looking into his eyes after not seeing him for so long almost brought her to tears. she loved him, of course she did, but she loved the person he was before his father’s manipulation and lies...not the person his father had turned him into the night they broke up. she had never heard harry speak with such...VENOM about peter, his own best friend and defend the man that never accepted him, she had also never heard harry bring her down for her deadbeat dad. she left him because she deserved better ; he needed help, he needed to learn about the things his father was doing on his own because he clearly wouldn’t trust lorie’s or peter’s words. looking back, she wondered whether leaving him on his own was a good idea overall. should she have stayed and fought? could she have done anything to prevent him from being influenced by his father? she saw him before her now, a boy she didn’t know — eyes she used to gaze at for hours now HOLLOW of emotion, his posture rigid, his hands cold...did he ever have another hand to hold when she left? to keep his warm? to leave gentle kisses? did he have anyone else cradled in his arms to help him sleep at night?
DID HE STILL CARE?
her mind wandered back to the present, to him. she stepped forward, almost regretting it, before both of her hands found his free one and she held it, close to her chest and looked into his eyes. “ yes, this is what i want. it’s what needs to happen. for me, for you, for us...” she said, trying to mask the pain in her voice, her heart pounding against her chest as she stood so close to him. when was the last time they were ever this close to each other? the last time she could see all of his beautiful features, from the color of his eyes to the dimples on his cheeks? “ i - i wish things were like before...before...you know. ”