We're Having Our Baby

Forty Eight

Harry's P.O.V. September 23rd, Charlie 9 months

"Let's sit down," I pull two chairs out from the dining table where Charlie's still in the highchair from her snack.

"You know about our past with David," she swallows, "but there's more that you haven't heard because Emma doesn't even know."

Here we go...

"He wasn't always a bad father or a bad husband. He was wonderful at first, really, he was. He had just split from Jared's mother when we started dating and we got married very quickly. He was let go from his job when Emma was starting school, and it was really hard on us financially. His mental health was declining, and he thought drugs and alcohol would make it better. It didn't take long for the physical abuse to start, but once Emma started catching on, I finally kicked him out. I never told her, but Jared knows everything. He was there for it all, and for some reason he's never told her either. Not to my knowledge, anyway."

"I am so sorry, Jillian," I take her hands in mine, hoping to convey my sincerity. "I can't imagine how difficult that was, but I am so proud of you for how you handled it. And thank you for confiding in me, but Em deserves to know too, and she needs to hear it from you."

"I know, I know. I just hoped that I never had a reason to tell her, but I promise I'll tell her soon."

"Okay, thank you. But um, what's going on now?"

"The night of the party, I thought I recognized him when your mom and I got home. I thought for sure I was hallucinating, but I waited until Charlie was asleep and your mom was distracted so I didn't make a scene. He recognized me right away and told me he was looking for Emma, that he just wanted to talk to her. He wouldn't tell me why, he wouldn't explain anything, he just kept repeating over and over again "I want to see my daughter, I want to see my daughter." It was very apparent that he was high, but I didn't want to call the police because like I said, I didn't want to cause a scene. I thought if I just asked him to leave, he wouldn't come back. That was stupid of me-"

"You weren't stupid, you did what you thought was right."

"Thank you. Anyway, I've seen him around the neighborhood since, and whenever he's noticed me as well, he's tried to talk to me. He's grabbed me and hit me a few times, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"But you shouldn't have to handle any of it," I interrupt her again. "Sorry, continue."

"I haven't seen him in a while, but you're right, I shouldn't have to deal with him, and neither should you guys. So, if you see him again, please call the police."

"You don't want to call them now? We have evidence," I suggest, knowing that even if there isn't enough evidence, I could pull some strings.

"No. If he comes back then we have to call them, but I don't want to if we don't have to."

"I guess that's your decision to make... You know, I really admire how protective you are over your family, and how hard you work to keep people safe and happy. From what I've observed, you always put everyone else before yourself, but I think it's about time you put yourself first. I promise we'll get this taken care of one way or another, so please let me take care of it. I don't want you to hurt anymore."

"Thank you. I really appreciate you, Harry. I honestly couldn't ask for a better person love my daughter and grandchildren."

"We'll get through this together."

8 missed calls from Em <3

3 missed calls from Emma Styles

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