Soft Side

Chapter four

I stood at the bay window in the house I stayed in because as I've mentioned previously, this did not class as my home. My eyes looking at every single passing car, wondering if it was Harry or if this all really was too good to be true. Truth be known, I didn't even know what car he had. I had told my foster mother everything that had happened, only to have her laugh in my face and tell me that it was all my imagination and nothing had happened or was going to happen. All I hoped was that I wasn't going to be stood up, and that he in fact would turn up so I could rub this all in her snooty face.

I had exchanged numbers with Harry, the last time I saw him a week ago. I hadn't seen him since because I had to come back to this house and do my washing and make sure I had clothes and things to take away with me. I was also being completely inundated with calls and messages from the woman who lived in this house with me, requesting my exact whereabouts and how I was going to be in so much trouble when I got home.

I sighed softly, hope inside of me beginning to fade as I looked down at my phone. 9:50 am was the time that was displayed on my phone screen. He had told me half past 9, I was definitely being made a fool of. I knew this was all too good to be true myself. I locked my phone and took one last look out of the window before turning away and beginning to walk out of the living room. That's when I heard the doorbell ring. My feet picked up a tremendous speed and ran to the door. Behind the white wood and stained glass stood a tall, curly brunette with tattoos on his arms, a chain on his neck and a pair of bright, dazzling green eyes.

My heart stopped as I went to reach for my bag, Harry grabbing it for me. I smiled and thanked him politely, not even bothering to tell the man and woman in this house that I had gone, I'm sure they wouldn't care that much anyway. Harry's feet stepped quickly towards the newest car I had ever seen. This area of my town never has new cars, so this was yet another shock to the system which by now I'm sure needed a reboot. Before me was a black Range Rover with a licence plate stating this year. It was brand new.

I hummed softly, climbing into the passenger side, running my small fingers up and down the leather of the seats, touching the dashboard in front of me and playing with some of the buttons. That's when my mind kicked in telling me 'this isn't your car, stop fiddling or you're going to fuck it up before anything has even begun'. I listened to my head and stopped fiddling, smiling politely and slightly awkwardly as Harry plopped into the seat beside me.

"So..." I started, Harry cruising along the motorway, focusing on the cars and the road as I focused on him.

"I need to call by and see my mum" he says gently, "you don't mind do you?" He smiles, thinking about his mum at home. I knew what she looked like. I knew her name. To hell with it, I knew more about his family than I did my own and now I was heading to her house? When did this become some fucked up reality.

"Of course not" I say softly, nodding as he smiles. I had no idea what he was going to introduce me as and I was a little worried to find out. I knew how much his family meant to him, so to be given the honour of meeting them was something I just couldn't comprehend. What were they going to think of me and about the broken home I came from?

~~~~~~~

We arrived at a gorgeous home in the middle of nowhere. A gravel driveway and a light stone brick house stood before me. I climb out of the car, careful not to make any kind of fool of myself before I'd even gotten into the beautiful building before me. Harry strode to the door, opening it and walking on in. When I didn't follow, he backed up, holding his left hand out behind him. Rings covering three of his fingers which glistened in the midday sunshine. His fingers wiggled, egging me into taking them into my own hand.

My body calmed, holding his hand in mine as I followed him through the house. It was immaculate. I suddenly heard running feet and my hand was let go. A brunette lady was in Harry's arms as he spun her around. "Hi mum" Harry hummed, hugging his mum as tight as he could. Here goes nothing... I think to myself, taking a deep breath as they break apart. "Mum I'd like you to meet someone" he says softly, walking his mum over to me. "This is soph, she's my girlfriend" he says softly, slightly smirking, just enough that his mum couldn't see. My breathing completely stopped. Girlfriend? Since when?

I smiled hugging Anne while giving Harry a glare over his mother's shoulder, signifying that we were going to be having words later about this moment.
"It's so lovely to meet you," Anne hums "can I get anybody a drink?" She smiles. Harry opted for a cup of tea, whilst I opted for a glass of water, not wanting to cause any hassle. When Anne finally walks away, my hand comes into contact with Harry's arm.

"Girlfriend? What do you think you're playing at?" I harshly whisper to him, hoping it comes out as one of those whisper shouts people do when they're angry but can't shout at someone.

Harry just laughs though, shaking his head and sorting out his hair, making an annoyingly valid point of "I can't just tell her we slept together twice and now you're randomly here with me".

I hated that he was so right.

His hand took mine, taking me upstairs and into his childhood bedroom. The only difference was that it had had a bit of an upgrade now with white walls and a large oak bed which looked too heavy to lift. The carpet was a cream colour and a large wardrobe sat in the corner of the room which I assumed must be empty.

I stayed standing, admiring the room I was stood in. Harry cocked his head as if to say 'come here'. I stepped closer, my hands engulfed in his large ones as he pulled me down so I was now straddling his lap. His eyes locked with mine, happiness evident in them as his lips found mine, a giggle escaping my lips as he stood up with me, laying us both on the bed. My hands found his hair and began tugging on it, signalling I wanted more. He smirked, lowering himself and unbuttoning my trousers...

I'll leave the rest of this moment to your imagination.

~~~~~~~

We finished our time upstairs and said our farewells, but only until we headed back later to Harry's wonderful family. They were a true family, something I hadn't felt in a long, long time. We clambered into the car and I sat silent, watching everything pass by out of the window, occasionally wiping my eyes as I try to be subtle, hoping Harry doesn't notice the salty tears spilling from my tear ducts.

"What's wrong?" Harry says softly, placing his hand on my knee, "it's not because I called you my girlfriend is it? I'm sorry about that... wait I didn't do anything while we were fu-" he starts before I cut him off.

"No it isn't that" I state, wiping my eyes as I continue looking at the fields passing us by as we drove on our whirl wind tour of Harry's home life. "It's just, I haven't felt love and a family like that since my parents passed away when I was six" I breath out, sighing shakily as his hand grips my knee slightly harder, giving me a sense of support as I explain everything to him, how I felt jealous about what he had. I explained how it happened, how I was living with supposed foster parents who didn't really care and how I had no sense of family in my life at all.

He nods, not saying a word but trying to think of a way to comfort me in such a tense and unpleasant moment. That's when the idea hit him. He continued to drive, a smile on his lips as he pulled into a car park. I had absolutely no idea where we were. He climbed out of the car, taking my hand in his as he walked me into a cafe. He guided me to a table, sitting me down before jogging to the counter and ordering two coffees, poking his tongue out as he stood in the queue, making me laugh when he realised the cashier had been trying to take his order for a short while.

He was such a goof.

~~~~~~~

We left the coffee shop, walking hand in hand. A few people had noticed him now, leading to me going to let go of his hand, assuming he wouldn't want the fact he was walking around with a random girl, hand in hand to make the front page of the magazines. But his actions took me by surprise when he held my hand a little tighter, squeezing it gently as he looked down at me. This being short thing was not okay.

We had seen Harry's old school, the park he used to play in and the first pub he drank in. But now he was walking me down a street and into a bakery. I'd recognised this bakery and when I heard him shout across to an old lady coming through the door I knew where we were. It was his first job. I smile gently as she comes in, toddling over to Harry and hugging him tightly. They took some time to catch up before he began to introduce me.

"Barbara, this is Soph" he says softly, looking me in the eyes as if to ask me for permission to introduce me the same way as he had to his mother. I nodded softly as he began to speak again "she's my girlfriend" he said gently, smiling softly. Her eyes widened as she engulfed me in a hug.

I sighed happily, I know it was still such early doors, but the sound of girlfriend sounded almost too good.