Til Kingdom Come [Harry Styles- Bk 4]

ch.19

His eyes met mine and he stared at my face in shock, as if he regretted coming here. But he had to come. I bet his mother made him walk over to apologize and seek an apology from Darcy.

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Styles, Darcy's mom?" the boy asked. He cleared his throat when he said Darcy's name.

"Yes, I am," I smiled.

"Can-can I speak to Darcy?" he demanded slowly, kicking a pebble with his foot.

I turned to let Darcy talk to him, but she was hiding behind the kitchen counter.

"Just a moment," I told him.

He nodded and turned around, mulling over his apology speech. I reached for Darcy's hand but she scurried away. 

"Darcy," I hissed. "Come say sorry to the boy you punched," I asked nicely.

Darcy shook her head.

"Darcy!"

She sighed loudly. I took her hand and half dragged her.

"Why should I apologize? He pulled my hair first!"

"I don't care who did it first, you both need to apologize," I told her curtly. 

Darcy stared at her hands and nodded. The boy stood up immediately when he saw Darcy, just the way Harry did when I walked into the room.

"Darcy," the boy gasped. He sounded breathless, like he had lost his very breath by looking at Darcy. 

"What?" Darcy spat.

The boy swallowed hard. I raised a brow at her.

She sighed and turned to the boy. I nudged her shoulder until she stood closer to the boy. I pushed too hard and she hit his chest. He jumped back slightly at their sudden proximity. 

They both stared at each other for a moment. Then Darcy turned to me expectantly. I smiled and closed the door, letting them have a moment of privacy.

But I was nosy. I headed to the living room and peaked through the window, just to make sure they didn't kill each other.

And they didn't. The boy stared at Darcy's lips as she spoke begrudingly. Then he inched closer to her, slowly, carefully, so she didn't notice. He pulled something out of his pocket and I gasped. It was a daisy. An ivory white, newly blossomed daisy.

Darcy stared at the flower and for a moment, she stopped glaring at the boy and the corner of her soft pink lips curled ever-so-slightly. The boy took something else out and held it to Darcy. It was some sort of envelope.

I covered my mouth before I screamed in joy. It was the same sort of envelope that had held the previous notes Darcy had received. I placed my hand over my mouth as a little 'awe' escaped my lips. The boy who was teasing Darcy was actually in love with her.

Darcy stared at the new letter and her eyes widened in a strange mix of terrified anger. She looked so upset, even furious that he had the nerve to pull her hair when he really just wanted to run his fingers through it and admire it from close up, just as he had probably written in his notes.

He reached closer and touched her cheek. She backed away but ended up at the base of the tree.

Then he did it. He took her face and pressed his lips against hers.  

I screamed.

They didn't hear me. I turned away for a moment, to give them a moment of privacy. I may have wanted to tape the kiss and play it at Darcy's wedding 20 years from now, but I didn't. I let her have the moment of happiness-- the only moment of happiness-- she would ever have with a boy. Harry won't be afraid to use his police weapons when Darcy gets older and her romances become more serious...