song for this chapter is 'Treat you better' by Shawn Mendes.
It's quite ironic how this song fits perfectly with this chapter where we'll learn about Harry's abusive past.

It's exhausting.

All of this.

I hate it.

I was so afraid of admitting it because I didn't want to seem like all the others. But its hard denying it....every time he smiles its a battle, a constant denial of my feelings for him then acceptance then denial and the cycle continues and I'm done.

Yeah, he's an absolute jerk at times, most of the times, he thrives from his annoying ego, he sleeps around with a brunch of girls but I like him and all his annoyingly cute ways. The way he folds his pink lips in concentration as we work, the way he smirks when he thinks he's accomplished something incredible...whether its embarrassing me or adding the finishing touches to our play dough brain.

"I don't like to be stared at." Harry interrupts my thoughts and I feel my cheeks heat.

"Uh...I'm..uhh" I stutter in pure embarrassment.

"And....we're done." Harry says cutting me off...it's hurtful but I'm thankful he doesn't rub it my face. He inserts the last label 'Core Memory' and stands.

I'm pleased with what we've created. It's spot on perfection.

"Give me a second." Harry says, picks up his phone and heads upstairs.

When he returns he's wearing a plain black T-shirt. Staring at his abs was good while it lasted.

I check the time on my phone. It's 6:53 p.m.

"What was that about?" I ask.

"Uh?" He seems a little tensed by my question.

"You and your dad?"

Relief washes him before he answers, "None of your business."

Didn't he just...

The front opens and I look up. A sad Angel enters. Her amber eyes twinkle with excitement when she sees me. "Oh hello Hayley! How are you?"

I stand and smile. "I'm good and you?"

"Ah...I'm hungry! Mind joining us for dinner?" She offers.

"I was just about to leave." Harry interjects.

"You and me then?" Angel asks.

I don't know what to do. Should I stay for dinner?

Angel's eyes pour into mine desperately begging me to stay. I can't say no. I get the feeling she doesn't want to be alone.

"Yeah, of course." I smile.

"Good." She smiles and heads to the kitchen.

"How is this getting to school? Should I carry it home? " I ask Harry in reference to our project.

"No I'll bring it." He says and leaves quickly.

.......

"Could you pass me the paprika?" Angel asks and I do.

I've been helping her cook the last twenty minutes.

"Smells good, huh?" She asks holding a spoon of the sauce for the alfredo.

"Yeah." I respond.

"Could you set the table, please?" She asks and I nod.

A few minutes pass when Angel brings two plates of chicken alfredo.

She selects a nonalcoholic wine and sets it in a pail of ice. She says grace and we eat.

"How was your day, Hayley?" She asks. "What'd you do?"

I'm a little surprised by her questions but I can tell she's trying to take her mind off something.

"My friend invited me to his family's Barbeque. Then I came here. Nothing exciting." I laugh.

And I finally accepted that I liked your stepson after I watched him argue with his father.

"Sounds better than the day I had." She smiles.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.

"You're so sweet." Angel compliments. " Ed and I had a fight. " I raise an eyebrow.

"Ed?"

"You haven't met Edward, Harry's father?"

"Yeah, we just weren't introduced formally." I tell her.

"Harry's mother is back in town, and Harry invited her to dinner last night. And as you could imagine that didn't end well given the history her and Ed share. " Angel informs me.

"Oh." Is all I manage to say. What else could I say?

"Ed was furious. He was just so mad when he saw her. It's like seeing her reminded him of something he wanted to forget." Her face falls and her fingers move up to collect the tears. "I've never seen him like that. " her voice cracks. "I tried....I tried so hard to get him to calm down. But he wouldn't" She's full on crying now. "I'm sorry dear. I shouldn't burden you with my issues." She chuckles through her tears.

"You're not burdening me." I reach over, touching her hand gently.

" I don't know what to do...its only happened this one time and he was mad. It wasn't my fault or anything." Angel stares at the wall as if she's remembering what happened. She places her hand on her cheek still staring at the wall.

Did he hit her?

"Uh.. Angel? Did he hit you?" I ask and she looks over at me.

"Don't tell anyone. He was mad at Harry for bringing her here." She picks up for her husband.

"I won't tell anyone... I promise."

"Not even Harry." She adds.

"He doesn't know?" I ask.

"And he shouldn't. If he ever found out..." Angel is way too fragile to be dealing with this family. But she must really love Ed to have stuck around for so long. I would have hopped on the first train out all this drama. "Harry would see to it he gets arrested for it. The poor boy has suffered so much because of him."

"How?" I know it's wrong to take advantage of Angel's vulnerable state by asking her all the questions Harry won't answer but I can't help it.

She clears her throat before saying, "It's why they broke up. Edward used to...hit Meryl, Harry's birth mom, back when they lived in England. She usually just forgave him...until this night he hit her so badly her arm broke. Harry says Ed threw some money on the ground and told him to help her to the hospital. He didn't want to bring her himself, because he knew they'd question him. The doctors prescribed Meryl a daily dosage of morphine to cope with the pain and that's how she became addicted to it. It's crazy, but I understand where she was coming from. She constantly lived in fear, fear of her own death and fear of her child's father's death. Edward was a wrestler...not like WWE, but an illegal organization that paid people for hard core wrestling. I admire her strength, really. I would never be able to do that but she did. She put on a smile for Harry and gave him the closest to normal life she could. I'm just so sorry she and Harry had to go through all that. They're both exceptional people, they just had a rough patch that kinda changed them."

Wow.

I could ask her more questions like, how they got to this small town here in Lakewood, California, or why Harry doesn't live with his mother since he hates his father, why she married someone with such a corrupted past. But I won't. She's told me enough... And I can tell it hurts just to talk about her husband's awful baggage.