Hearts Without Chains

36.

~I fell in love with the little things, like the way you think, and the way you breathe~

Harry-

After looking at various fish and some things that I didn't know quite what they were, the sun is hidden by clouds and Joeys arms are wrapped around herself as we finally leave. I don't feel drunk anymore, at least not as bad as before. I toss the empty flask into my back seat after starting up the truck, feeling Joeys eyes on me.

"Here." I speak as I pull off the sleeves to my jacket, handing over the same one she's worn multiple times for her to wear.

She passes over a warm smile and lays it over her shoulders, head rested on the head rest comfortably as she says a small thank you, polite and well mannered even to me.

"So anything I should know before meeting the lovely parents?" I ask sarcastically as I pull out of the parking lot. Mostly I wonder just what's going on that I'm willingly walking into a situation like this; parents have never been my thing. Girlfriends either.

"Just.....no cursing." She tells me with a little laugh.

"I told you that you had to give me lessons on that." I joke.

She shakes her head with laughter and offers me her hand to hold, and I take it without even processing it in my mind.

"You know what I was thinking about earlier?" Jo asks me, her hand warm, wrapped comfortably around my own on the center console.

"What's that?" I ask as I flick on my blinker, checking my mirrors before changing lanes to be able to turn right.

"About the first fight we had," She starts.

"Well, the one I counted as our official first one." She laughs.

I look over to her for confirmation, knowing of our many bickers and banters, but also knowing the specific one she is speaking about.

"What about it?" I ask.

"You said you would work on waiting, being patient with me. You don't try and push me to do things that I'm not comfortable with anymore."

Her brown eyes flick down to our hands, and she moves them to her lap. I look away from her only to make sure I don't get in a damn car crash, and try and suppress the appreciative smile that's making its way onto my face as she squeezes my hand with a giggle.

"It's a good thing, Harry." She tells me.

"I know, I know." I let the smile occur.

"I pushed you to do stuff before?" I ask her.

She shrugs her shoulders, "Not really, I mean, I just thought you would think of me as some innocent little girl if I.....I don't know." She lets out a squimish laugh at this.

"But it doesn't matter, because you've worked on it like you said you would, and I'm proud." She says, and the feeling I get in my chest is one that reminds me of something I'm still not used to feeling. Being cared about, in a way my mother can't do, a way my father used to never be able to do either.

"Thank you." My voice is mellow as I tell her this, and I can feel the happiness to her smile as I pick up our intertwined hands to kiss her soft knuckles, a vast difference compared to my own rough ones.

"I'm going to miss you, Harry." Jo says, her eyes drifting away from mine and out her window when our hands travel back to her lap.

"I'll miss you too." I utter.

"A lot, for that matter." I add on.

And as I watched her look back to me, eyes sad but still somehow bright with compassion and appreciation, I knew that I would leave England to come back to this stupid town as soon as I fucking could.