Because of You

Chapter 2

"What the hell were you thinking, Sarah!?"

"Hey, don't get crazy with me." Her hands flung up to her hips dramatically with her eyes looking everywhere around the large living room. She was trying her best to avoid my glare.

"How do expect me not to go crazy! I can't believe you did that! I can't believe you actually had the damn nerve to pick up your phone and call him. You don't even know him!"

Suddenly, her head snapped toward me and her eyes locked with mine. "Listen. I didn't do this for you, Al. I did it for Josh."

The laugh that came out was far from humorous. "Right. You did it for Josh. I find that really hard to believe."

"Then don't believe me. All I'm saying is maybe it's time to patch things up with Harry; both you and Josh."

I couldn't believe what had happened in the last hour. 

"You have ten minutes."

"Well..." Harry sighed heavily, his broad shoulder rising and falling. "Your friend, Sarah? She got a hold of me last week.

"And how would she do that? You don't even know her; you've never met her. How would she even know about you?" My last question was a flat out lie. Sarah was the only one who knew about the times I spent with Harry. 

Harry's all too familiar grin played on his face. "I guess you can thank your wonderful husband for that one. Listen, about a week ago I get a call from this chick, Sarah. She says she's a friend of Josh's. Now let me tell you, it's been a while since I've heard that name cross my ears." I couldn't believe it still; couldn't believe that he was here in my house, standing face to face with me after all this time, talking as if nothing ever happened between us. Even though my insides were screaming at me to push him away and kick him out of my house, I just couldn't. 

I watched carefully as he invited himself further into the house, walking over to the couch in the family room. He gestured toward the seat, asking permission if he could sit and I just nodded my head before follwoing him to sit down on a lone chair in the corner of the room.

"Right, well anyway, she calls me up and I have no idea how she got my number but she clearly wasn't in the mood for my questions. She tells me that her and Josh go back a couple years. She told me how her and him talked a few times about his home." His eyes glanced up at mine as he made the reference to the past. I ignored it and continured to stare blankly at his forehead. "She mentioned how he had said a couple times he wished he could see the guys again; just one last time. She said he missed it when it was us playing all over. I tried to get the others to come but...I was the only one up for it."

"So you just...you just show up here in the middle of the day, randomly? You don't know how we live now. You can't just show up here. It's not right."

"And why not?"

"Because it's been four damn years! You don't have the right to just walk right back into things, hoping for a friendship to rekindled with Josh."

His nose twitched up slightly as he took in my words. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. "I know it's been a long time and things have changed and all our lives have moved on but I had nothing better to do." His deep, quiet laugh filled the room. "What the hell, right? She mentioned you a little and I just thought I might as well have come down to see how the old friends are doing."

Old friends. Those were the words he used to describe himself, Josh and I. It may have seemed that way to Josh if he were here but Harry and I both knew we were far from old friends. Josh never found out about Harry. No one did. Sarah was the only one I ever told; about a year after we moved from home I had met her and we instantly became best friends. She was the only one I could trust with my darkest secret.

It shocked me how he could sit here and talk about the past and not even give me a glance that showed he rememered anything we had. "That's exactly what I'm thinking, Harry. What the hell?"

The sound of Sarah's soft cough took me out of my thoughts. "Are you alright, Al?"

I was beyond annoyed and she damn well knew that. "I just don't understand why you would do that. You know what I went through with him, Sarah. You know exactly what happened between us."

"I also know that Josh misses him. He misses home Allie, but you're too scared to go back. I've talked to Josh about it. He broight up Harry a few times and the band. The second he started talking about them and the fun he had with them, he couldn't stop. He was basically praising Harry, Al. He told me there was nothing more that he wanted to do than go back and just see his old friends again. So, I did my research, got the hookups and found Harry. Believe me, I didn't do it to hurt you. It's been years. You guys were kids; just teenagers. Its all blown over now. I think you should let him stay for a few weeks. Josh will come home tomorrow and be completely surprised."

The look on Sarah's face was totally innocent now. I knew she hadn't done this to bring back the harsh memories for me, but she did this for Josh. I knew that he missed home but he never really opened up to me about it because he knew I couldn't stand the subject. And maybe Sarah was right. There was nothing between Harry and I any more. The past was the past.

I sighed, pushing my hair away from my face. "Fine. A week; two weeks tops then he goes back home. I moved away for a reason, you know. I don't need home following me here."

"Oh please! Harry is harmless." I saw her gaze move past me to look down the hall where Harry was. "You know, minus the strong arms, broad chest, filled out shoulders and amazingly cutting jaw line."

I stared at my friend in disbelief. "Would you like Harry to go home with you? You did in fact tell my daughter the good looking ones are the ones you bring to bed." I gave Sarah an disapproving glare.

"It's not my fault your kid takes in all that adult shit. She's like a freaking genius. Look at her do that puzzle! I wouldn't even be able to put two pieces together." 

I turned to follow Sarah's stare, my eyes meeting Gracie sitting down on the kitchen floor as her tiny hands worked to find a missing puzzle piece. The pink sundress she was wearing sprawled out against the floor and I heard her laugh as a quiet large hand handed her a puzzle piece.

Slightly moving my gaze to the right, I saw Harry crouched down to Gracie's height as she sat down, a grin was placed on his lips and his eyes were focused on the puzzle between them.

"Hammy, no. This is the wrong piece!" Gracie whined when the cut out Harry had handed her didn't fit. 

Instead of panicking at her high pitched tone, he simply searched around him for another piece, every few seconds looking at the other pieces to see what he needed exactly to find the right fit. 

After a minute or so, his hands landed on a piece at his side and he gently placed it in Gracie's hand. "Here, try this one." 

She did as he said, but just like the last time, it didn't fit. "Hammy! It's still not right!" Getting frustrated with it not going her way, Gracie picked up the small cardboard squre and threw it directly at Harry, hitting him dead center in the middle of the face. 

Before I could open my mouth to tell her off for being rude, Harry shook his head with a laugh and his face scruched up. "You got good aim, kid."

Soon, both Harry's laugh and Gracie's laughs overlapped each other. I stood beside Sarah still and watched Gracie laugh; her long brown curls swishing side to side, her tiny nose turning red at the tip as it always did whe she laughed. It was weird, seeing Harry with Gracie. In the short time I did actually know him and spend time with him years ago; in the short time my feelings grew for him, I had never seen him really interact with kids.

As their laughs subsidded, I saw both their green eyes stare back at each other for a few seconds before both going back to trying to find the right piece to fill in the puzzle.

I glanced my eyes to the side quickly then moved them back to Harry and Gracie as I felt Sarah shift her weight next to me.

"Are you going to tell him though?"

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I stayed still, even though I wanted to run as far away from the situation as possible. I knew it would come up but I was far from prepared.

So instead of running; instead of making a big scene, I just simply shook my head and said, "No."