Prince in the City [Harry Styles AU]

Chapter 34

"Mama—"

"I don't want any arguments, Vera," my mother snapped, her tone glaringly serious to match the change of expression on her face, eyes hard in determination. "You've put this off for long enough, and he's seriously injured. You're going and that's final."

"I wasn't going to argue," I hastily informed her, watching as her hard expression softened at my words, looking mildly confused at my sudden compliance. Biting the inside of my lower lip briefly, I let out a sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. "I'll go with you guys. To see him. I'll come."

The relief was clear on her face, shoulders slumping slightly as she shot me a suspicious look. "Really?" Mama inquired, "You're not even going to put up a fight?"

I offered a small, almost guilty smile because I knew she expected me to argue with her since I always did when she brought up my father. Giving her a hard time about this had become second nature, but now that things were suddenly so serious—more than they already were, I guess—I didn't want to fight my mother on this anymore. Not when she was so visibly worried about the man that put us through ridicule. "I—No, I'm not," I answered after releasing a short breath. Shrugging lightly, I added, "You're right; we should go see him. Especially if he's hurt."

Mama still looked a bit suspicious, even mildly confused, and I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Why the sudden change of heart?" she questioned, lowering herself to sit on the armrest of the couch next to her and looking up at my standing form.

A light yet frustrated sigh escaped me, rolling my eyes towards the ceiling before looking back at my mother and her curious expression. Did she seriously want me to explain myself to her?

Guess so, after all the years of rejection I threw her way.

"Because he's hurt," I answered matter-of-factly, pursing my lips at the unsatisfied look on Mama's face. "And. . . You're right. It's time that I go see him. I've been putting it off for too long"

Mama's eyes widened slightly at my words, words that I had to practically choke out because I couldn't believe I was saying them. For eight years I had managed to stay where I was and away from where Dad resided, and now that was coming to an end because I was finally listening to my mother's pleading. I don't know who was more shocked—me or her.

But he was hurt. He had literally been stabbed by someone else, and maybe that was a wakeup call for me. Don't get me wrong, I was still incredibly angry, hurt, and embarrassed at what Dad had done, and although he had emotionally hurt and betrayed us, that didn't mean I wanted him to be in any physical danger. Or that I was okay with someone going after him with a knife.

And despite the obvious relief Mama was showing, I still couldn't help but think to myself what the hell I had just agreed to, and if I truly was ready to go see my father after nearly nine years of him being imprisoned.

So when she left after telling me to come to the house around noon tomorrow, I immediately went down to Harry's apartment, and the British prince almost instantly took notice of the distressed expression on my face and led me to the couch, where I proceeded to tell him about what had just taken place in my apartment.

Jagger was curled in my lap once I had finished speaking, sitting sideways on the couch with my legs folded under me as I looked at Harry. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" I found myself asking.

Harry offered me a smile that seemed like a mix of encouraging and sympathetic. "What I think doesn't matter in this situation, love," he earnestly responded. "What does your gut tell you?"

"That I should down a bottle of wine before I see him."

The green eyed boy let out a light chuckle at my words as I smiled half-heartedly. Shaking his head, Harry said, "Come on, now. You obviously agreed to see him for a reason, which is quite a big deal since you've avoided visiting him for eight years."