Message in a Bottle

Dark Clouds (22)

Chapter 22

*Ciara's POV*

"I'm not sure if this would be appropriate to bring up, but it's been bothering me ever since you first told me about her. Your sister, Gemma, what happened to her?" I see his face slowly sink.

"How do you know something happened to her?" He immediately snaps.

I rake my mind for a sudden answer. When I begin speaking I'm stumbling over my words. "The last time you talked about her, you just looked, you looked so, sad." Now I know for sure that something has happened to her, the look on his face is giving it away.

"Wow," he breathes, almost as if he's stunned. I awkwardly fidget with my fingers, I have no idea where Harry's going to go with this. I regret bringing up his sister, I ruined a perfectly good day bringing up his past. I shouldn't have done it.

After a break of silence and us looking at everything surrounding us besides each other, he begins speaking again. "Don't you want to know what's so shocking to me?"

I knew I had to say yes, I was the one to bring up the subject in the first place. "Sure." I uneasily say.

"I haven't became close with anyone new in a while. I know this for a fact because I haven't had to tell anyone about this day in so long." He stares at the grass. "Now that I'm going to tell you, I hope you don't feel sympathetic for me all the time, because I'm fine."

"Okay." I say. I don't know what else to say in a serious situation like this.

"So, can we sit down before I start saying anything?" He sheepishly asks.

"Of course," I nod and take a seat on the bumpy, moist ground. Mason's walking around, digging in the dirt. I would normally make him stop doing that, but right now, Harry is the priority. I study Harry's face as he begins to tell me what happened, this will not be good.

"I was thirteen when it happened. It was a regular day, nothing out of the ordinary. I came home from school, my step dad was crying. I never seen him cry before, I knew something was horribly wrong. I usually would see my mom or my sister, but neither of them were there. I instantly knew that something had happened to them." He takes in a deep breath, tears were starting to sting his eyes.

"My aunt and uncle were there, when they saw me walk through the door they ran over to me and gently broke the news. 'Harry, your mother and Gemma. Well, honey... They, they got into a car crash and passed away..." She didn't know how to tell me it. It felt as if a tidal wave had crashed over me once they told me everything. I started bawling, I couldn't have my two most loved ones get taken away from me. They were the only two people in the world I cared about. And for them to just be gone? I couldn't deal with it!" He was sobbing now, trying to hide it from me.

"Go on," I encourage, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder. He's sniffling, wiping the tears away from his face. What I'm hearing is absolutely unbelievable, I wasn't expecting something so terrible. I can't imagine how much this effected Harry at such a young age.

"I ended up living with my aunt and uncle. I never saw my step dad again, which I was pretty happy about. Then I just got into singing, well I've always liked it but I just sang more often. Then this happened, and I kind of went on my own."

I push the hair out of his eyes and glide my hand against his cheek, drawing small invisible circles on his delicate skin. "I'm sorry, Harry." My voice quivers with each breath.

"What's there that you could do?" He snorts, wiping the hot tears from his face. "You're doing enough by just sticking with me for two whole weeks."

I drop my hands from his face, my eyes are still locked with his. This was the first time I've seen Harry cry, his pupils are dilated and the color of his eyes give off a crystal green. I nervously take his hand in mine, stroking my fingers against his, unsure on how to comfort him. How could Harry sit and list to me complain when he's gone through so much more, heartbreaking, things than I have? My problems look simple and tiny compared to his.

"Are you kidding me?" I start. "I'm doing enough? Harry, if anything, you deserve a freaking award for doing so much for others. You provided Mason and I a home. You are an idol for millions of people. Harry, I'm doing nothing! While you, you're out doing everything. Your mom and sister would be so proud of you." When I end, the look on his face is unreadable. He's gazing out at the trees, which are moving fiercely from the wind that's picking up speed.

A few minutes pass, I wait patiently for Harry to calm down from crying. Mason's picking at the grass now, throwing it up in the air. I look up into the sky, the sun's now hiding behind clouds. They're dark and gloomy, like mine and Harry's past. I wait for the first sign of a rain drop but there's nothing.

My mine wanders off again, back to what Harry had just admitted to me. His experience must have been horrifying, I could never imagine losing Mason. I hate the thought of it. Sometimes, I feel as if I think about something, it'll come true. I try to change my course of thought but it's stuck on Harry's story. How could somebody that comes off so happy and cheerful be so sad and broken?

Then I popped into my own brain. I could. I could pretend I was the happiest person in the world when really, I want to dive into an ocean and die on impact. I felt this way when I dated Mike, mostly the first time he became abusive. It was unexpected and I felt... Worthless.

But ever since I've been around Harry, I feel different. My heart feels light. My head feels clear. I feel brand new, if that's even possible. Harry is amazing, though I hate to admit it, he really is. I haven't felt the need to cry when I'm with him, it's like he's my pain reliever, he takes away the pain, and puts it back on himself. Which psychically makes me ill, knowing Harry's making me more than happy while he's dying on the inside. I wish I could make him as happy as he makes me.

Ciara! I scold myself. You need to stop thinking about Harry! But how could I do that? He's sitting right in front of me, focused on the landscape around us, looking vulnerable and beautiful. I couldn't help the way I feel towards him, if I even feel anything at all.

"I never took anyone else here before," Harry breathes out after the long pause. I feel giddy inside, my stomach swoops. I know that's horrible for me to feel right now after what I just discovered, but there's something about the fact he's only taken me and our son here before that warms me up. My attention focuses back on him, but he's somewhere else. Maybe Harry had created another world where he still has Gemma and his mother, maybe that's his escape. Wherever that is, I hope Mason and I are tagging along, too. As selfish as that sounds, I want Harry to need us the way we need him.

"Not even Ma-" he cuts me off. It's like he doesn't want me to say that horrid name in a special place like this.

"Not even Maggie." He finishes, giving a slight nod. I purse my lips, unsure on how to reply. "I want to have my wedding here." His eyes are still red and puffy, but his natural skin color is finally returning back to his face. I take another glance at our surroundings, actually understanding why he would want his wedding to be here. If he would have told me that when we first arrived here, I may of laughed in his face. Who would want to get married in a weeded field? I would've teased. But now, it's different. After hearing about his childhood, even I feel a connection with this old place.

"Save me an invitation, I'd love to see this place all prettied up." I smile, attempting to lighten his sad mood. He surprisingly chuckles, mumbling something underneath his breath. I let it go, thinking it's something I don't need to worry about.

Without another word, he stands up, helping me up also. I pick up Mason, wipe the dirt off of his clothes, and we silently head back to the car.

*

Happy Halloween! I wasn't going to update today but I figured since it's a holiday, why not?

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