kaitlynn rose // h.s

welcome to cali

"Kaitlynn, we're going to be late!"

I sigh as I head down the stairs towards Harry. I stop him from turning towards the door by grabbing his hand. I push his hair out of his face and smile at him.

"Why are you more stressed about this than I am? This is my family that's coming to stay with us for four days."

"Because... fuck, it's your dad. I'm still... scared of him. What if he hates the house? What if he thinks I'm some sort of rich snob who gets everything from his parents? What if he thinks I'm not doing enough to take care of you? What if he doesn't like the fact that we're living together? What if-"

"What if," I interrupt. "You keep talking and worrying for so long that you're the reason we end up being late to pick them up from the airport?"

Harry glares at me and I can't help but laugh.

"Hey, just relax okay? It's spring break, we don't have any homework, we're going to the happiest place on Earth tomorrow morning, and we're going to have a great time. My dad loves you. My dad knows how much you love me and how much you take care of me. Don't worry so much."

"I just... last time didn't go very well, ya know? With your anxiety attacks and the fights you had with him... I didn't have much time to actually allow him to get to know me."

"And the next four days will give you plenty of time to do that. Now come on, let's go. My little sister is very strict when it comes to being punctual," I joke. Partially. She kind of does get annoyed when people are late and/or can't follow up with plans.

We head to the airport and pick up my dad and siblings. My dad immediately starts talking about how busy everything is and makes snarky comments about California, which I fully expected him to do. Harry is trying his best not to laugh the whole time and keeps squeezing my hand as my dad rants on. My father is a lot of things, but he is definitely not a city guy. The next few days are probably going to be a lot for him. I'll be surprised if he joins us all three days in Disneyland.

On the way back to the house we stop for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Harry, just as I expected, is an absolute charm and gets along with all three of them fabulously. I'm pretty sure my siblings are going to tell me later that he's way cooler than I am and I won't be able to deny it.

As we get everybody settled into the house after dinner, my dad leads me out onto the back porch. He sits down on the edge of the porch and he pats the spot next to him. Once I'm sitting next to him, he takes a deep breath.

"I know I said this before, but I feel the need to say it again considering everything that he's done for you and he's done for us," my dad looks over at me. "But I'm very impressed with Harry. I'm incredibly happy that you've found him. It's clear that he's taking care of you very well. I also am very aware that when you decided to come to California for college that I was not very supportive... but I think I was worried that you wouldn't go out of your comfort zone and that you'd do the same stuff you did at home. You hid yourself away so much after we lost your mother and I was scared you'd continue to hide away. Clearly you've blossomed here. I'm so happy for you, Kaitlynn Rose. Your mother would be so proud of the woman that you are becoming. I know I am."

I rest my head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around me. "Thank you, dad. Thanks for supporting me even though you didn't love me coming here. It really means a lot. Also, I for sure still hide away, it just happens less."

He chuckles at the last part. "Of course, sunshine. I'm so glad everything is working out for you."

"How about you? Is everything okay at home? I haven't talked with you much since you got your new job."

"That's on purpose, my dear," he laughs. "You worry about me way too much. Everything is going just fine, same as last time you asked. I've got an interview lined up for a better gig in about two weeks. I'll keep you posted."

We head inside and all watch Moana to get in the Disney spirit (much to my brothers disapproval) before we head to bed. As I'm getting comfortable in bed, Harry sits on his side of the bed and checks his phone. I think he's setting and alarm for tomorrow but I could be wrong. He's one that wakes up naturally around the same time every morning, while I could accidentally sleep through the entire day. I poke his back and he turns around with an arched eyebrow.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"First of all, don't call me ma'am. I really hate that. Second of all, yes. You can help me by bringing your cute self over here to cuddle with me."

Harry laughs lightly and puts his phone on the nightstand. He falls back onto the bed next to me and pulls the blankets over us before turning on his side to face me.

"I think dinner went quite well," he comments as I scoot closer to him. I smile and cup his jawline with my hand.

"Yeah," I nod. "Really well. You're so amazing. They all love you, I could tell. Thank you for bringing them here. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."

"You don't have to repay me in any way whatsoever, Kaitlynn. I brought them out here for the both of us. I wanted your family to get to know me better, I wanted to get to know them better, and I wanted to make you happy. You being happy is enough to make me happy, sweetheart."

"You're the most wonderful human," I mutter quietly. I reach forward and press my lips to his gently. "Love you. I'm so lucky."

"I love you and I'm just as lucky to have you," he gives me a small smile and another kiss. "Goodnight, baby."

The next morning, Harry isn't in bed with me anymore. His alarm is what woke me, which is probably the reason he set it. I take a quick shower and then wander down the stairs to find him. My brother is laying on the couch watching reruns of Spongebob, my dad is working on his laptop at the dining table, and my sister is most likely talking Harry's ear off from where she's sitting at the kitchen island. It felt weird having Harry with my family like this, but I love it. Harry is making pancakes on the stovetop when I come up next to him and kiss his cheek.

"Morning, bub," I mutter as I wander past him over to the coffee pot.

"Good morning, Kait," he sends me a smile. "Your sister was just telling me about your awkward school photos that I'm thinking we need to see next time I'm in Texas with you. Sounds like you had quite the fashion sense in middle school."

I glare at Maddy and she giggles, avoiding my eyes. "You are never allowed around him unsupervised from this point on, Missy. And you," I turn to Harry. "Are never seeing those photos as long as I am alive to stop it."

"I can email them to you Harry," my dad pipes in.

"You most certainly will not!" I pout. "I thought this was going to be a fun few days. I think I was wrong."

"What, standing in line for hours for rides and not being able to stop us from telling Harry embarrassing stories about you doesn't sound fun?" My brother gets involved as he walks into the kitchen. He sits next to Maddy and smirks at me.

"Aiden, I thought you would be on my side here! What is happening?"

"Hey, Gemma is going to give you an absolute earful when you come to London with me. It's only fair," Harry smirks at me and bumps his hip against mine.

"London? When are you going to London?" My dad interrupts.

"Nothing planned," I shrug. "We talked about me visiting a week or two at the end of summer. We'll see."

My dad nods, but he doesn't seem thrilled by the fact that this is the first he's hearing of a potential trip to London. I can't really blame him, though. I did fly there without telling him in November.

Harry flips the finished pancakes onto a plate and smiles at my younger siblings.

"Who's hungry? Better eat up, we've got a long day of waiting in lines and paying too much for food ahead of us."

"Way to make it sound awful," I laugh. "It's Disneyland! It's going to be so fun!"

Harry glances at my siblings and then over at me. "We'll see how it goes."