Saving Grace {Haylor}

Photos

We're seated at our regular spot in the diner and the waitress brings us two died coke floats. Harry looks as if he's about to have a mental break down. And I can't tell if it's from his lack of sleep or his nerves. Maybe a combination of both. He isn't speaking so I sit up a little straighter and pull at his hand. "I love you, okay? I'm mad at you and upset with you. But I love you. And the longer we sit here in silence, the harder it's going to be."

Harry licks his lips and takes out his phone, clicking on an album of photos. "From the day I met you, I knew that you were special. And I knew I needed to get to know you better. And I knew I would have to tell you all of this, what I'm about to tell you. But it just never came up. And then our relationship blossomed and I got deeper into this hole of lies." The word 'lies' makes the hair on my neck stand up. Lies? He... Lied? "I've thought of every possible way to tell you in a way that you won't hate me, but nothing is guaranteed. So this is what I came up with. Photos. Remember how I told you about my high school girlfriend? Well her name was Alyssa." He taps the screen and a beautiful red head pops up. A sixteen year old Harry stands beside her as he kisses her cheek and her freckles blend in to a blush. "Well, she was my favourite person in the world. She was my rock. We were highschool sweethearts. We stayed that way for a long time." He flips a picture to them both in grad hats. Smiling ear to ear. "Even longer than this." He flips to another picture, this time they're kissing on a bench. Her legs stretched out along his lap and the hand that's placed on his cheek has a particular kinda ring on it. A engagement ring. "I proposed on her eighteenth birthday and by the photo I'm guessing you can see the answer. We bought a house together. We were happy. There was no reason to rush the wedding just yet. A year later... We found out Alyssa was pregnant." Harry swipes the photo to a baby announcement photo. She's in a white top with a protruding belly while Harry's hands are dipped in pink paint, smearing into the sides while he kisses her stomach. "We were having a little girl." I don't have the confidence to look at him right now. How could he have had a child... A family and not tell me?! How could he have hid that? It's not just something that you shrug off. This was a big deal. And after I told him all my secrets. October 3rd 2008 my daughter was born." He flips to a photo of him holding a teeny tiny babies and for a moment my heart sinks. He's staring down at the little girl and she's staring up at him. Big bright green eyes... "Her name is Annie Nicole Styles. She's now five, turning six." I can feel his eyes on me but I don't flinch. "January 2010 the sparks just weren't there for Alyssa and I anymore. We had been together for... A long time. We put so much time into each other for so many years that it felt like it was just dragging on. We were together because we had to be. Not because we wanted to be." He flips through a few photos of their family. "It was valentines day that year that we just weren't in it anymore. It didn't mean anything. So we decided that it was time for us to separate. Both of us wanting what was best for us, but also for the other, and Annie. It was about April that Alyssa got sick. We were still living together, more as room mates than anything else. And the parents of Annie. May Alyssa was diagnosed with breast cancer. The moment we found out we listed out our house, we knew we would need the money for her medical bills. She was my best friend, I wasn't just going to let her suffer. So we moved into a smaller house for rent and I was Alyssa's main support system. Her parents had disowned her when we got engaged. Said that she was too young. They were heavy duty Christians. It was me, her, and Annie. Alyssa has been suffering, battling, fighting her cancer for four years now. And that's why I had to disappear. That's why I ran off. Because they thought it was the end. I couldn't not be there for her. I've been there for her for the past ten years and I wasn't going to let her vanish like that."

I shut my eyes tight and push back his phone. I bite on my bottom lip and have to stop myself from doing something I would regret. After all the things I told him... After everything... He keeps something this big from me? "You have a daughter... You have a little girl."

"Taylor, I can see your upset but-"

I shoot a glare at him. "Of course I'm upset Harry. There's more than just us involved now. There's a little girl with feelings. There's an ex with cancer. This isn't something anyone can take lightly!"

"I know, Tay, babe. It was-"

"I told you everything!" My voice comes out harsh. "Everything." I whimper and I have to look away so I don't cry. "You told me forever, Harry. You told me you'd never leave."

"And I'm not." He reaches out but I swat his hand away

"How can I trust you? How can I trust this? You have a fucking daughter, Harry. I'm in no way shape or form ready to be a step mother." I look back at him. His eyes bloodshot and watery.

"Please, hear me out. When you met me, I already had a daughter. I was already a father. You didn't know that, and I understand why you're mad. But, this doesn't change the person I am, this doesn't change that I love you. This doesn't change what we have or the way we kiss." He puts out his hands, begging me to take them, so I did. He rubs the back of my hands and points at my tattoo. "It doesn't change that. Or the fact that I want to get you as far away from Milo as possible. It doesn't change that I want to be your forever."

"It changes my life. I don't know if I have the mental stability to help take care of a child right now."

"I know." He whispers. "I'm going back tomorrow at ten. It's your choice if you come with me or not. I can't promise what happens after that, though. I want you to come with me. But I'm not about to force you into anything."

I open my mouth but I can't figure out what to say. Going with him was a risk, but staying here was an even bigger one. "Harry, I don't know..."

"You love me, right?"

"More than anything."

"Love is about taking risks. Come with me and we'll figure this out together." I take a deep breath and squeeze his hands right. "Please?"

I lean over the table and nod softly. "And they thought I was crazy before."

Harry smiles so genuinely it makes me bare a grin. He puts his lips to mine and overlaps my bottom lip. "Crazy in love." He mumbles and kiss him back.

"Now let's get you home and showered. Cause you're certainly not going back to see your daughter like that."

A/N

OKAY GUYS WHAT DO YOU THINK LEMME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS. WAS THIS A GOOD PLOT TWIST? DID ANYONE SEE IT COMING??