Truly, Madly, Deeply (Book 2 of the Summer Love series) || 1D

THIRTY-TWO: A Whole Lot of History

TW: loss/grief, drug abuse, addiction

Harry's POV

    I hang up the phone and Briley's dad looks over at me quickly before looking back to the road.

    "She's upset?" he asks me.

    "She was, yeah. But she said it wasn't that big of a deal, so I don't know." I respond. He sighs and nods.

    "She misses her brother a lot." he says. I nod.

    "She's been pretty emotional since we arrived. She hasn't wanted to talk about it much." I say.

    "You know something, son? She hasn't been herself in about four years. Ever since Michael got sick, it was like a piece of her was dying too. It happened to all of us. Her mom and I are still dealing with it everyday. Of course it gets a little easier as time goes on, but some days are still really hard. Some days it feels like it just happened yesterday. I haven't seen my little girl genuinely, fully happy in four years... Until you walked in the door with her yesterday." he says. I smile a little bit. "I don't know what it is about you, but you make her feel alive again. Whenever you're around, she lights up. It's not hard to tell." he continues.

    "Thank you for saying so. You have no idea how much those words mean to me." I thank him. He gives a single nod. He pulls up to a mostly empty dirt parking lot in front of a lake. He puts the car in park and looks out at the water.

    "The reason she was upset on the phone just now is probably because of where we are. Every Tuesday, I used to take my son to this lake. Sometimes we'd be out here for an hour or two, sometimes we'd stay out until dark. He made sure we never missed a Tuesday. Even if I was exhausted or the weather was horrible, it didn't matter; it was important to him that we came every Tuesday. I haven't been here since he passed. I haven't even wanted to think about coming here since he passed. But something about you... I felt I had to show you this place." he says. My heart sinks a little bit as he speaks.

    "I'm happy to be here. I feel honored." I reply. He smiles at me and we get out of his truck. I check behind me and see security following us from a distance. Briley's dad looks too and laughs.

    "Does it ever feel weird having security follow you everywhere?" he asks me.

    "It's better than paparazzi. It actually makes me feel more normal somehow." I explain. We walk towards a little bench facing the water. There's a couple of people scattered around the lake, but I wouldn't call it busy by any means. We take a seat on the bench and he looks at me.

    "Alright, now I hate to have this talk, especially since you're already engaged, but as a father it's my job to ask: what are your intentions with my daughter?" he asks me, laughing a little. I grin.

    "I just want to take care of her, and keep her safe, and do whatever I can to make her happy. I want to make her feel loved the way she makes me feel loved." I reply honestly. He grins and nods, looking out at the water.

    "I had a feeling you'd say something like that." he says. "There really is nothing wrong with you is there?" he asks me. I laugh and shake my head.

    "Trust me, I am an incredibly flawed human. Your daughter can tell you that much." I reply.

    "Oh, I don't think she thinks so. I see the way she looks at you." he tells me. I blush a little. "She looks at you like you're the sun and the whole world revolves around you. Her world at least." he says. I smile.

    "I love her." I tell him. He looks at me.

    "Well I sure hope so if you're gonna marry her." he jokes. I laugh with him.