Harry worked the rest of his shift and closed up the bakery once the last person left. He turned the open sign to closed and locked the door so no one would try to come in. He waved goodbye to the other workers as they left out the kitchen exit.
Once everyone was gone and it was only himself and his mum in the bakery he marched to her office.
"Mother." Harry called out as he approached and Anne looked up slightly worried at her sons tone.
"What's wrong Harry?" She questioned as he entered the office with a tense jaw.
"Did you forget to mention something to me about the other day?" Harry questioned glaring down at his mum.
"Other day?" Anne asked; confused.
"Yes the other day when a certain somebody's mum showed up here!" Harry snapped crossing his arms.
"When a certain-- oh." Anne caught onto what Harry was getting at. "You found out Jay came to the bakery. How did you find out love? Did she come again?"
"No she didn't fucking come again!" Harry growled and Anne looked shocked at his language. "The reason I don't ever work the front came in!"
Anne's eyes widened and she made to apologize to Harry but he kept on talking.
"I cannot believe you didn't bother to tell me! I bring Scarlet in here! If I had known she had been here I would've been more careful, I wouldn't have brought her here so much! I mean, if I had known Jay had been here I at least would've kept her in the back with Megan!" Harry exclaimed referring to the 25 year old platinum blonde that normally helped him frost the cupcakes.
Scarlet had taken a quick liking to Megan especially after the older girl let her help frost a few cupcakes all while pretending she didn't notice Scarlet sneaking some of the frosting.
"I didn't think much of it Harry, it was the first time in six years that I've even seen her." Anne responded trying to make him see reason.
"And it didn't cross your mind that she might tell him about it?" Harry steamed.
"Harry you need to calm down, Scar wasn't here." Anne tried again.
"But she could have been! She could have been here and he could have found out!" He snapped and Anne sighed.
"Did he say anything to you?" She questioned changing the subject.
"Yeah, he asked if we could talk like over coffee or something." Harry scoffed quoting Louis.
"And you said?"
"No." He answered bluntly.
"Maybe you should --" Anne began but Harry quickly cut her off.
"Don't you dare suggest that I talk to him. I think he did enough talking eight years ago. He had plenty of chances to talk to me after he broke up with me but he never did! He never answered my calls or texts but now he wants to talk?... No, that's not happening." Harry shook his head.
He wouldn't set himself up for another heartbreak. He knew if he talked to Louis and Louis apologized he would forgive him and he'd let himself hope only to be let down.
"Alright love, it's your choice but it may give you the closure you're still seeking. Maybe if you get the closure you'll be able to settle down, find someone that treats you and Scarlet right. Perhaps that mystery bill payer." Anne smiled and winked at him. "Think about it, but for now you better go get Scarlet I'm sure she's ready to go home."
Harry nodded his head pulled his car keys out of his pocket.
"If they start coming in, start letting me know." He stated then bid her goodnight as he left.
Harry drove over to Niall's still thinking about earlier and seeing Louis. He knocked on the door to the flat and a moment later Niall opened the door.
"Hey Haz." Niall greeted letting him inside. "She just fell asleep about thirty minutes ago."
"Thanks for watching her." Harry sighed sitting down on the sofa.
"What's up?" Niall questioned noticing Harry's somewhat stressed appearance.
"Mum had me working the front today after one of the others got sick." Harry replied leaning back against the cushions. "He came in Niall... after six years of owning that bakery and never seeing him... he came in."
"Did he say anything to you?" Niall asked with a frown and a coil of anger.
"Wanted to talk, over coffee or something. Actually had the audacity to look upset when I said no." Harry rolled his eyes and Niall snorted.
"He looked upset because you said no? Where the fuck does he get off with that!?" Niall fumed clenching his fist.
"Mum said I should consider talking to him, said maybe it would give me closure and then I could move on." Harry said fiddling with a string on his shirt. "The thing is, I don't think talking to him is going to help. He's always been it Niall, it's always been him and I don't think that's going to change."
"Yeah I know Haz, I can tell." Niall responded reaching over to squeeze Harry's shoulder. "I don't know what to tell you. On one hand your mum could be right but on the other..."
"It could make everything worse." Harry completed Niall's sentence. "Today has been... crazy. First I got the bill from the hospital and then this happened."
"You got the bill? How bad was it? I'll help pay it if you need help." Niall said settling into the corner of the sofa.
"It's been paid in full, I don't owe a dime. And before you ask, no I don't know who paid it and the billing company couldn't tell me." Harry explained.
"Wow... that's... wow." Niall chuckled. "That was nice of whoever it was."
"Yeah, an eleven thousand dollar bill paid in full. Crazy." Harry laughed weakly then heard a noise behind them.
Turning to look over his shoulder he saw Scarlet standing there with her crutches under her arms looking drowsy from sleep.
"Hey cupcake" Harry greeted standing up from where he sat.
Scarlet smiled and made her way over to the sofa. She handed the crutches off to Niall then hopped a couple times to position herself to sit down. She sat down right on Harry's lap and proceeded to press her face into his chest with her arms folded over her own. Harry curled his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her hair.
"Something wrong love?" He questioned brushing a curl from her face when she looked up at him.
"Tired." Scarlet mumbled sleepily.
"Alright, let's go home and get you to bed then, you've got school in the morning." Harry said hooking his arms underneath her so he could carry her.
Niall followed him out to the car, carrying the crutches. Harry set Scarlet in the backseat and she buckled up while he placed her crutches on the floor.
"I'll talk to you later Ni, thanks again for watching her." Harry said reaching out to hug Niall once he closed the car door.
"Anytime mate, you know I don't mind watching my favourite girl." Niall replied then stepped back so Harry could get into the car.
With a final wave Harry drove them home. Once they got home Scarlet used the crutches and hobbled into the flat and straight to the bathroom. Without any encouraging she brushed her teeth while Harry called Sophia to help Scarlet take a bath. It really wasn't appropriate for him to help her bathe now that she was 8. She could do it on her own and had been able to for about two or three years now but with her knee he just didn't want to risk her slipping in the shower so he insisted on baths and Sophia helping her.
Sophia was over in shortly after Harry called since she and Liam had opted to live in Croydon too and had moved only a few streets down. Once Scarlet was clean she went with Sophia to her room and let the older girl help her with her clothes, too tired to even bother protesting and saying she could do it on her own.
Harry came in a little while later and Scarlet was already tucked into bed and well on her way to being sound asleep. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, wishing her sweet dreams with cotton candy clouds. She mumbled out an I love you and then drifted off to sleep.
Sophia left shortly after, telling Harry to call anytime he needed. Once she was gone Harry took a quick shower, his mind still stuck on Louis. He towelled off and pulled on a pair of boxers and sweatpants before heading out to the kitchen.
With a turkey sandwich in hand he sat at the breakfast bar and ate in silence. Anne's words floated around in his head. Was it really a good idea to agree to talk to Louis? Niall was right. On one hand it could give him closure but on the other hand it could make everything worse. And chances were it would make everything worse because it was Louis and it was Harry and no matter what Harry was still in love with him. He wanted to get over him. He wanted to find a nice guy or girl and give Scarlet a normal family but he simply couldn't because of Louis.
Around 11 Harry crawled into bed and closed his eyes. He tossed and he turned unable to get comfortable for thirty minutes. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.
_His fingers are tapping on the counter top._
_His heart is racing, beating in his ears._
_He already knows._
_He doesn't really need to see the result - he can feel it._
_He glances over at his phone. Time._
_He looks over and it's confirmed... pregnant._
_His mind is all over the place._
_He's terrified._
_He cries._
_His mum is there holding him tight._
_It's going to be alright._
_His fingers tap on the table top._
_His leg bounces with nerves underneath._
_His heart is racing, pounding in his ears._
_He's scared._
_Then he walks in..._
Harry jerked awake with hot tears running down his cheeks. No, no, no, no. He hasn't dreamed about it in months now. He thought maybe he had finally gotten past reliving that day. Breathing deeply he laid back down and buried his face into his pillow telling himself to stop crying, he shouldn't be crying over this anymore.
He woke up in the morning to the sound of his alarm going off and got up out of bed, lack of sleep evident in his eyes. He brushed his teeth brushed his hair into its normally quiff looking style then headed back into his bedroom to pull on a pair of black skinny jeans and a plain white shirt.
"Scar, time to wake up." He said walking into his daughters room and over to her bed.
He gave her a gentle shake, waking her up. She blinked a few times at him and then sighed when he didn't go away but kept staring at her knowing if she didn't actually get up she'd go back to sleep. Once she was up he shooed her to the bathroom while he went to make breakfast.
He had just flipped the last pancake when she walked in limping slightly and still in her PJ's. She sat down at the breakfast bar and waited for him to bring over some pancakes and bacon with a glass of orange juice.
"How does your knee feel?" Harry questioned sitting down next to her.
"It doesn't really hurt right now. I don't have to use the crutches right?" Scarlet questioned looking up at Harry with a pleading look. "They hurt my arms."
Harry sighed and wiped his mouth with a napkin, "I guess not love, the doctor said you needed to walk without them unless it just hurt too much."
Scarlet smiled brightly and held out her arms for a hug, a simple thanks to him that she didn't have to use the crutches. Harry hugged her tight then gestured for her to finish eating. Once they were finished eating Scarlet went back to her room and got dressed for school, reappearing seven minutes later wearing a pair of black tights, a maroon sweater top that stopped mid-thigh, and a pair of black and white converse. Her curly hair fell over her shoulders and she had a small butterfly clip in her hair, something Sophia had taught her to do.
"Ready?" Harry questioned picking up his car keys, phone, and wallet.
Scarlet nodded and picked up her backpack while Harry grabbed her crutches just in case she ended up needing them at school.
Once they arrived at the school, Scarlet kissed Harry's cheek like always, telling him she loved him, and then walked off to class. Harry went to the nurses and dropped off the crutches along with Scarlet's pain medicine just in case. After telling the nurse he'd rather they call him if Scarlet needed to take the medicine since it made her sleepy, he headed to work. Almost as soon as he walked in Anne was calling for him to come into her office.
"I need to head out for a little bit Harry, I'll probably be gone less than two hours. Think you can handle everything?" She questioned slipping on her light weight coat.
"Sure mum. Don't worry about it." Harry smiled tightly as he slipped the apron on that he had grabbed.
"Thanks love, I'll be back soon." Anne said patting Harry's cheek and then hurrying out.
Harry sighed and walked back to the kitchen. He pulled down a tray of vanilla cupcakes and began swirling chocolate frosting onto them, occasionally snapping at the other workers when they thought it was fine to slack because Anne wasn't there.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Louis told me what happened yesterday." Jay said sipping on her cup of tea while she and Anne waited for their food to be brought to them.
"Harry told me as well, he was absolutely livid when he found out you had come to the bakery and I didn't tell him." Anne responded brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.
"He was mad about me coming in but not Louis?" Jay questioned lifting one eyebrow.
"Oh no, he was mad at me about asking him to work the front, that's why he never does, though we've been open six years and Louis has never come in before." Anne replied lifting her own cup of tea. "He didn't want any of you knowing."
"Oh I see..." Jay said quietly.
"What?" Anne inquired taking in her old friends face.
"What? Nothing." Jay answered shaking her head.
"You know, even after six years I can still tell when you're lying or hiding something." Anne chuckled and Jay bit her lip. "Out with it."
"Louis knows." Jay sighed heavily and Anne frowned.
"Beg your pardon?" Anne questioned raising both of her eyebrows.
"He knows... about Scarlet." Jay repeated.
"What!?" Anne hissed leaning forwarded in her seat. "You said you wouldn't tell him!"
"I didn't! I promise I did not tell him. He found out about her on his own and he figured out that she was his." Jay said rubbing her temples.
"How?" Anne demanded.
"He was watching videos on YouTube and saw one for the Little Dashers. He watched it and at the end Scarlet came running up to the camera, talking to Harry. Louis recognized Harry's voice. He called me asking if I knew Harry had a daughter and then he told me that she looked like him, had his nose and eyes. He pieced it together, with her age and looks." Jay explained quietly.
"Harry can't find out about this." Anne said shaking her head.
"Would it really be so bad though?" Jay questioned.
"Would it really --- Do you have any idea what Harry's gone through? For the longest time he couldn't even sleep because all he could see was Louis ripping his heart out... he cried in his room for hours and wouldn't talk to anyone. It killed me to see him like that - for months." Anne snapped with a frown.
"I know and I understand that but Louis - he really regrets what happened and he wants to make things right." Jay replied and Anne sighed heavily.
"I'm just trying to look out for my own son. I never want to see him like that again, ever. If Louis wants to be a part of their lives then he's going to have to prove to Harry that he's there to stay, that he's not going to leave him alone and that he's not going to hurt that little girl because so help me if he does..." Anne threatened.
"Do you think he should try and talk to Harry?" Jay asked.
"Maybe... maybe he could stop by the bakery a few times, get Harry used to seeing him. Louis' always had Harry's heart... so I think eventually he'll agree to talk but make sure Louis knows not to pester or pressure him. This should be on Harry's time, when he's ready." Anne responded and Jay nodded in understanding.
"With any luck maybe they'll get their fairy-tale ending." Jay stated with a small smile.
"Maybe." Anne nodded. "But then again... maybe not."