Clipped Wings

XX

July 13th

A light mist tickled the sky making it hard to see much further than a few metres in front of you. Harper sat on the floor in her uncle Jack's house playing with Neil. At first it was peek-a-boo but he got bored of that pretty darn quickly so she moved onto playing race cars with a few of his garishly colour toys. Which made him giggled and squeal , but what Harper hadn't quite caught onto was the fact she was the only one moving around the floor like a maniac. While her Uncle Jack cooked the barbecue indoors due to the rubbish weather.

"Harp!" Jack shouted from the kitchen and she jumped up pulling down her skirt which had ridden up slightly as she was playing with Neil.

"Yes Uncle Jack." Harper questioned poking her head round the door way of the kitchen glancing back at Neil who was crashing the two cars together making her nan laugh.

"Can you pop to the shops and get some more beers before everyone arrives and maybe some more snacky things I don't know your good at this sort of stuff." Uncle Jack rambles pacing round the kitchen like a headless chicken.

"Uncle Jack I am pretty sure we have more than enough besides its only us we don't need a banquet built for fifty million people." Harper jokes and Uncle Jack nods wiping his greasy hands on his apron that said mommy's best little chef.

Clearly he found Harper's apron first before finding the more appropriate apron which was a plain one with loads of peppers on it. Harper tried to stop herself from laughing but a little one escaped.

"I know I know ... darling its just your mum always did these family get togethers I was always the annoying brother who told her all the ways she was doing it wrong even though I had no clue. It's a Shame she has never got to meet Neil though she would love that chunky monkey." Uncle Jack panics and Harper walks further into the kitchen taking ahold of his hands to calm him down.

"Who says she isn't here right now celebrating her Grandson's birthday? I swear Kibbles is basically her sitting by the damn dressing table all day every day. Not eating because it means leaving. She is here if we make it feel like she." Harper explains as he nods sadly clearly still missing his sister.

The two of them were rather close all throughout their lives , nicknaming themselves two peas. When ever the other had a problem they would call each other straight away. He missed their Thursday night dinners where they would take it in turns to cook for each other. Which came as a saving grace when Harper was born as she got a little breather from being a sole carer. As all the family would get together and chip in to give her a hand every Thursday regardless of what was going on in their own lives. That was what family was about but when she died Jack couldn't bring himself to carry on the tradition as the next Thursday after her birthday was her turn and he didn't want to be the one to take her Thursday. But deep down he knew she would call him silly and say the family love the dinners to start back again getting to spend time with each other was special and worth making the most of due to the fragility of life.

"That cat is such a little diva. Well I guess now is the time we make her proud yeah. You've kicked the bucket hanging out with that bad smell Finnegan Ridley haven't you." Uncle Jack asks Harper lets go of his hand not wanting to really talking about him at all.

Uncle Jack rolled his eyes at Harper's response going back to chopping up some vegetables to make a salad that will go along with the beef burgers for the meat eaters and veggie burgers for the non meat eaters. Well that was just Harper as she was trying to cut down on the amount of animal product she ate. Harper lent on the breakfast bar smiling at her uncle.

"You're making the rainbow sweetcorn salad." Harper states and Uncle Jack stops cutting up a cucumber to glare at her stabbing the fork face down into the chopping board.

"Harp. Don't try and change the subject. Have you or have you not cut that stinker of a man from your life." Uncle jack warns trying not to shout but damn he was sure near to. Harper just laughed at the awkward situation as he didn't break eye contact.

"I may have did the thing you know you're not meant to on him. I know I shouldn't have but something was seriously wrong and I mean showing emotions wrong so I did it. Please don't kill me." Harper resends really quickly knowing it was the only way uncle Jack wasn't going to keep pressing her. He was stubborn like that.

When Uncle Jack wanted and answer he would always win , mastering the are you being serious right now glare. Which could make anyone fold even Harper's Grandma Dotty who prided herself on being stubborn woman. He made her fold and admit she stole his prized chilli plant and put it in her garden. She swears that she was only borrowing it to show off to her knitting club but he was yet to get it back from her.

"What did your mother tell you about doing that. You could. have seriously hurt yourself or worse Killed yourself. Harper. When will you learn you can't help everyone not even dirty good for nothing dark angels. especially ones whose first names begin with an F." Uncle Jack disappointedly mutters as he throws the chopped up cucumber into a large metal bowl to the right of him starting to chop up the recently peeled carrots.

"Uncle Jack please ... you should have seen him. I had no choice. Granted he shouted at me because of it but he what I saw was enough for me to know not every dark angel is a bad person and we both know not every pure angel are good people after how everyone treated him at the ball." Harper snaps walking out the kitchen not wanting to continue the conversation any longer as she didn't need the long parental chat about how she was being careless.

Harper knew the consequences she wasn't his little niece anymore she was a grown woman with her own moral code. Choosing to take Finnegan's pain from him was the best yet the worst thing she could ever do. Every time she closed her eyes she heard Lilibeth's blood curdling scream. It was now just a matter of time before it happened to her , he was bound to get her back for reading his mind but she wasn't scared. She couldn't be because being afraid only made it worse.