The Encounter |H.S|

10

I arrive home with a frustrated sigh, carrying Hazel in my arms and put her in her crib so that I could dress up something more comfortable. Louis isn't home, which I don't mind that much since alone time with my daughter is really just what I need.

I dress up Hazel with her light pink pyjama and take her in my arms once again, putting her in her high chair in the kitchen while I cut her some more fruits and heat up a bottle of milk.

I hear her mumbling some things to herself and when I put the plate and the bottle in front of her she lets out a squeal, smiling up at me.

I sit next to her while eating a few cookies that I bought before going home. I stare at the wall in front of me while recording the events of today, shaking my head as I let out a defeated sigh.

I knew that if I brought Hazel with me something would happen, but never did I think that this would happen. Liam saying that Hazel wasn't my niece completely threw me off and the way Harry acted with her only added to the astonishment I felt. 

I help Hazel eating her fruit while she eagerly grabs the bottle of milk. Fortunately she eats everything and once she's finished I grab the bowl where the fruit was and the bottle and wash them quickly. 

All of a sudden my phone starts ringing, I glance at it while drying my hands in a cloth, frowning when I see Harry's name flashing on the screen of my phone.

Intrigued, I answer the phone and immediately put it on speaker. "Hello?" 

"I'm sorry." He mutters, making me widen my eyes and I sit down in a chair, not believing what I just heard.

"W-what?" I stutter, my heart beating faster with every second that goes by. I look over at Hazel and watch as she looks around the house, mumbling some words to herself. 

"I'm sorry for cheating." He mumbles to which I remain silent, I don't know how to reply to this. I clearly can't forgive him just like that, he broke my heart and he left me by myself when I needed him the most.

"Harry, I–"

"I'm so tired of living without you Evelyn, I'm tired of pretending to be in love when I'm not, I'm tired of trying to be someone that I'm clearly not." He interrupts me and I nervously gulp, feeling pitiful about his situation. 

But as much as I want to forgive him and run into his arms once again, I can't ignore the fact that he cheated on me and he was now currently dating that girl, I can't ignore the fact that he left me completely alone with nowhere to go, I can't ignore the fact that he acted carelessly and amateurishly.

"Harry, I can't forgive you. You left me for someone who you don't love and now you're dealing with the consequences, if you want to acknowledge it or not, what you did was deplorable and you should know that by now."

"I know that Evelyn, that is why I'm apologising!" He says frustratingly, making me roll my eyes at his harsh tone.

"I can't Harry, I really wish I could but I can't. You don't know how much time I needed to move on from you, to accept that you weren't coming back, to recognize that you didn't love me." I mumble, glancing at Hazel for a few seconds before turning my attention to the table.

"Don't say that Evelyn, please don't say it." He mutters, sighing right as I hold back my tears.

I never thought I would be having this conversation with Harry, but now that it is happening all I want is for it to stop. I don't want him to know anything about how I feel and what I am more afraid is that I let the fact that Hazel is his daughter slip past my lips accidentally. 

"I-I don't want to fall for your tricks again Harry, you hurt me so much and I can't bring myself to trust you, not until you prove me otherwise." I mumble and before I could change my mind, I hang up. 

I rest my head on the table, letting out an exaggerated sigh. I cannot believe that this just happened, I wonder what would happen if I didn't hang up, because I'm almost sure that I would at least try to talk it out with him but I can't bring myself to do that, it would be erroneous and incorrect of me to do so.

I look up at Hazel as she peers at me with an eensy frown and put my hand in her cheek while faintly smiling at her. She immediately smiles, moving her arms up and down and I gladly take her in my arms and walk over to the living room.

I sit down in the couch, placing Hazel sitting on my lap and putting on a random Disney movie. I lean my head back and try to calm down from what happened not too long ago.

It seems hard for me to forget the words that came past his lips, in a way I hate him with my whole heart and soul, but in a different way I feel bad for him. He seemed so…desperate. 

The more I think about it, the more I want to grab my phone and call him but I scoff at my own thoughts. It would be immoral and wrong to do that, it was like admitting my own defeat.

I do not want him to think I'm that easy to the point of forgiving him after he broke my heart to the very last bit. I want him to amend things with me the right way, yes apologising is a first step but there are more things he could do because I can't bring myself to trust him in a blink of an eye just because he asked for forgiveness. He has to prove that he means it.

                              (...)     

It was almost midnight when Louis arrived, Hazel was in bed already and since I couldn't fall asleep I decided to stay in the couch watching Mamma Mia, a thing I have done too many times when I felt down, especially if it was because of Harry.

"I'm sorry it took so long, Amy's parents decided to interview me" he laughs, sitting down next to me with a frown, glancing at the bucket of ice cream in my hands before looking at me again, "what are you doing up?"

"Harry called, said he was sorry for cheating and he's tired of pretending to be in love when he isn't and that he's tired of living without me." I mumble, not taking my eyes off from the movie that was playing in front of me as I feel his eyes burning on my face. 

"Did you...did you forgive him?" He asks in a whisper and I immediately shake my head, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I can't forgive him just because he apologised." I see him nodding from the corner of my eye and I let out a sigh of defeat. 

"Why do you always watch Mamma Mia when you're sad, and especially when it is because of Harry?" He suddenly asks, amusement clear on his voice as he speaks and I softly smile at his remark.

"I believe that it is because I used to watch it a lot when I was with him, even if he didn't like it he used to put the effort to watch it with me…or maybe because it reminds me of the promise he made to take me to Greece." I state truthfully and he wraps his arm around my shoulder in a comforting way. 

"He's an ass." He says firmly which makes me press my lips before turning my attention to the movie once again.

He sure is an ass, but a very confusing one.

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