Solace ~ h.s.

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There's not much to do during an hour long drive with a six year old and a man who is focusing on driving in the rain. So like any other normal person dealing with the stresses of social anxiety, I allowed my mind to take over and drive me crazy.

I'm a tad nervous if I do say so myself. I'd met Leigh-Anne when she so kindly offered to watch Edward on the night of the banquet, well I actually met her the next morning when Harry and I actually made it back to his place. And I'd met John, Harry's oldest step sibling, when he was in Manchester for business. But I'd never gotten to meet his father, step mum, sister, or youngest step sibling.

From what Harry's told me, they seem lovely, but I'm still allowed to be nervous. I was just as nervous when I met Anne for the first time.

"Get ready for crazy." Harry mutters, his words and hand on my knee driving me from my thoughts.

We appear to be turning onto a road with a bunch of residential homes on one side and farmland on the other. Part of me wonders where on Earth Harry is taking us, especially since the turn for Liverpool was a few kilometers back.

"How crazy is crazy?" I find myself asking, as I let my eyes scan the road. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harry grin and shrug his shoulders. His idea of crazy and my idea of crazy are two different things.

"Slightly crazy." He assures me. "Juliette was raised in a large household so in order to get your voice heard, you had to be quite loud. That demeanor just carried over onto Leigh-Anne, Nathalie, and John, and then onto Gem and myself."

"But you're usually so calm and collected."

"Get that from my mother." I giggle and peer back at Edward, who is engrossed in something on my old tablet. "But I can be loud," my eyes dart to his as he quickly gives me a look, "loud in the bedroom."

Immediately, my cheeks warm and I'm shushing him from the little ears in the backseat. He doesn't seem phased only laughing at my reaction.

"I'm only preparing you for what's in store... behind closed doors that is."

"Prepare me, huh? How'd you know we're ever going to do that? Maybe I'm waiting until..."

"In that case," Harry interrupts me, grabbing my hand, "wanna get married?" His tone is joking, but I can't deny the flutter I feel in my heart at his words.

"You wish. And if I'm remaining celibate for life?"

"Is there anyway I can persuade you otherwise?" Harry wonders, smirking over at me whilst dropping his hand down onto my knee before running his hand further up my leg. I slap his hand away, not wanting to get too flustered in the car with my six year old brother in the backseat. "I love you."

"I love you too-" Just as I'm nearly finished speaking, Harry gasps and points to one of the tree covered area to his right.

"We're here!"

Narrowing my eyes at the trees to our right, I feel very confused as to where we are. I wasn't quite paying attention to our surroundings a few minutes ago with Harry in his teasing mood. Suddenly, my eyes widen when Harry pulls up to a gated entrance. Whilst I sit shell shocked before the gate, Harry leans over, rummaging in the glove compartment near my knees and takes out what looks to be a garage opener of shorts.

"Harry." I say as I hear a small wow being said from the backseat. "Where are we?" I wonder, as the gates before us open slowly. Harry sends me a sheepish smile and pulls forward through the open gates. "Babe, you said your dad was wealthy, you didn't say he was this wealthy." Driving down the long gravel covered drive, I feel my heart racing even quicker.