Lights, Camera, Harry // l.s.

Chapter 24

She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie and climbed out.

We wandered towards a tree she pointed out, he was buried just near it.

We approached the tree and I spotted the headstone.

It was underneath the tree so we sat, leaning against the trunk.

“You okay?” I asked her once we’d gotten comfortable. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“No no.” She assured me. “I want to tell you.”

“Okay.” I said quietly, waiting for her to say something.

“I guess I may as well start from the start, that way you’ll understand everything.” She began. “Mom was a lawyer in downtown LA and dad owned and operated a fruit and veg shop. They met, fell in love, blah blah blah. Happy days.”

“Then, they had two kids, daughters, me and El. I guess we were pretty well off. We got everything we asked for and pretty much wanted for nothing. We were spoilt, but I don’t think we were bratty. We were just a happy family who happened to have money.”

She smiled to herself and looked down.

“You know, El and I dreamed of becoming actresses together. We were going to be a sister duo, or whatever.” She laughed lightly at the memory. “We were so close. Best friends, even.”

“Then I started noticing mom was acting weird. She was mean to dad and whenever I tried to talk to El about it, she just condemned our dad even more. I often took refuge in dad’s arms after one of mom and dad’s fights, never understanding why mom was so horrible to him. She was crabby, snappy and just plain rude.”

“Then mom and dad got a divorce. And things started going downhill. El started locking herself in her room and shutting me out, only talking to mom. Then, when it came to custody, she chose mom. She wanted nothing to do with dad and me, so she left us. Mom took her away and left dad and me to fend for ourselves.”

She stopped and looked down, blinking away her tears.

“I was 13 and I had to start working, unpaid, in dad’s shop to help get us through. I paid for my own high school fees and got a second job to help pay for college. Even then, the only reason I was able to go to college was because I won a scholarship.

“It wasn’t until then that I heard from El again.”

“I saw her after class one day. I was 18, she was 21. It had been years and I almost didn’t recognise her. She grew up, started wearing make-up and fake tan. She was hanging off a guy’s arm, I didn’t know who.”

“She saw me too and came over to where I was standing. We talked for a little while and I knew immediately that she had changed. She was conceited, arrogant and completely fake. She had changed herself into a ditsy slut and I couldn’t understand why.”

“She told me all about what mom had done for her once she’d left dad. Mom gave her everything. She had lived our dreams while I lived practically in poverty.”

“They lived in a luxury penthouse. She got private acting classes from the best coaches in LA. She had a modelling contract and got private vocal lessons. She lived our dreams and didn’t even think to contact me.”

I watched her as she spilled the story with a sorrow-filled face.

“After she left, I realised what had happened. My mom had morphed her into a replica of herself, corrupting her so she thought she was better than everyone else and only cared about herself, not caring if she ever hurt anyone.”

She stopped and wiped her eyes, looking at me for the first time through her whole story.

“I worked my ass off to get to where I wanted to be and she was handed it on a silver platter, looking down her nose at me like I was scum.”

She broke down into tears as her story came to a close.

So that’s why she hated El.

And that’s why El was the way she was.

“Oh my god, Charl...” I breathed, pulling her in for a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

She didn’t reply, she just started crying some more and buried her head into my shoulder as we sat under the tree in the late afternoon sunlight, filtering through the leaves.

I had no idea she had gone through all of that.

It made me realise, that she was so fragile.

She was completely alone now. Her rock, her dad, was gone.

I was the closest thing she had now, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her down.

I was going to help her, make her whole again.

Mom came to the funeral today.” She said after a while. “She even seemed sorry and I was glad that she still cared enough to show up. I think I saw her cry a little and I was happy that she was still capable of emotion.”

I nodded and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“But the worst part...” She continued. “El didn’t come. I didn’t even hear from her. Not one word. She didn’t show and that’s what hurts.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just held her.

I held her while she cried and later, calmed down.

We talked under the tree for hours, letting her reminisce about the good times with her dad, until we decided to leave.

When I dropped her home, she asked me to stay, not wanting to be alone, so I did.

I held her as she fell asleep in my arms during a movie and I didn’t want to wake her, so we slept there.

Just two best friends, comforting each other as they spent time together, simply being there.

And I decided I was going to be.

I was going to fix her.

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[A/N]

so harry's discovering his role in life, helping people :) what a gem!

soooo who'll be next to be fixed?

heheh comment away my lovelies! <3

~Vic xo