The next morning, Grace decided to sleep-in. So I went for a run. I ran three miles, and then jogged/walked back. I took a cold shower, changing into a pair of black leggings and a sports bra.. "Mum, I'm hungry." Grace said, walking into the bathroom. "Ok. Um. Your dad should be here in a few minutes, probably. He can take you to get something." I replied, brushing out my wet hair.
"But I want to eat now." She stated, and I looked down at her.. "Ok. Um. How about you shower, and I'll fix you something to eat. Does your dad let you shower alone? Or take baths or something?" I asked, realizing I had no idea when kids start showering by themselves..
"No, I can shower." She said, playing with some of my skincare products. "Great. Ok. Go do that." I commented, and she put the bottles back on the counter and ran out of the room. I sighed, going back to what I was doing.
I went down to the kitchen, eating my own breakfast first. I made coffee, since I was exhausted. After-all, I'd gotten maybe five hours of sleep last night, after not sleeping for over four days.. "Ok. Time to eat!" Grace shouted, and I flinched. Way too loud for this early in the morning..
"Here." I said, grabbing a granola bar out of my box and handing it to her. She shrugged, walking over and sitting at the table. I leaned against the counter, sipping my coffee. I shoved a hand through my hair, and glanced over at the door when someone walked right in without knocking. He shut it, turning around, and I relaxed, seeing it was Harry.
He pulled his hood down, walking into the kitchen. "Morning." He commented, kissing the top of Grace's head, and looking over at me. "Did you go for a run?" He asked, quickly scanning over my outfit, clearly trying to not be obvious about it.. I nodded, taking another sip from my mug.
"Hey, Grace?" Harry asked, looking back over at her. She got up from the table, throwing her trash away. "Where'd you get the new clothes?" He questioned. I realized that I hadn't even noticed she'd changed.. "Mum's boyfriend gave them to me." She replied, and I remembered the duffle bags Ryan had left in her room..
Harry looked over at me. "Boyfriend?" He mouthed. "She's talking about Ryan.. Grace, he isn't my boyfriend." I commented, and she simply just shrugged in response.
"Right. Ok, well I guess we should get going." Harry said, looking at me. Grace walked over to me, wrapping her arms around my legs.. She pulled away, going over to where Harry was. She looked up at him. His eyes were still on me. "You can hug her too." Grace whispered, and I laughed at her inability to speak quietly..
Harry laughed, studying me for a moment. "Alright. Let's go." Harry commented. "You can take those bags of stuff if you want. I don't think I need them here." I said, and walked down the hall and into her room. She'd emptied one of the bags onto the floor, I guess trying to find the perfect outfit; so I quickly shoved all the clothes back into the bag..
I picked both of the bags up, carrying them back down the hallway. "Alright. Uh, I'll take one of those." Harry said, taking one of the bags from me.. Grace walked over, opening the door and walking down the driveway.. Harry followed her. I briefly looked down at my outfit, but figured since this is similar to how I went for my run this morning, I'd be fine.. I shut the door behind me, following Harry down the driveway. He'd parked his car on the street. He put the bag he had in the backseat, and took mine, putting it back there as well.
"Ok. Well, I'll probably call you." He commented, and I laughed at his choice of words. "Ok." I replied, and felt Grace hug me again. She walked over, and tried to push Harry towards me. He looked down at her. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Hug her." She whispered, and he looked around, probably for any people. His eyes landed on me. "Grace, how 'bout we just go home?" He asked, and she continued to try and push him in my direction.. He sighed.
"Alright, ok. Fine." He said, and stepped towards me. He met my gaze for a moment, asking for my permission without saying anything. I nodded, and he wrapped his arms around me. It was already getting easier to hug him back, which always felt weird in my mind, because if it weren't for therapy, there's a good chance it would still make me just as uncomfortable as it did five years ago..
"Finally." Grace huffed, and I laughed.. "She's definitely got your personality." Harry said, his lips brushing against my ear.. His arms were wrapped around my waist, and he pulled back, letting his fingers lightly drag against my skin. "I'll call you." He commented, meeting my gaze. I nodded, and he turned, helping Grace into her car seat.
Once he was done with that, he shut the door, turning around and looking at me again. I ran a hand through my hair. "Really?" He asked, and I sent him a confused look. He walked over, and my brain told me to take a step back, but I stood my ground, fighting against my instincts.
I was really glad when he didn't try to kiss me, but instead bent down next to my ear. At first he didn't say anything, and I laughed when he lost his balance. He put one of his hands on my waist to hold himself steady. "Why do you always have to be so intoxicating?" He asked quietly, leaning back just slightly so he could look me in the eye..
"Are you going to answer when I call you, or are you going to make me come all the way back here?" He questioned, going back to a normal subject. I shrugged.
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see."
