Truly, Madly, Deeply (Book 2 of the Summer Love series) || 1D

THIRTY-ONE: Written In My Memory

TW: loss/grief, alcoholism

Briley's POV

    I wake up in the morning naturally around 7 AM. I notice Harry is not next to me, despite it being so early. I get up, get dressed, and head downstairs. In the living room, my mom is on the couch reading again, this time with a cup of coffee instead of wine. I walk into the room and sit across from her.

    "Good morning! You're up early!" she says, setting her book down.

    "Well, according to my body, it's around noon." I tell her. She nods.

    "Jet lag hitting you?" she asks. I nod.

    "A little bit, I think. Where's Harry?" I ask. She takes a sip of her coffee.

    "Oh, uh... he left with your dad about a half an hour ago. He wanted to say goodbye but didn't want to wake you." she says. Her words are hesitant; she almost sounds like she's trying to hide something.

    "Okay? When are they coming back?" I ask. She shrugs and sips her coffee again.

    "Um... probably in a couple of hours. Maybe later around noon or 1." she says. I give her a look.

    "Mom, where did they go? Why are they going to be gone so long?" I ask. She sighs and looks out the window.

    "Your dad wanted to take him to the lake." she finally says. My heart skips a beat and I feel a lump forming in my throat.

    My dad used to go to the lake with Mikey every Tuesday. It was a tradition they started when Mikey entered high school and they rarely missed a Tuesday. In high school, Mikey always arranged his class schedule to purposely not have any classes on Tuesdays. They would leave early in the morning and just go hang out at the lake. They'd get burgers from the little family owned barbecue place on the lake and sometimes they'd fish. My dad hasn't gone back to the lake since Mikey died. He never even wanted anyone to mention the lake.

    "Why?" I ask, feeling myself start to cry.

    "Honey, don't cry. Your dad really likes Harry. He makes your dad feel like..." my mom trails off. She starts to cry too. "He makes your dad feel like he has the chance to have a son again." she finishes. I cry a little harder. I never really thought about it like that, but Harry is 18, which is the same age Mikey was when he got sick. Harry is polite and honest and treats me like a princess just like Mikey did. They're actually a lot more similar than I ever even thought to realize. I stand up and take my phone out of my pocket. "What are you doing?" my mom asks me, wiping her tears and stopping her crying.

    "I want to talk to him." I mumble, walking out of the room and calling Harry. He answers almost immediately.

    "Good morning, princess. How are you feeling this morning?" he asks me, sounding happy as can be. Hearing his voice already calms me down. I wipe my tears and try to hide the fact that I'm crying.

    "I'm okay. Um... are you with my dad?" I ask.

    "Yeah, why? Do you want to speak to him?" he asks. I sniffle and take a shaky breath.

    "No, it's okay. I mostly just wanted to hear your voice." I respond.

    "What's wrong? Are you crying?" he asks me. I hesitate before answering.

    "Yeah, but I'm okay." I tell him.

    "Why are you crying? What's wrong?" he asks.

    "Um... it's nothing, really. I'm okay. I'm sure my dad will tell you about it at some point today, but if he doesn't, I can tell you about it when you get back. It's nothing urgent." I reply, trying to assure him that I'm okay. I finally stop crying.