Holding Out For a Hero

Chapter 2

We finally decided to got to my flat to eat something so we didn't have to be bothered while we were eating and visiting. When we finally arrived, I hung my purse along with me, Avery and Harry's coat on the tall coat hook and Avery immidietly started showering him with multiple questions. Some made sense, others didn't. Stuff like "What's your favorie clolor?", "Can you do a handstand?", "Are you a veternarian?"  and even "Do you think Mollie's fat? I do. I hope she doesn't die." He laughed at her and turned to me "You can tell she gets the weirdness from you." He smiled playfully and I threw a toy of Mollie's at him but missed. "I'm going to make dinner now." I said turning on my heels into the kitchen. I was grilling the chicken and thinking about how good of a family we could've been if I would have just told him I was pregnant. We could've did it. I mean, sure he was twenty-four and I was eighteen at the time, but people had worse age diferences right? And I was at the leagl age so really there wasn't anything wrong with it. I mentally scolded myself for overthinking it. What happened is in the past, it's done and there's nothing I can do about it. 

"Need some help?" Harry asked, startling me, making my bare hand hit the pan and burnt my hand. 

"Fuck! Shit!" I yelled and Harry ran to my aid. 

"How bad is it? Do yo need to go t o the hospital? Are you going to pass out?" I shook my head and Avery ran into the kitchen.

"Mummy, are you okay?" Avery said with wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine I just got hurt abit." I answered.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Harry asked calmly.

"No, I just need ice water  is all." I said heading towards the freezer with a bowl of water, adding ice to it. 

"You said a naughty so you have to put a pound in the Bad Word Jar." She said with a serious look on her face. I smiled and looke down at her, smiling.

I turned to Harry while sitting my burnt hand in the icy water and explained, "The Bad Word Jar is for when I say a bad word and at the end of the month whatever money is in the jar gets to go in Avery's piggy bank. But, since I said two naughty words I have to put two pounds in it." I walked over to my purse and got out the money I owed and dropped it in the clear jar with 'BWJ' written across the top of the metal lid.

I turned to Avery, who was staring at Harry cook as if he was some alien creature. "Hey Avery, I think your favorite show is on."

She looked at me then Harry, "Can he watch it with me?" I chuckled and shook my head. 

"How about after we get done cooking and eating, yeah?" He answered. I blushed as I remembered how he always answered questions for me when we were together. She sighed and dragged herself into the living room and turned on the T.V. 

It was just me and Harry. I felt butterflies just like I did when we used to be together. I was chopping up some vegetables for the salad, in awkward silence when Harry started to talk and I suddenly wished for the silence to come back again. "Why did you leave me?" He asked. 

The tension was rising so thick, that you could feel it in the air. I closed my eyes. "I had to. The hate, the paparazzi that followed me everywhere, Harry, I even got pulled down to the ground by my hair."  But, little did he know I left out one very important reason.

"That doesn't mean yoiu have to leave. Do you know how hard it was for me to cope with the breakup? I had therapy for two whole years!" I bit the inside of my lip, making it bleed. "And you obviously didn't care. You were just off with your new boyfriend, who may I remind you left you to be a single mother, without a care in the world!"

I wish I could tell him.

"Yes, your reasons make sense, but why pay attention to them? They don't know the real you. They don't know how you burst out into laughter during intimate make-out sesions because your just THAT ticklish. They don't know about that cute little face you make in your sleep. Or how you don't cover your eyes in scary movies, you just sit there with a look of horror on your face. They don't know about anything important. As for the paparazzi, they're a bunch of pillocks anyways. They obviously don't know how bad Isabelle would hurt them if she got her hands on them." 

Tears brimmed my eyes and he grabbed my hands and looked me dead in the eyes. After all this time, he still loved me. Wow. "Haleigh, I still love you, more than anything. More than Mickey loves Minnie, more than Jack loved Sally, more than Jack loved Rose, more than Noah loved Allie and even more than Landon Carter loved Jamie Sullivan."  He would say that to me everyday back in the day. 

He was leaning in, and I was on cloud nine. I missed him so much i missed us. His lips were only centimeters from mine, when Avery barged into the kitchen.

"Mumm-" She cut herself off and looked at us. We jumped away from eachother and I closed my eyes, wishing for the moment to come back again. 

"What did you want sweetie?"

"I'm tired and hungry." She replied.

"Okay well, the foods done, let's eat." I said and went to get out eating utensils out of the cupboard when Harry shooed me away. 

"I'll get the stuff just sit down and relax." He said with a smile.

We finished eating and Avery complained that she needed sleep or she wouldn't wake up. 

"I'm going to put her to bed and be right back." I told him, while picking up a lazy Avery. 

I trudged up the stairs to her room and turned on the light and sat her on the floor. 

"Get undressed while I pick out your PJS okay hun?" 

"Yes mummy." She obeyed.

I brought her bright pink fleece one piece and she stepped into it. 

"Muuummmmm." She whined.

'Yes?"

"Zip me up, please." I leaned over and did as she asked.

I turned her Winnie the Pooh Bear night light on and shut off her big light, and walked over to her and tucked her in, while pecking her on the forehead. 

"Goodnight mummy."

"Goodnight Ave." I went to walk out the door, when I heard her small, tired voice call 'Mummy'. I turned back around and tiptoed to her.

"What do you need?" I asked while brushing her hair with my fingers.

"Can you please tell me who daddy is?"

You need to tell her Haleigh.

"I'll make you a deal, okay?" She nodded her head and I continued "If your a good girl tomorrow, I'll show you a picture and I'm positive you'll recognize him okay?"

"Okay, can you sing me a song so I can fall asleep?"

"Of course." I told her and layed in bed with her, and began to sing They Don't Know About Us.