Upside Down

Chapter twenty-one

Harry and Bree were both sitting on the kitchen floor, eating ice cream and talking like they didn't have a care in the world. For the first time ever, they actually looked like two normal and happy people, living a normal and happy life.

"There was this one time we were at the pool in my aunt's house. Jay, Meredith and I were playing and jumping into the pool. Jay wasn't like he is today, not at all. He decided it was a good idea to do a bomb jump into the pool, but he was so heavy that water flew everywhere." Bree told Harry, laughing at the memories. "My dad was completely wet, and his beer was filled with water from the pool. So, he was already mad, but he got even more when he took a sip from that thing. It was so funny; you have no idea." Bree kept laughing as Harry watched her with a huge smile on his face. He liked to see her like that, completely relaxed and enjoying herself.

"What happened to him?" he suddenly asked, making Bree look at him with a confused look. "To your father. You never talk about him..."

"Oh..." Bree was caught off guard from his question. "He just left; you know. Then he came back again for a few months and then he left again. Haven't seen him since then."

"Well, if you ask me, it's his loss." Harry said. "Your family is amazing, and any man would be lucky to be part of it."

Bree just smiled at him, a huge and sincere smile that she rarely showed to anybody. She felt like a teenager, but she didn't mind that anymore. She felt happy, like she didn't for a very long time.

"What are you two doing here?" Adeline entered the kitchen, seeing them sitting on the floor.

"Just talking. Do you need anything?" Bree asked, getting up. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine, darling. And I didn't mean to interrupt." Adeline told her daughter, but looked behind her to Harry, who was also getting up from the ground. "I'm going to sleep. That girl wore all my energies out."

Bree laughed and kissed her mom's cheek before Adeline told her goodnights to Harry and went upstairs. Harry wished him and Bree could go back to what they were doing, but Bree decided it was better to just finish cleaning up the kitchen and go say her goodbyes to her brother's new girlfriend.

When everything was finally cleaned and in its rightful place, they both went back to the dining room where Jay and Vanessa were still sitting. Bree cleared her throat to catch their attention, since Vanessa was grabbing her brother for dear life.

"So..." Bree started. She didn't really know what to say. She felt like she should tell her it was nice meeting her, but that wasn't true. So, she just stayed there, looking at them awkwardly.

"It was nice meeting you." Harry spoke, noticing Bree's unsureness.

"Thank you, you too." Vanessa said and fake smiled. "I hope to see you guys soon."

Bree tried to smile but failed miserably. Jay told them he would be taking Vanessa home, and he left the house right after. He knew Vanessa wasn't the kind of girl his family was used to see him with, but for a moment he thought that that was exactly what he needed. That night though, he totally regretted it. He just wished he could go back in time and never agree to that dinner. That was the right thing to do from the beginning.

Harry decided to go to the backyard, to one of Adeline's rocking chairs. He sat down and looked up, at the stars. It was a beautiful night, the stars were shinning bright and the wind was blowing very softly, making it pleasant to be outside. Bree said she would be going to bed, but he wished she would just sit with him so they could keep talking.

Suddenly, his phone started vibrating inside the pocket of the coat he was wearing. He frowned his eyebrows and took the phone in hands, looking at the ID caller. He had no idea who would be calling him, especially so late at night. When he saw Dan's name on the screen though, everything made sense. Something that Harry didn't share with anyone was the fact that Dan had been calling him nonstop ever since he decided to facetime that reporter to tell her that everything was okay with him. He sighed. He knew that sooner or later he would have to pick up the phone and talk to him, but he was too happy to let that sorrow man ruin that for him just yet. Plus, he still wasn't fully recovered.

"Hey, is everything okay?" a soft voice asked from behind him. And even though he couldn't see her yet; he could recognize that voice everywhere already.

"I thought you were going to sleep." he looked to the side, seeing as Bree sat down in another rocking chair.

"I came to make sure you didn't need anything." She answered simply as she looked up. She was observing the stars while Harry was observing her: the way her hair was falling perfectly down her shoulders, the way her features looked so tired and relaxed at the same time, the way she closed her beautiful brown eyes when the wind blew a little harder...

"You're so beautiful." He whispered, not even thinking about what he was saying. Bree looked at him and smiled.

"You've been telling me that a lot lately."

"Because it's true." He shrugged. "So, what do you think about Jay and Vanessa? Jay looked embarrassed when he left to take her home." Harry said, trying to make a conversation between them.

"I don't think that will last." Bree seemed sure of what she was saying, and that made Harry curious.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Jay is in love with his ex-girlfriend and Jessie was honestly an angel." Bree smiled at the reminder of her old friend.

"What happened between them?" Harry was suddenly curious about the subject.

"Jessie went to college and Jay didn't. And my brother can be really stubborn sometimes, so he broke up with her because, according to him, she wouldn't fully enjoying the college experience if she was dating him." Bree rolled her eyes and Harry laughed a little at her reaction. "That girl really loved him, and she would do anything for him. But I guess he's just as screwed up as I am, and he doesn't think he deserves that kind of happiness."

"You're not screwed up, Bree. And neither is Jay." Harry held her hand and looked right into her eyes. "You just have a really hard life and you've been hurt a lot, so you put up walls to keep people out."

"You're right." She sighed. "And Jessie knew exactly how to break those walls. My brother was so happy with her... I don't think he will ever be that happy again."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, seeing the sad look on the girl's face.

"Because he keeps comparing every girl to Jessie. And he will keep doing that and failing miserably in finding someone just like her because they're not her. And he wants her. It's not easy to compete with that..."

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Edited