Serialized || HS

Heated

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"Are you sure you want to be the one to do this?" Harry asked me as we stood across from Abigail's parents house once again. 

"I've done this several times. I'm not new to this, unfortunately," I confessed as the sinking feeling began to fill my chest. 

"Well I haven't. Liam usually is the one to break bad news to people. I apparently give too much detail loved ones both don't need to know and don't want to know. Got any tips?" he asked nervously taking the first step towards the house. 

"Speak calmly and clearly, make sure they are seated before you break any of the news to them," I walked in unison with him across the busy street. 

"Seated?" he asked. 

"If they pass out from shock and hurt, they won't fall and hit their head. Once told a women her child had been found and she cracked her skull open. Had to tell her again at the hospital. That wasn't fun. Don't feel like you cannot sympathize. They are going to need consoling and you're the only one there who can help," I continued with the small debriefing. 

"So get them to sit down, tell them we found their daughter, and then sympathize," he repeated quickly. 

I nodded and we both looked at the door in front of us.

"Ready now?" I asked. 

"Ready," he responded. 

With that, he gently knocked on the door, and before he could pull his fisted hand away, the wooden blockade was flung open to reveal an unkempt Mr. Derringer. 

"Did you find her? Did you find my Abbey? Where is she?" he began to berate us with questions. 

"Sir, would you mind having a seat," Harry motioned towards the living room where Mrs. Derringer was sat on the couch. 

"I would rather stand thank you," he walked over to his grieving wife and grabbed her hand. 

Harry looked over at me, not prepared for if it didn't go as I had planned it. I gave him a small nod to let him know it was ok to continue. 

"Sir, we did in fact find your daughter..." he trailed off. That was never a good thing to do with loved ones. It gave them hope she was still alive and I could see it in their widening eyes, and frozen breaths. 

"We found her body, sir" I spoke quickly to not lead them on any longer. 

And that's when the hope broke and the realization they would never see their child again hit them. The father fell to his knees and wept as the mother let out a loud, very shrill cry, clutching at her chest  begging us to say our words weren't true. 

"We are deeply sorry for your loss and we plan to do whatever we can-"

Harry walked over to the mother to start the consoling process but was cut off by the father looking up at me with more than pain in his eyes, "You!" 

He stood up, wobbly, and walked over to me, "You said you would find her. You promised!"

"I never promised sir, " I spoke calmly. 

"You said-"

"I know what I said, sir. We did in fact find your daughter, it was just not the way you had hoped-" 

Heat. Sharp, painful heat was now spreading across my cheek causing my eyes to water. He had slapped me. 

When I turned back, Harry had the man on the ground with his arm behind his back.