Ever Since New York // H.S. - ON HOLD

CHAPTER 8 - THE GOLDEN COAST

A/N - HEYYYY!!! How was y'all's 23rd? ;) Also these are the fits that I envision them wearing in this chapter. Happy reading!

. . .

It's the next morning and I still cannot believe I agreed to hanging out with Harry Styles tonight. Who have I become? Because this certainly is not me and I am scared shitless. But I shouldn't be right? He's not Peter, I know that. But how can I really know?

You know what? It's fine. I'm fine. New chapters are supposed to be uncomfortable. Growth isn't supposed to feel good at first. You are supposed to push yourself through the uncomfortable times to get to the great ones. That's all this is, just a momentary uncomfortable time. I can't write him off until after the date.

Well, not date. But you know what I mean.

I had text Harry earlier letting him know that I would pick him up around 6:30pm. That gives me enough time to be sure Ginny has dinner and is situated for the night. I am so scared that she won't be able to go down because I'm not here. Normally she's asleep by 8 or 8:30, but I know I'm not going to be back before then. The guilt of not being here when she goes to sleep is enough to stop me from going all together, but I won't do that. I need to do this. Even if it is horrible, it's the first step I need to take in completely moving past my trauma.

It's 5:45 and Emma should be here any minute. I've been progressively mentioning me going to be with a friend tonight, but I don't know if Ginny quite understood, so I need to make sure she does. She sits at the table munching on her spaghetti and meatballs, getting sauce all over her face.

"Ginny, love, I need you to listen to me okay?" I turn her chair slightly toward me and she drops her fork and raises her eyebrows at me. I swear she has the brain of a teenager.

"What, mama? I eating." She picks up her fork again and shoves noodles in her tiny mouth, slurping them up.

"I know, love. Keep eating, but listen to mama too. Remember Emma's coming any minute now?" She nods her head and I take a napkin, wiping her face a bit.

"She's gonna play with you after dinner, then she'll give you a nice bath and get you ready for bed." She drops her fork on the plate once more and turns her head toward me with her brows furrowed and I can't tell if she is going to cry or not.

"I's not gonna falls asleep wis yous?" She doesn't look like she's going to cry, just concerned. Gosh, she's adorable.

"I don't think so, love. I know you always do, but I promise to come snuggle in your bed with you as soon as I get home, and we'll have the best Sunday tomorrow." I lean forward, kissing her head gently, hoping she won't burst out in tears.

"Wis ice creams?" I chuckle and smile at her as I grab her face between my hands, squishing her cheeks and kissing her nose.

"Yes, love, we can go get ice cream." And on cue, Emma walks in the front door. I gave her a key only a few months ago. She's the only person I would trust to have a spare key to my house. I had extra locks installed when I first moved in because paranoia still exists within me.

Ginny beams with excitement when she sees Emma, which brings a smile back to my face. It brings me so much relief that she trusts her and loves her. It makes being away from her so much easier knowing she genuinely enjoys spending time with Emma. We spend the next couple minutes cleaning up the mess Ginny made from dinner, including the mess on her face. I wipe the table down as Emma takes a warm washcloth to Ginny's face.

It's a little after 6 now and I know I really need to get going if I am going to get to Harry's around the time I said I would. I kiss my precious little girl goodbye, but she is too distracted as she runs off to the living room to play with her toys. Emma doesn't ask any questions about where I am going or who with, which I thank god for that. I don't know how I would tell her that I'm meeting up with Harry Styles.