Tell Me It's Love

Tell Me It's Love - Part 22

"So, you said you had something for me"

Harry teared his eyes away from the road ahead and turned to look at Bailey, his mind taking in what she had said. He quickly thought of the bracelet he had tucked away inside his pocket then nodded his head.

"I think it's yours, I found it on my floor and I definitely know it isn't mine" Harry explained, bringing his hand out of his pocket to hold out to Bailey, showing her the bracelet.

Bailey's eyes lit up, a pleased look on her face, as she gently took the bracelet from Harry.

"I thought I'd lost it! Thank you, so much!"

Harry smiled as he watched her fasten the bracelet back onto her wrist, her eyes sparkling as she stared down at the teddy bear charm.

"It must be quite special for you to be so happy to have it back" Harry stated, his eyes shifting from Bailey to the pathway to make sure they didn't end up walking into somebody. 

He turned back to Bailey, realising she hadn't replied and his smile faded when he saw a sad look taking over her face. Her fingers carefully spun the charm around, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

"It was a present from my dad. He gave it to me on my 8th birthday"

Harry nodded his head slowly, giving a comforting smile as Bailey looked up at him. Her hand dropped from her wrist and she sniffed away her tears, taking a deep breath as they continued to walk.

A silence grew over them as they turned the corner at the end of the street and the park came into view. As they walked closer to a bench that was just outside of the park gates, Bailey swallowed then nervously put her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"My dad, he um..he passed away, when I was 10"

Harry looked back up at Bailey with a worried look in his eyes.

"I'm really sorry to hear that"

Bailey sniffed again then moved to sit down on the bench, waiting for Harry to sit down next to her. Her hands left her pockets to rest on her legs, her fingers shaking slightly with nerves.

"How did it happen?" Harry asked, his head turning to the side to look at Bailey. "I understand if you don't wanna talk about it"

Bailey gave a small smile before letting out another deep breath.

"He was a fireman. Had been for about 10 years. One day while he was on duty, he was called out just as he normally was. After he'd put out the fire and made sure everyone was out of the building, he was making his way out when the walls crumbled around him, leaving him trapped under the rubble"

Harry saw a single tear fall from Bailey's eye and he quickly reached out his hand to take hers holding it as she continued her story.

"It was too late to save him after that. There was nothing anyone could do, he was already gone"

Harry comfortingly squeezed Bailey's hand as she wiped away another tear. 

"It was so hard after that. Mum couldn't cope, she didn't know how to. I was there for her as much as I could be but I was hurting too, you know? She completely closed up, she wouldn't sleep or eat, some days she wouldn't even speak. We moved in with her sister and eventually things picked up. She got a new job, went out more with friends, tried to have a life again. And then she met Rich"

Bailey stopped then looked down into her lap, feeling her eyes start to fill with tears again. Harry squeezed her hand again as visions of what he had saw through his window flashed inside his head.

"He flashed his money about, buying presents for everyone to worm his way in. Mum fell for it, of course. She was in love again and for the first time in so long she was happy, and no matter how much I hated having him around, he was the reason she was smiling again"

Bailey sighed then lifted up her head, feeling a soft breeze hit at her face in a soothing way.

"I was right about him. Mum thought he was perfect, everything she had ever wanted. But I knew what he was really like. And I was right"

Bailey turned her head to see Harry taking all of this in and she instantly felt bad, a scared feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said all of that"

Harry slowly looked up at Bailey then let out a deep sigh.

"Bailey, I need to tell you something"

Bailey nodded her head slowly, waiting for Harry to carry on speaking.

"Yesterday I, I was looking through my window and I, well, I saw what he did to you"

Bailey felt her heart double up in a panic. Her face had turned white and the sickness feeling in her stomach grew bigger. Her eyes filled with more tears and her head spun, feeling a mix of humiliation and fear. She moved her hand away from Harry's then shakily stood up from the bench. 

"I-I need to go"

"No, Bailey wait!" Harry said, standing up from the bench as he watched Bailey quickly walk out of sight.

***

As Bailey reached her house she quickly wiped away her tears and walked close to the front door. Her heart sped up in panic at the sound of raised voices from inside of the house. Her hand slowly lifted up to open the door, bracing herself for what she would see.

Closing the door behind her, Bailey walked through the kitchen hearing the shouting louder now, coming from behind the closed door of the living room. Her eyes moved over to the staircase to see Nick stood with his eyes full of tears, a scared look on his face. Bailey felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach just from looking at him, not used to seeing him so upset.

"Hey little man! Need a hug?" Bailey asked, moving closer to the stairs.

Nick nodded his head, not speaking but lifting up his arms as Bailey walked over to where he was stood. His arms wrapped around Bailey's neck as he was lifted up into a hug.

"Why are they shouting?" Nick asked, his voice quiet and choked with his tears.

Bailey soothingly rubbed his back as the shouting from the living room carried on, neither her Mum nor Rich bothering to keep their argument quiet. Bailey pulled away from the hug and gave Nick a small smile, taking his hand to gently squeeze.

"Everything is gonna be alright" Bailey whispered, lifting her hand to wipe Nick's eyes. "I promise"