forty three

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Harry's POV

"..And they all lived happily ever after," she grinned, her small finger dragging along the illustrations in the book.

Alice and I were currently bundled up close in her bed, my arm around her small frame as she read to me before she went to sleep. Usually I was the one to read to her until she fell asleep in my arms, but for the past couple of weeks she had begged me to let her read aloud, something that I was hardly going to deny her.

"That was great, Alice. You're getting a lot better at reading more fluently." I praised, closing the book and dipping my head down to kiss her hair.

She beamed at the compliment, "My teacher says I'm doing good too, she thinks I might be ready to read some more harder books."

"I can see why she thinks that. You really enjoy reading, don't you?" I asked, watching her curls bounce around her face as she nods. "Maybe on the weekend we can go out and get you some more books? I think you've probably memorized all the ones we have in the house."

"Really?!" She squealed, moving onto her knees so we were at the same level and throwing her arms around my neck, "Please, pleeeease can we get some new books?"

"Of course Al, we can get you some more challenging ones too," I said, climbing out of her bed and pulling the covers up to her shoulders once she settled into the comfort of her mattress. She yawned whilst I tucked the blankets around her, her eyes drooping shut and a lazy smile spreading across her face.

"Dad?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can Evie come with us? When we go out to get some more books?" She asked shyly, pulling the duvet over face to just underneath her eyes.

I smiled at my girl hiding underneath the covers, because for some reason, Alice always got so nervous whenever she talked about Eve to me. It was strange, because whenever Eve was around, Alice was stuck to her side until she left the house. But whenever Alice mentioned her in conversation, she would always shy away or speak timidly when she was brought up.

"I'm sure she would want to come," I said softly, pulling the duvet out of her tightly clenched fists to reveal her face, "Do you want me to ask?"

Alice nodded, burying her face into her pillow. I figured since we were on the topic of Eve, I should continue my interrogation.

"Do you like having Eve around?" I asked gingerly, smoothing back the hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Alice peeked an eye open and turned around to face me, leaning her head into my touch.

"I love when she's here," she admitted, smiling until her dimples dipped into her soft cheeks, "She's so much fun, she always plays with me and reads with me. I love it when she bakes too, oh and she's so pretty, isn't she? I want to look just like her when I'm older," she continues to ramble, eyes sparkling with admiration.

"So you wouldn't mind if she was around at the house more? Like on the weekends?"

"I don't mind, I like having her here," she confirms, "Why?"

"Well, I like having her here too, but I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay with it," I explained, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "You should get some sleep, yeah? I'll see you in the morning. Good night, darling."

"Night, Dad. I love you."

I gently clicked her door shut once I had exited, leaning against the wood and letting out a shaky breathe. I wanted to tell her, to tell Alice about Eve and I and how we were together. It would make things so much easier, in the fact that I wouldn't have to worry about Eve visiting the house too much in the future, since it was hard to go without seeing her for days at a time. We also wouldn't have to be so distant whenever Alice was around, which is what we were doing tonight.

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