[COMPLETED] where she sat and ate her strawberries, while he smoked his cigarettes.
-harry styles au
-set in summer of 1998
-mentions rape, sexual assault, abuse, fighting, and suicide
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~Harry~
There was something about showers that always made Harry's mind wander off into the darkest of places.
He could never understand why, but ever since he was young it was as if the steaming hot water hitting his skin was the entrance into a world he spent everyday trying to hide from. The haunting memories of both his life at home and the life he was forced to live at Woodgate would come crashing back to him like a tsunami destroying everything in its way.
When he was younger, the one thing that would help him survive the pain and torture of his father was knowing that one day soon... he was going to make it out. He was going to leave this dreadful town full of tears, lies, and suffering behind. He was certain that all the pain he had felt would be nothing compared to the happiness that would engulf him. Het here he was... wishing everyday he were dead.
Before the age of eleven, Harry assumed everyone lived the way he had. He thought it was normal for kids to fear their parents, to feel as though they are walking on eggshells with every move they made. He thought hearing their mother scream for forgiveness before hearing loud punches being thrown was a regular occurrence for all the kids in his class. Thought that hiding bruises was a way of life or flinching at the smallest sound was a demon everyone dealt with.
Soon after though he began to realize that he was in fact the only one in his class who was terrified to sleep, not knowing what would wake him up in the middle of the night.
But it wasn't until the age of thirteen, when he found his father with Gemma, that he was hit with the harsh reality of just how fucked up his father truly was.
He remembers it like it was yesterday. He had been sent home from school because he had punched Stan Dunning in the face when he told Harry he had gotten the answer wrong. The red headed boy teased him to no end until he had just snapped, not even remembering hitting the boy, just standing over him as he held his nose on the ground.
Since he was now in year 7, the school allowed him to walk home by himself, not notifying the parents because they were old enough to leave by themselves. Earlier that day he had gotten a notice from the principal saying that Gemma had been picked up since she was sick, so he knew she would be there when he walked in the door.
As much as he would hate to admit it, the days where it was just the two of them were the one he liked the most.
Sometimes he and Gemma would plan the night before how they would get sent home from school, so that way they could have the house to themselves. They could be safe from it all for a few hours. Mostly they would just watch movies or make whatever food they could find, enjoying the freedoms of just being kids with no fears in the world for as long as they can.
But when harry walked in the house... he knew something was wrong.
He could hear his father up the stairs, which was odd because he was never home during the day. It was almost as though he was moaning, the deep groan escaping his lips that made its way through the house.
