Speak |h.s. a.u.|

Chapter 85

Annabelle wanted to do something to show Harry how guilty she felt. She wasn't sure what would work, but there was a record store only a few blocks away. She got lost trying to find it, and the man at the register couldn't have stared at her breasts and ass any harder, giving her one of the worst feelings imaginable. Safety was never a familiar feeling for her when Harry wasn't around.

After Annabelle left the record shop, she decided to go to the park and enjoy the cold weather while she wasn't busy. It would have been a wonderfully relaxing few minutes, if she hadn't seen Harry and Alice sitting on the swings beside each other, laughing and pushing each other around. Of course, she left immediately so Harry wouldn't see her or the records in her arms. Her heart felt heavy and she wanted to cry, but she saved it for her late night stroll alone back to the park, hoping no one was there this time.

Harry went to his mother's house today, wanting to visit Gemma while she was in town for the weekend. He wanted to face his mum, but he couldn't figure out what to say without getting so angry that he wanted to punch a hole in the wall, which made him very aware of his anger issues.

"Hey, asswipe." Gemma sat down in front of Harry at the kitchen table.

"Who is the dad?" Harry asked, making Gemma cough and sit up.

"His name is Peter. He's really great, I think you'd like-"

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"We've been on and off for a year or so. Why are you-"

"I'm just trying to figure all of this out, Gem." Harry sighed and sat back. "I can't believe no one told me."

"Harry," Gemma shook her head and put her hand over his, "I wanted to tell you, I swear I thought about how to tell you since the day I found out, but I couldn't. I knew Annabelle would understand, she's never been anything but kind and gentle towards me and mum."

"This isn't about Annabelle."

"It kind of is, actually. You're angry, because Annabelle knew before you, yeah? That's not exactly a great reason to be so upset about this."

"She didn't tell me anything, she kept it from me for a month-"

"She was looking out for me, Harry." Gemma almost shouted, her voice becoming louder as his eyebrows furrowed. "I made her promise not to tell anyone, especially you, until I was ready."

"Especially me?" Harry's voice became quieter.

"Whether I would have told you, or Annabelle, or mum, you would have been angry, because you're my little brother and you're so overprotective."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize not wanting my sister to get knocked up in her last year of school was being over protective." Harry rolled his eyes, making Gemma even more frustrated.

"Peter is a wonderful man, ugh, this isn't about him, you need to calm down and stop-"

"What about mum? Are you on her side or something?"

"Stop cutting me off." Gemma huffed. "There are no sides. You're the one creating sides."

"Everyone knew she has a new boyfriend, or whatever the dick is, and didn't tell me! She shut me out of her life for a long time, Gemma, after I tried to apologize for what happened at dad's dinner!"

"I'm not doing this with you, Harry. Talk to mum about your problems with her. I'm almost two months pregnant, mum is seeing someone who seems to make her happy, and Annabelle has been my best friend and the only person I can trust lately. That's what's going on, now you can stop complaining about not knowing anything." Gemma angrily pushed her chair away from the table and left the room.

Harry went home right after that, wanting to go to sleep and ignore the guilt that started to build up in his chest. Was he really in the wrong here? He knew that holding a grudge wouldn't help anyone, but he felt ignored by everyone, he felt unimportant. Maybe he needed to try to talk to his family more, instead of just letting them ignore him. Maybe he needed to try harder to understand why his mum had acted the way she did. Maybe he needed to be a bit more easy going with Annabelle the next time he gets upset at her.

Entering his bedroom, Harry had seen two new records laying on his bed. One of them being the only Fleetwood Mac record he had yet to own (until now, of course), and it happened to be more expensive than any records he owned so far. He ran his fingers over the black plastic, after sliding it out of the sleeve it was in. Looking down, he noticed a small sticky note attached to the outside of a record by The Temptations. Harry couldn't help but to frown at the words on the note, "you create a rarity of my genuine smile," knowing the album contained music that he'd sing to Annabelle, when she was sad, to cheer her up.

After protectively adding the records to the shelf beside his record player, he looked around the apartment to find Annabelle, but an uneasy feeling washed through him when he couldn't find her. Annabelle shouldn't be out alone after dark, she knew it was dangerous in London at night, especially for a small lady who hardly knew her way around.

Harry found her sitting alone in the park on a bench, her knees pulled close to her body with her chin resting on them. The dim streetlight showed him the tears on her cheeks. His heart should've ached more at the sight than it seemed to as he sat beside her, leaving plenty of space between them. He wondered what to say or do, because he cared, he truly did, but he couldn't bring himself to let go of his grudge against her just yet.

Annabelle wiped her cheeks against her arm, trying not to focus on his presence. Why did he show up here, anyways? Why couldn't he have-

"I'm trying so hard to stay angry at you." Harry said lowly, catching Annabelle off guard, but it made her chest feel heavier. He noticed the scintilla of pain on her face as she let out a small noise that was between a scoff and a sigh.

Harry couldn't help his attitude, and Annabelle couldn't help the fears of him leaving her for someone better, but she was able to finally stop crying when Harry left the bedroom door cracked open slightly that night.