Adulation / h.s

24

"Hey baby, what you doing?" Harry asked happily as he sat at the dining table with Rosie, he had just got to hers from work. It was Wednesday and they were both tired but they wanted to see each other, neither able to wait until the weekend.

"Just going through some things," She smiles looking down into a box. It looked old, like she'd had it many years.

Harry carefully picked up some photos, recognising a young Rosie straight away. She didn't really have photos around her place, just one of her with Bella and friends and one with her mum on her fireplace, she had more photos of places and intricate ornaments.

Rosie smiled. "That was me on my eighth birthday, mum bought me the Rollerblades I had begged and begged her for. I didn't think she'd get them for me, I started to kind of believe that I wouldn't get them,"

"You look really cute," Harry laughed.

He looked at her next photo, it was one of her running down a beach naked.

Rosie laughed loud. "I was four and basically.. yeah,"

"Some things never change,"

"Hey," She pouted prodding his shoulder as he looked at the next photo. It was of her and her mum on a ride.

"That was some fair, I have no idea where it was, wherever we were living at that time. I look about seven or eight here."

"You look like your mum,"

She did, he could see the resemblance of her mum at the young age in the photo, she looked around Rosie's age now.

"Yeah, sometimes I think I do. I have her mannerisms."

Harry looked at the next photo in the pile. It was Rosie who looked like a toddler, grinning wide as she held a new born baby, her mums hand supporting her.

Rosie swallowed hard, this photo was a hard photo to look at.

"That's.. that's my sister." She spoke gently. Harry frowned. She never mentioned having a sister.. "She died at five months old. I was just about to turn three, I don't remember her but this is the only photo I have with her, mum has all the photos but I asked to just keep this one."

"I'm sorry,"

Rosie gave him a half smile. "It's okay, it's.. life."

"How did she.. if you don't mind talking about it."

"Cot death. It's very common, and there's no actual reason as to how babies die from it, even now. It can't be helped and as devastating as it is, there's no one to blame at all, it was just an unfortunate event."

Harry took her hand. "That must have been a hard time,"

Rosie shook her head. "Like I said I don't remember, apparently because of how sad it is my brain won't let me remember. But mum obviously, remembers it all. I think that's why she made sure we had a strong relationship regardless, she kind of threw herself into caring for me."

"Understandable."

Rosie nodded.

Harry looked at the next photo, it was Rosie in a karate suit holding a medal and certificate.

"I was fifteen here, this is when we settled in London and I joined a karate club to make friends in the area, I was pretty good at it actually." She laughed. "I still have my kit, medals, pads, trophies up stairs."

"I love you very much and I wish to never upset you ever again," Harry rambled making Rosie laugh.

"Yeah Styles, I can round kick your ass."