When Love Arrives (H.S.)

Chapter 21

"Now will you tell me about you, Harry? I want to know about you," I said quietly, feeling a bit nervous. 

Harry swallowed once and turned his swing to face me too. Our feet were touching now and his green eyes bore into mine with an intensity I wasn't expecting. "What do you want to know?" 

"I just want to know your story," I told him. "Like, I know who you are now... With me... But I just want to know more about where you came from. I know you don't like to talk about it, but I... I need to know."

"Why?" he asked, staring off into space.

 "I just do," I said. "You're acting strange... I mean... You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to... But then I would rethink the whole... girlfriend thing." It felt so strange to say the words out loud.

 He looked towards me. "You don't want to be my girlfriend?"

 "I didn't even know I was your girlfriend," I explained. "You didn't really ask me... I'm confused."

 Harry blinked. "I thought I was being clear."

 "I need things to be... clearer than that," I reached over and grabbed his hand. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't have much experience with boyfriends."

 He raised an eyebrow at me. "How many boyfriends have you had?"

 "Zip. Zippo. Zero. Nada. The big goose egg!" I exclaimed, making a zero with my free hand and making him laugh. "I never even kissed anyone before I met you."

 His eyes widened. "Ever?"

 "Ever... I don't really let people get that close to me... Physically or emotionally."

 "Oh..."

 "Yeah, oh... I guess we both have things we don't know about each other."

 The silence between us was deafening as he squeezed my hand while we slowly swung back and forth. I looked at him, he was looking down at his shoes and biting his lip.

"I want to know something about you, Harry. Anything. I don't know what could be so bad, but the way you're acting right now is really freaking me out."

 "I'm sorry," he sighed, letting go of my hand to run it through his now dry hair. "I just don't like to think about this stuff... I just pretend it didn't happen."

 "Well, that's not the right way to go about it either... Maybe you'll feel better if you tell me, even," I squeezed his hand once.

 "Maybe..." he trailed off, inhaling deeply and thinking for a few moments. "Well, yeah... My childhood was kind of uneventful from the start. My mum and dad... They had a pretty nasty divorce. I was pretty young so I don't remember what happened... I don't ever remember my father living with us. I think Gemma remembers, though... I don't think they just stopped loving each other, I think something must have happened.  I think... I think that's why she doesn't like being around Dad... Why she really doesn't like me being around Dad..."

 Harry had only just begun talking, but I could see it already.  I could see him releasing all of this pent up emotion he had.  I was always one to overthink things, and go off on tangents, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but I was just then realizing that Harry was the exact opposite.  I could tell I was the first one to hear this story.

 "Anyway, my mum got remarried when I was about eight years old.  A man named Robin.  He's... okay, I guess. Mum loves him so much, like... I never thought that someone could love another person that much, but she does.  He's not like my dad at all... He owns a bakery in Holmes Chapel. That's where I grew up, it's in a county called Cheshire so that's right near—"