Falling For You

-LVI-

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Hope you have a good holiday and enjoy the chapter :)

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Harley

What, the actual, fuck?

"Why in the world would you do that?" I ask incredulously. 

"Your mother, she is having an affair." 

"No." I try to reason, but find that it comes out as a question. 

"I'm sorry, Harley." He looks remorseful, as if it was him who was unfaithful and betraying their family. 

"Why are you sorry, Dad?" I whisper while tears start forming. "You have nothing to be sorry for." 

I slide onto his lap similar to when I was young child, hugging him tightly. Laying my head on his chest it brings back memories of when our family was not falling apart. He squeezes me back and let's the tears fall silently. We are all that we have left now. 

Our other blood relatives live quite far away and don't visit often. It would always be the three of us for holidays. Christmas Dad and I would make ginger bread houses and Mom would judge them. Easter my parents always hid eggs for me around the house. Halloween we would all dress up and trick or treat together. I could go on forever with all of our traditions. 

Even though both my parents worked a lot when I was younger they still made time for me. Family quality time was an important priority. Though, if I had noticed it I would have realized those moments were starting to dwindle. What drove Mom to have an affair?

Sniffling, a realization dawns on me. "It is with Michael isn't it?" 

"You know him?" Barely any trace of tears are left in his rich chocolate brown eyes that are so different from mine. 

"I, uh, saw one of the texts he sent to mom," how did I not connect the dots?  "She waved it off, and told me he was just her secretary." 

"A friend of mine let me know he saw them dining together, according to him it was quite obvious it was more than business. I've contacted your mother and she confirmed what I was told. It has been going on for a couple of months now." 

"I'm so sorry, Dad." I am losing my mother in this, but he is losing his best friend and wife. 

"No more of that sorry stuff," he tries to smile, but it looks more like a painful grimace. "What's done is done and we can only prepare ourselves for the future consequences. Now go spend some quality time with that boy that's obsessed with you out there." 

"Obsessed is a little bit exaggerative." I force a laugh and give him another tight hug. 

When I open the office day Drew's head right away shoots up. Noticing my somber expression his emotions change from happiness to crestfallen in seconds. 

"Harley what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" He rushes over to me. First examining for any injuries, before hugging me to his body when he finds none. 

"My parents are getting a divorce." I choke out. 

"What?" He pulls back to study my face. My parents are as much mine as they are his. "I'm so sorry Harls." 

I relish in the warm feeling of his strong arms wrapped around me, feeling as though they could protect me from anything. 

I offer him the best reassuring smile I could. "It'll be okay." 

"It will." He presses a firm kiss to my temple. "You are strong Harley you got this." 

He gently leads me back to the couch and flicks through Netflix. I'm thankful that he knows I need to process this before I can talk about it. He's always so patient. 

"This okay with you?" He glances at me nodding towards the television screen. 

"Yeah," I nod. He knows I'm a sucker for the classic Disney movies. 

A couple minutes in I feel a little lonely and cold so I close the distance between our bodies. Snuggling closer I rest my head on his broad and comfy shoulder as I watch Aladdin woo Jasmine with his undeniable charm. 

Sleep is an odd thing. You never realize you have been asleep until you wake up. Say for example, when you wake up on a bed when you clearly fell asleep on a couch. 

Slightly disoriented I crack my eyes open. Determining I'm on my own bed I roll over and go back to sleep. 

Dad must have moved me up here from where I was sitting on the couch wi-

Oh Drew. 

Forcing my eyes open again I spot the familiar mop of supposedly styled brown hair. For once he's not suffocating me in my unconscious state. 

It is like he has a radar on me. Rolling over so that he's facing me his eyes open revealing my favourite smooth dark hazel. Most people say they like my blue eyes, but I really like the uniqueness of hazel. Drew's start off dark when he wakes up and gradually lightens. 

"How did you know I was awake?" I question sleepily. I feel his gaze studying my face, flickering all over. 

"I could feel you moving around." He responds. "Besides, you breath loudly." He teases grinning widely. He is known to be a light sleeper.

And then something weird followed that.

That feeling of fuzziness, like butterflies in my stomach, like my stomach doing flips- like that time I was thirteen. 

Since when did his smile affect me so much? It's not like I have crush or anything. Besides, he's my best friend, that would be weird.

"Shut up." I mumble with a small smile of my own. Still feeling tired I shuffle towards his warm body and rest my head in the nook of his neck. "Wake me up when it's seven o'clock." 

"I will." He hums, draping an arm over my mid section. More of those blasted butterflies are released when I feel the vibration from his throat. It's just vocal cords, nothing attractive. Nothing at all. 

What is wrong with me today?