A/N: Triple updates for two books in a row ugh. I actually have no idea how I can do these alongside all my assignments lmao
I spoil you all don't I? xD
~~~~~~
My body with shivering with fear as I looked around the room – realizing I was all alone in the dark. I couldn't even see anything that was two feet in front of me.
"Harry..?" I spoke up in a weak, frightened voice.
I then jumped as there was a loud bang, and the room suddenly flushed with light – and I let out a gasp as I realized that I was standing in the dining room of my old house – right in front of the table that Fletcher forcefully bent me over all those years ago.
The sound of heavy footsteps coming up from behind me caught my attention and made me whirl around as fast as I could – my eyes widening as I saw the dark silhouette of a man standing in the doorway.
"...Harry?" I asked hopefully.
A sinister chuckle echoed around my ears – causing me to gasp again and start to whimper since I knew exactly who's laughter that was.
"Wrong answer, baby doll," Fletcher stepped forward into the light – and I let out a cry of horror before rapidly backing away, "Aw, what's the matter, Lia? You scared?" He smirked at me, "I thought you weren't supposed to be scared anymore."
"GO AWAY!" I begged him desperately, "For once and for all, Fletcher...please just LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
His smirk only grew. "Sorry, sweetheart. That's not gonna happen," he began to move closer to me, and I tried to back away further – but suddenly, I couldn't move, "we've shared a special moment, remember? That's a moment you are never gonna forget."
He grabbed my chin and pulled me close to him – making me cry out in alarm as I felt tears already starting to slide down my face.
"You can fuck your new boy toy as much as you want," he growled at me, "but it won't change a thing. You, are always gonna be my bitch."
"N-No..." I let out a choked sob, "No...no...s-stop it! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"I'm gonna get you, baby doll," he smirked at me again, "one of these days, I'm coming right back to get you."
~~~~~~
"NO!!" I screamed out loud before scrambling into a sitting up position – bursting into tears as soon as I woke up.
"Woah, Aurelia!" Harry's alarmed voice suddenly came up from beside me – and I soon felt his hands cupping around my tearful face, "Hey...hey...what happened?"
"H-He's coming..!" I sobbed, "He's...c-coming to get me...h-he said..."
"Who said?" Harry was definitely confused.
"He said!" My voice broke terribly, "He'll hurt me...h-he's gonna hurt me!"
"No," Harry shook his head, "no, baby – nobody's coming to get you. Nobody's going to hurt you..." he gently pushed my hair away from my face, "I think you just had a bad dream, love."
"W..." I slowly began to calm down, "W...What..?"
"You had a bad dream," Harry repeated himself softly before pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead, "it was a dream, Aurelia."
"Dream..?" I sniffled and felt my bottom lip start to tremble, "Oh, damn it! Fuck! I hate it when he does that to me!" I broke down crying all over again, "I hate it!!"
"Hey, hey, hey..." Harry shushed me quietly and took me in his arms, "calm down, baby. Calm down..." he began to stroke my hair, "why are you so spooked?"
My breathing came out in gasping sobs as I tucked my head into the crook of his neck and laid on his shoulder. I snuggled up close to him and bit down hard on my bottom lip as I tried to force myself to stop crying.
"Talk to me," he whispered, "please, Lia. I'm worried about you..."
I let out a long shaky sigh. "I just..." I hesitated, "I just get...sleep terrors...about him. About...about Fletcher..."
Harry's breath hitched softly.
"Oh my God..." his voice trembled, "are you...are you serious?"
I nodded. "Sometimes, he just...h-he just shows up, in my dreams...and other times, it's...it's an exact replay of what happened on...that night..." my voice weakened, "I...can never forget it. No matter how hard I try...I can never forget about him...because of these fucking sleep terrors..!" I let out another soft sob.
"Oh, darling..." Harry's voice wobbled again, "I'm so sorry..."
"I thought...I was OK..." I let out a soft whimper, "after tonight...I thought I was...g-gonna be OK..." I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt more tears slipping from my eyes and dropping onto Harry's chest.
"I hate seeing you like this," Harry sighed, "Aurelia...if I could make it all go away, I'd do it in a heartbeat..."
I looked up at him and finally managed to break out a small smile. "I know."
"What can I do?" He asked me, "Is there anything I can do to help you feel better..?"
My smile grew a little. "Maybe if we just...talk, for a while? That should keep my mind off him, I hope..." I bit my lip.
"Sure," Harry smiled at me softly, "what d'you wanna talk about?"
"Anything," I replied, "I don't mind, as long as you don't stop cuddling me..."
Harry's smile grew as he bent his head and pressed a sweet, tender kiss to my lips.
"I dare you to try and stop me from cuddling you," he told me cheekily once we pulled away, "do you even know how long I've wanted to hold you like this?"
"What?" I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, "Seriously?"
Harry smiled again and nodded. "I can't even begin to tell you how long. Seriously."
I smiled back at him, and I let out a little giggle as I wrapped my arms around him and tucked my head even further against his neck.
"I really like you, Harry..." I mumbled to him.
"I like you too, Aurelia," he stroked my back and ran his fingers through my hair, "I like you a lot."
I instantly felt myself smiling at his words.
"Can I ask you a question..?" I spoke up tiredly as I shut my eyes just to savour how close I felt to him.
"Of course," Harry replied, "you can ask me anything."
"You said earlier tonight that you hated those positions that involve...taking a girl from behind," I looked up at him, "did you really mean that...or did you just say it to help me feel more comfortable."
"No, I meant it," he said, "I really do hate those positions."
"Why?" I asked, "I mean...most people really like those positions."
"Not me," he shook his head, "I just feel so...disconnected...if I do those positions," he began to explain, "if I take a girl from behind, I can't do anything that I've always liked best when it comes to sex."
"Like what?" I asked him.
"I want to see her face," he said, "I want to kiss her, and I want to feel her touching me. I can't do any of that during doggy style or any other stupid fuck-from-behind position out there," he rolled his eyes, "I need to feel a deep connection while it's happening, or else I just won't be able to do it. How am I supposed to feel connected to the girl if I can't see her face or her eyes, or if I'm too far away for her to even touch me?"
"Ohh...I get what you mean," I nodded slowly, "I never really thought of it that way..."
Harry nodded as well. "With something like doggy style, I just end up feeling like I'm doing it with any random girl – not someone I care about. It really doesn't feel good to me."
"I understand. I prefer to be face-to-face too," I replied softly, "but I guess...the biggest reason for that is, well...you know," I sighed.
"I still can't believe it," I felt Harry's body tensing up, "he's put you through so much...and none of it you even deserved..."
I lowered my eyes. "Well...there's nothing I can do to change what happened. All I can do is...try to move forward," I then looked up at him and softly smiled, "and...after tonight...you're really helping me do that, Harry. Thank you."
Harry smiled back at me. "More than happy to be of service."
I giggled quietly before I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight – letting out a contented sigh as I closed my eyes and savoured our closeness.
"As much as I love being here with you, I'm starting to miss Noah..." I began – but my eyes then widened as I realized exactly what I said, "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, that...that was so inconsiderate of me-"
"Hey, it's fine," Harry assured me with another smile – albeit a smaller one, "we always miss our kids when we're apart from them. How long we've been apart doesn't matter."
"Tell me more about Jack," I suggested, "only if you don't mind, of course."
"Me? Mind talking about my son? It's my favourite thing to do," he said with a quiet chuckle, "what do you want to know?"
"What's he like?" I asked him.
Harry sighed softly. "He's such a happy and bright little kid. No matter how tough things got with Phoebe, Jack always managed to make me smile every day."
"Aww..." I smiled, "that's so sweet. I know exactly how that feels."
"And he had this...thing...about my hair," he smiled sadly, "he always liked to touch it. I don't know why."
"Oh..." I began to nod slowly, "right...that suddenly makes a lot more sense."
"What does?" He asked me.
"I remember when Noah asked you if he could touch your hair – that day we ran into each other at the supermarket?" I reminded him, "You went all...well...weird is the best word I can think of right now. And I finally understand why."
"Oh...yeah," Harry sighed, "sorry about that."
"No, don't apologize," I said quickly, "I totally understand."
"I see so much of Jack in Noah sometimes," Harry lowered his eyes, "they're both so cheerful and energetic...not to mention that he was as crazy about custard tarts as Noah is. And they're both the same age...Jack is just a few months older," he let out another sigh, "he'd be four now. His birthday was on the 11th."
"Oh, Harry..." I bit my lip, "if...if it's been hard...for you to be around Noah...I-I'm so sorry..."
"No, don't be," Harry warmly rubbed my arm, "it's true: being around Noah always reminds how lucky I was to be a dad, but...I don't mind," he smiled at me softly, "I...I enjoy it, actually. I enjoy remembering those times when I'm around him."
I felt myself perk up as soon as I heard his words.
"Really?" I asked him hopefully, "You do..?"
Harry's smile grew as he nodded. "You spend as much time with Noah as you want to, Lia. Even around me. I love watching the two of you together. You're..." his voice lowered a little, "you're the exact type of mother that I always wished Phoebe would be for Jack. You're wonderful."
"Thank you, Harry," I smiled up at him softly, "I feel so bad for you, though...and for Jack..." I let out a shaky sigh, "How is Phoebe even able to sleep at night, knowing what she's doing to you..?"
Harry lowered his eyes. "Well...it's like you said – I can't do anything to change what happened. So...I try not to dwell on it too much."
"Can't she be arrested for doing this?" I asked, "Like...what's she's doing can't be fair in the eyes of the law, r-right?"
"She's only breaking the law if she's violating any existing custody court orders...which she's not," Harry sighed, "we were supposed to sort out custody of Jack by ourselves. We never asked the courts to make the decision for us. So...the courts have nothing on her, because they have no record of ordering shared custody for us."
"Jesus...she's gone off the grid, and the courts can't do anything about it..." I bit my lip, "it...it really does sound like a hopeless situation...doesn't it?"
Harry nodded. "I have no idea how to get to them, Aurelia. I really don't."
I gave him a sympathetic look. "Well...you never know. Maybe one day, he'll be brought back to you," I tried to smile at him, "sometimes, it helps just to be hopeful."
Harry smiled back at me softly. "Yeah. I guess, in a way, it can."
"In the meantime...since it makes you feel better..." I began, "you're more than welcome to spend as much time as you want with me and Noah. You know...so you don't feel lonely?"
Harry's smile grew. "Well, I'm hoping that, since you & I are kind of...together now...we'd be spending more time together, anyway."
I chuckled. "Right. Of course. It's just...it's been a while since I last had...well...a boyfriend," I blushed softly as soon as I said the word.
"I know how you feel," he kissed my head, "you're actually my first...after Phoebe, you know," his voice dropped a little, "I've never been with anybody else but her...until now."
"Really?" My eyebrows rose, "Nobody after...or even before Phoebe?"
Harry shook his head.
"Wow...that makes me feel...kinda special," I giggled a bit, "really special, actually."
Harry chuckled. "Good. You should feel special."
"I'm kind of the same, though. With you," I said, "I mean, like...I've had the 'casual' boyfriend when I was still in school, but before you, there was only one guy I've ever been with...intimately. And...that was Fletcher," I sighed.
"Wait, he was your first? Like, your first first?" Harry's eyes widened.
I nodded. "I can't believe...that I wasted my virginity on a guy like him..." I whimpered a little.
"Oh, babe..." Harry looked down at me, "hey, there was no way you could've known what type of person he really was."
"I know. I try not to...think about it too much," I took a deep breath, "I...I need to learn how to accept it as a thing of the past...a-and focus on the present, and the future," I cupped half his face in my hand and softly smiled, "I'm OK, Harry. Really. I'm just...a little messed up sometimes, but I'm usually OK."
Harry smiled back at me. "You are honestly the bravest woman I've ever met, Aurelia. I'm...amazed at you."
I smirked at him. "OK, OK. You don't have to flatter me anymore. You've already got me into bed."
Harry laughed. "It's not just flattery."
"I know," I replied warmly, "but all the same, I still want you to shut up and just kiss me."
Harry's smile grew, and he bent his head before pressing his lips to mine and kissing me tenderly. I giggled a little as I kissed him back – cupping his face in my hands and holding him close so he couldn't pull away.
"You're so beautiful, Lia," I heard him murmur against me, "I like you a lot..."
***
"Oh, shit..." I inhaled sharply as I checked my phone the next morning, "my sister called me 14 times last night."
"Oh..." Harry bit his lip, "...did I get you in trouble?"
"Nah, don't worry about it," I smiled at him, "I'll sort her out. She'll be fine."
"I'm more than happy to help explain ourselves to her if you want," he offered.
I chuckled. "That's sweet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be more successful using my baby sister cuteness on her."
Harry chuckled as well. "Alright. Well, in that case, are you ready to go?"
"Er...I guess so," I began to blush a little, "ugh...I'm actually so nervous about this. I'm literally going to a chemist to buy emergency contraception...imagine the looks I'm going to get..."
"Hey, don't think like that," Harry placed a hand on my shoulder, "we have nothing to be ashamed of. And besides...the people working at the chemist have probably seen people buy morning-after pills hundreds of times. I highly doubt they're going to be surprised."
At his words, I slowly smiled up at him. "True."
"Last night was amazing, Aurelia," he smiled back at me, "there's no way in hell I'm gonna regret it just because we might get a few judgemental looks."
I giggled. "Also true. I really need to stop caring so much about what people think. That's..." I sighed, "...that's always been one of my flaws..."
"I know. It's really hard to try not to care," Harry took me by the shoulders and softly kissed my lips, "but today, we can practice."
I smiled again. "Good idea."
"Well, let's get going," he said, "we don't want your sister calling you another 14 times, do we?"
I laughed. "Nope. I definitely don't want that."
"Alright, let's be quick," Harry said with a chuckle, "come on."
***
I took a long, deep breath as I hovered my house key around the key hole of my front door. Biting down on my bottom lip anxiously, I slowly inserted the key and turned it – wincing a little as I hesitantly pushed the door open.
"Hello..?" I called out weakly.
"Oh my God!" Michelle came storming down the hallway absolutely fuming, "Where the hell have you been?! I was about to pull a sickie from work today to start looking for you!!"
"Sorry, 'Chelle," I replied quietly.
"I've been worried sick, Aurelia! You never answered any of my calls!"
"Phone was on silent," I muttered.
"Oh right, well that was just a brilliant idea, wasn't it?!" She glared at me, "You really did it, didn't you? You spent the night with him on your first date?!"
"Well..." my voice trailed off.
"Aurelia!!"
"Well, so what if I did?!" I narrowed my eyes a little, "I'm twenty-three, Michelle! I'm not a kid anymore! I should be allowed to make my own decisions without you giving me a hard time about it!!"
"But you-"
"MUMMY!" Michelle was interrupted by Noah excitedly running down the hall, "Mummy, mummy! You're back!"
"Noah!" I beamed at him and lifted him into my arms to hug him tight, "Hi, sunshine! I missed you!"
"I missed you too!" Noah grinned back at me brightly, "Mummy, Auntie Michelle said that you and Harry had a sleepover last night!"
"Oh..." I chuckled nervously, "er...yeah. That's right, darling. We did have a, er...sleepover."
"You're still wearing your dress from last night," Noah realized.
"Erm...y-yes, Noah. Because, er...I, er...didn't have any PJs, so I just slept in my dress," I replied uncertainly.
I saw Michelle scoff and roll her eyes – causing me to give her a piercing look.
"Anyway..." I was desperate to change the subject, "how are you, munchkin? Did you sleep well last night?"
Noah shook his head. "I had monster dreams last night."
"Aw, Noah..." my face softened, "...were they really scary, sweetheart?"
"Uh-huh," Noah nodded, "I wanted you to come home, mummy."
"Oh, darling..." I hugged him close to me once more, "I'm so sorry. But you had your Auntie Michelle here to help you feel better, right?"
Noah nodded as he wrapped his arms around my neck and rested his head on my shoulder.
"I'm sure you were a very brave boy last night," I kissed his cheek as I put him down, "I promise – you'll get lots of cuddles tonight, OK?"
Noah beamed up at me and happily nodded. "OK!"
"Noah, it's Friday today. Did you find your book bag to take to kindy?" Michelle asked him.
"Not yet," he shook his head.
"Well, go back to your room and look for it, bubba."
"OK, auntie," Noah nodded before obediently heading back towards his bedroom.
"Did he cry last night?" I asked Michelle once he was gone, "When he had the dream?"
"Yeah, he did," she replied with a nod, "you know he continuously says 'mama' whenever he's crying right?"
I sighed and lowered my eyes as I nodded. "Yeah. I know. Was he OK in the end, though?"
"Yeah, I gave him a cuddle and some warm milk and then he went back to sleep," she said, "look, Lia...I'm sorry for overreacting about Harry. I just...I wasn't actually expecting you to go off and spend the whole night with the guy."
"I know, I...I wasn't really expecting it, either. Neither of us were..." I bit my lip, "it kind of...just...happened..."
"I'm surprised you managed to even do it, babes," Michelle folded her arms, "you're scared of having sex, aren't you?"
"I...I was..." I slowly began to smile, "but...I'm not anymore. Harry, he...he helped me through it. He helped me face and overcome that fear," I giggled a bit, "I was a little jittery at first, but...in the end, I was loving every moment."
"Er...OK. Too much information, sis," Michelle held her hands up to me, "I think you can just stop right there."
I chuckled. "Sorry. But seriously – I'm pretty sure I'm back in the game now, thanks to him."
"Are you sure that's what you want, though?" She asked me.
"Yes, 'Chelle. It is," I promised her with a smile, "if I chose to be scared of it forever, I would've lived a very sad life. I'd probably have trouble getting into a serious relationship, because I didn't want to have sex. I wouldn't even be able to have another baby if I was scared to have sex."
"Do you even want another baby?" She rose an eyebrow at me.
"Well...maybe one day, sure," my smile grew, "Noah's not gonna be a little boy forever. Maybe, in the future...I could try for another baby again, when the time is right."
"You could always adopt or get yourself inseminated, though..." she began, "you don't have to feel like you have to get over your fear of sex to do that."
"Michelle, that's not what I want," I groaned, "I don't want to be scared of making a baby naturally."
"OK, OK. Fair enough," she said, "well...if last night really did make you feel better, then...I'm happy for you," she slowly began to smile at me, "but, I'm still gonna keep an eye on Harry – at least until I'm convinced he's serious about you."
"Ugh, I knew you were gonna say that," I rolled my eyes but chuckled all the same, "sure, 'Chelle. Whatever floats your boat."
"Auntie, I found it!" Noah came running back with his book bag in his hand.
"Good boy, Noah," Michelle smiled at him, "come on, then. Let's go."
"Can mummy come with us?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh..." I lowered my eyes and sighed, "Noah...I don't-"
"Please, mummy," Noah looked up at me with big eyes, "please come with me to kindy. I want you to come with me!"
"Well...why not?" Michelle gave me a hopeful look, "Come on, Lia. Just come with us for once."
I hesitated. I always wanted to avoid going to Noah's kindergarten with him – because I knew that not only the teachers, but also probably other parents would ask me all these questions like "What do you do for a living?" Or even worse, "Who's Noah's father?" I never wanted to face answering those types of questions, because I was too afraid that people would judge me for being a single mother who works at a Gentlemen's Club. But, all of a sudden, me and Harry's conversation from this morning began to work its way back into my mind.
"I really need to stop caring so much about what people think..."
"It's really hard to try not to care. But today, we can practice."
I felt myself starting to smile.
I suppose a little more practice wouldn't hurt...
"You know what?" I spoke up at last, "Sure. I'll go."
"Seriously?" Michelle's eyes widened, but she still smiled from ear to ear straight away.
"YAY!" Noah jumped up and down excitedly, "MUMMY'S COMING WITH US!!"
I laughed and picked Noah up to give him another cuddle.
"Come on, munchkin," I smiled at him, "let's take you to kindy."
A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait on this chapter and I am afraid that it might not have been worth the wait bc I don't think it's that good. For some reason, I got stuck on a lot of parts.
OH and on another note: I meant to share this on the previous chapter but I forgot...too flustered by the smut lol. But I think I found a really sweet theme song for Aurelia & Harry, 'cause they've found a bond together through their individual past struggles. You guys don't have to listen to it if you don't want to but I'm putting it down here anyway: