Harry’s POV
I had no idea what the speed limit was, but I didn’t give a fuck. I ran my fingers through my hair as I weaved in and out of traffic. My hand gripped the steering wheel. I glanced to the dash for the time, we had been driving for thirty minutes and still had fifteen to go.
I looked over to Katherine. Her legs were shaking. She stared out her window. She didn’t even bother to tie her hair back to prevent it from flying in to her face. I wanted to calm her nerves and tell her everything’s going to be okay, but I knew nothing was.
I reached across the consoler and grabbed her knee. She stopped shaking, but didn’t even bother looking over to me. I moved from her knee and when my hand left her white leg, it began to shake. I slide my hand in to hers. Her hands were normally warm. It was always comforting to know she would be warm all the time. Instead of having that relief, her finger tips were like ice.
She stared at the road ahead of us. I gripped her freezing hand in my sweaty palms.
“Harry, the road!” she screamed.
I swerved off the shoulder and back in to my lane.
I took a deep breath, “Sorry.”
Katherine’s POV
My eyes darted from the numbers above the door to the split between the elevator doors. I anxiously waited for them to open.
So many things were rushing through my mind. The adrenaline made it easy to block out my thoughts. I couldn't stand still. A woman in a wheel chair was being assisted by a nurse.
The patient gave me a weak smile. I returned the hopeless gesture. Harry stood close behind me. He hadn't said anything since we left his thoughtfully planned night.
The doors slide open. I darted through them and down the hall. I ran past the nurses’ station. A woman called after me, telling me to slow down or something.
I ignored her and began looking through windows in search for the man who raised me.
I was out if breath when I finally saw him lying on a hospital bed. He was sleeping peacefully. No pain ran through his face or caused a wrinkle on his forehead. His mouth was covered with a mask, pumping air in to his lungs.
I fumbled with the metal stick for a door knob. It didn’t budge.
"Dad!” I screamed and hit the glass.
He didn't move, his eyes stayed closed as I banged once more. Harry grabbed my arms and held them firmly. Tears covered my face.
“W-What’s wrong with him?” I stuttered.
Harry didn’t respond. He brought me in to a tight hug as I sobbed. We walked in to the waiting room, where Martin stood there, waiting for me to calm down.
“What happened?” I asked quietly.
Martin played with his hands before speaking, “He stopped breathing.”
My shaking hands came to a halt. My heavy breathing could hardly be heard.
“Miss Owens?” I turned and saw a woman in a white coat.
“Yes?” I replied quietly.
“Can you come with me please?” she gestured down the hall towards the room my father was in.
I nodded and dropped Harry’s hand. I hadn’t realised we were holding hands until I felt the warmth disappear.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Harry asked.
I shook my head, “No thank you.”
I followed the doctor in to the locked room. A beeping sound was coming in and out. I stared down at his motionless body. I bit my lower lip, trying to keep the tears in.
I stood next to him. My hand shook as I reached for his.
“Miss. Owens, do you know why your father is here?” the doctor asked from behind me.
I shook my head and whipped a tear that had escaped.
She sighed, “A few months ago, we found a tumor in his chest.”
I turned to her with the most fearful look, “What?”
She frowned, “I was afraid he didn’t tell you.”
I turned back to my father. The doctor started talking again, listing off symptoms. I couldn’t hear the words. They were all morphed together and sounded like mumbles. My hearing went fuzzy and my eyes blurred. I took the seat in the corner of the room and stared at him.
~ “So what do you think?” my father’s hands rubbed together.
I shrugged, “What does it matter?”
He sighed, “Katherine, your opinion matters to me.”
I rolled my eyes, “Even if I said something you wouldn’t be able to do anything. You already bought the ring, just ask her!”
He jumped and looked around, “Please keep your voice down.”
“You never asked me to date her, so why ask me now?” I looked up to him.
“I never thought anything would come from it. I just wanted to move on and stop sulking over your mother,” my father’s voice shook, “Now that I have moved on, I feel guilty.”
His hand ran down his face, dragging the tears down his cheeks. A lump in my throat caught me off guard. My eyes felt tingly and went blurry. I quickly blinked the pain off my face.
“This ring will bring things up I only planned on talking about with your mother,” he sat down.
I stayed silent as his worries and fears spilled.
“I just need someone to tell me this is alright, I guess,” he looked up to me.
His eyes were red and wet. I got up off the chair and walked over to his. I never thought I’d be the one giving dad a blessing.
I could feel tears on the verge of exploding from my eyes, “Mom would want you to do this.” ~
I stared at him as a tear shed from my eye.
Harry’s POV
I handed Martin a flimsy coffee cup and took the vacant seat next to him. I know I should’ve been concerned about Clive’s health and I was. But, I was more worried about Katherine. She wasn’t ready for this, mentally.
Nurses walked down the halls. I slowly leaned my head back against the wall. I took deep breathes and tried not to think the worse. I couldn’t sit there, I needed to walk around and distract myself. I excused myself and began roaming the halls.
After taking the stairs I wound up standing in front of babies. They were lined lying in clear buckets with pink or blue caps on. Some cried, squirmed or sat still. I stared at a baby girl, thinking of Katherine. She was once so small, no one would’ve guessed something could grow up and be so violent to themselves.
‘Katherine would be such a good mother. She would never let the media get in to our child’s head and create such an ugly image of perfection. She would be the perfect mother,’ it was like light went off in my head.
This is what we both needed. She had so much bad going through her life, this wouldn’t be one of those moments. I quickly found the exist in search for the perfect ring.
(Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you for 26k reads! & please comment and tell me what you think of each chapter. I'd love to see what you guys think and if you have any ideas for the story. And maybe just your thoughts about how everything is going would be greatly apreciated!)