Together

Everything Changes

Hm, I wonder what that title could mean... this one might eve a bit different than some of the other recent chapters. Good luck, don't kill me, and you know the drill....comment/vote if you wish x
-ab

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February 4, 2026

Harper

The next morning, Patrick and I don't have to wake up nearly as early. I don't know where we are going, but apparently, the drive is going to be only about an hour and a half, as opposed to the four and a half hours that we spent driving yesterday.

"So," Patrick tells me, once we are on the road, "I was thinking that we could make a little stop en-route in Durham, and there are a few different things that we could do there... so I'd suppose that the real question would be, are you tired of seeing castles yet, or do you want to see another one?"

"Patrick," I tell him, "you know what my answer to that is going to be."

"You never get tired of castles?"

"No, I do not."

"That's good that you say that, because I booked us a guided tour of Durham Castle."

I laugh. "That sounds like so much fun."

"There are some gardens and such in the town that I thought we could explore, too. It's only fifteen minutes or so to our final destination from Durham."

"Great."

The car ride seems to go quickly, as I have a Hamilton sing-along, much to Patrick's amusement.

"You should be glad that I'm not allowed to use my phone while driving, because otherwise, videos of this would be all over social media," he teases.

"I really don't care if you want to do that. Maybe it will make the people who rejected me that time that I auditioned for Eliza regret their decisions."

"Oh," he laughs, "yeah, becuase you're really using your best singing voice with top quality technique right now."

"And I've never been so warmed up," I wink, giving him a cheeky little grin.

When we park at the castle, I instantly start to marvel in its beauty. Each castle that we visit on this trip seems to be more beautiful than the last- or maybe I'm just more excited each time, as I'm still getting more and more in the mood, by the moment.

This castle is part of the university in Durham, so it's very well kept up, and it seems to be quite a popular destination.

On our tour group, there is an elderly couple and a young couple, also seemingly on a honeymoon, both from America, a family with two primary school-aged children from Germany, and a university student from Scotland, as well as Patrick and I.

We learn nearly all that there is to know about the castle. It was built under orders from William The Conqueror, and apparently, it made an appearance in a Harry Potter movie. Patrick seems to think that is cool, and the two children get very excited about it, but I have to admit that I've never seen the movies, or read the books.

When the tour of the castle is over, Patrick and I move along to the gardens. Of course, at this time of the year, they're far from magnificent, but they're still nice to walk through, and it's not hard to imagine just how picture perfect they are when all of the flowers are in bloom, during the summer.

"We should come back in like, June," I laugh.

"Love, you'll still be in Anastasia."

"True," I acknowledge. "But maybe like... next year's summer."

"We'll see," he laughs. "Who knows what will be happening in our life by then."

I nod, knowing that he's right. A lot can change in a year and a half.

After we are done in Durham, we drive on to a beautiful Lumley Castle.

"Shall we get checked into our room?" he asks.

I nod.

Our room has a lovely view of the surrounding area and a big comfy bed.

"I was thinking that, after we get some dinner, we could head into Newcastle to experience the nightlife. It's a bit of a switch up from the fairytale castles that we have been exploring, but it seems to be fun."

"That's fine," I tell him. "How far is it?"

"Less than half an hour of driving. Would you fancy a drink and a walk along the river?"

"That sounds perfect."

As the two of us are getting freshened up so that we can head to dinner, and then straight to Newcastle from there, I hear my phone ringing.

"I'm going to take that," I tell Patrick, after looking at the caller ID and seeing that it is my mom. "Hello?"

"Harper... hi, love," I hear on the other side. "How's your trip?"

The question seems insincere, and I know that there's more of a reason to the call than just to check in on me.

"It's nice," I reply, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Patrick and I are having a lovely time. We are staying just outside of Newcastle, but going into town tonight to check out the nightlife."

"That's great," she tells me. "Look, love, we need to have a talk, alright?"

"Okay," I reply. "What's up?"

"It's about your father."

I instantly feel a pang in my stomach. That's what I was so afraid of. "Oh?"

"He got his results from his scans back, and the results were not good. The cancer has metastasized greatly, and... god, this is hard to say, but they're only predicting that he will live another month or so."

"Oh," is all that I can respond with. I stare straight at the wall, with tears brimming my eyes. Patrick must notice that something is wrong, because he immediately wipes the shaving cream off of his face and comes over to sit next to me. I cuddle into him, but say nothing.

Eventually, after what feels like a silence that lasts for hours, I muster up the strength to say something. "Do you need us to come home? Or, do you think we should come home?"

"No, it's fine," she says. "He's still going to be here once you get back, and the doctors really are doing all that they can. He's getting some chemo, starting tomorrow, that's even stronger than what he was already on, but they're not sure it's going to help very much, at this point. The bad cells are everywhere. I just want you to... prepare yourself for the worst, love."

"Okay," I say, wiping a tear from my cheek. "Thanks, Mommy."

"You're welcome, lovey. Now, enjoy your night, okay? And the rest of your trip? I'll try to call you sometime when you can talk to Dad."

"Alright. Bye, Mum."

"Bye, Harper."

At that we hang up. It takes everything in me to not just throw my phone at the wall, as I flop back onto the bed.

"Is it your dad?" Patrick asks.

"They think he's only going to make it for another month or so."

"Oh."

We share a silence as Patrick lies down next to me and grabs my hand. "I'm sorry, love."

"I just don't understand why it's him. Out of all of the people, all of the dads in the world, why did it have to be mine?"

"I know this doesn't make it any better, love, but try to think of it this way. It's not a child losing their father. A little boy growing up without a dad is a lot harder than a twenty-four year old losing her father."

"I know," I sigh. "God, am I just being selfish?"

"No," he exclaims. "That's not what I was trying to say at all. I'm just trying to tell you that you should be grateful for the times that you've had with him, and celebrate the good times instead of moping around until something changes, for better or for worse."