Flaws || h.s.

Chapter Sixteen

I had to go back that night because I had school the next day. I kissed Harry long and hard before throwing my backpack over my shoulder and promising to see him Friday. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he hugged me. "I can come with you if you want. I can skip recording."

"I am not letting you skip recording. I'll see you in a few days," I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him once more.

"Call me when you get home. FaceTime tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I should go. I'll see you Friday. Bye, I love you," The drive was long but luckily there wasn't much traffic. I stopped once at a rest area to pee and get a coffee and I was stopped by two teenage girls. "Are you Beth?" I nodded, wondering if they were going to rip my throat out. "Can we take a picture with you?" I sighed in relief and smiled as the flash went off. "It was nice meeting you girls," I waved before paying for my coffee and going out to my car. I texted Harry something along the lines of 'lol two girls just asked for a picture with me. Weirdest thing ever'. He replied with a laughing emoji.

It was late in the afternoon when I finally got back to the house. There was another car there that I didn't recognize, but I just guessed it was one of my mum's dentist friends. I went in through the back door so I ended up in the kitchen. A pair of men's shoes sat by the glass sliding door, and my fat orange cat laid on the couch. "Mum? Are you here?" "Shit," I heard her yell from the other room. I called her name again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, honey, I'll be down in a second," She replied. It was more than a second though, because it took her a few minutes to come into the living room where I was standing, petting the cat. She was fooling with her belt buckle and her top wasn't buttoned right. Her hair was a mess and a guy who I didn't recognize followed close behind, his head down and his shirt still not all the way pulled down. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you would be home so early."

"Who is this?" I asked, looking around her at her boyfriend, who was a few years younger than her.

"This is Jackson," she sighed. "Jackson, this is Beth, my daughter."

"Nice to meet you," Jackson said, shaking my hand. He pulled his shirt down and turned toward the door. "I should go. See you later," he kissed my mum on the cheek and left.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, my voice angry. My mother tried to cut me off, saying that she could explain, but I stopped her. "You're in a relationship with some guy and you don't tell your own daughter until she comes home to find you both half naked? Wouldn't you at least have the decency to tell me that you two were together?"

"Beth, I'm sorry. It's just, I know you've had a lot going on and I didn't want to put more stress on you. I'm sorry," she sighed.

"How long have you two been together?"

"Three months," she looked at her feet.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me. Did he know you have a daughter?" I began to raise my voice. "Are you ashamed of me? Is that why you hid him from me? And you expect me to tell you everything. You're such bullshit-"

"Yes, he knew. I wasn't trying to hide you from him. I love you. I just knew you were going to get mad and I didn't want to put more stress on you. He understood. He's a good guy, I promise."

"Oh god, you told him about all of the shit I'm going through? I don't believe you," I was disgusted as I began to turn away. "Beth, stop-' I stomped up to my room and dialed Harry. He picked up after a few rings. "Hey, I'm home."

"Good. Was there a lot of traffic?"

"Not much. I just came home to find my mum shagging some guy," I sighed. I don't know why it made me so mad. Was it because she had told him everything or because she hadn't told me? Was this what it was like when she found out about me harming myself?