Yellow || hs au

|42|

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I stand in my kitchen with my arms crossed over my chest, a small sigh escaping my lips. It's been two days since Cora had shown up and I haven't stopped thinking about what she said since. Her taunting words are cemented into my brain and playing on replay. I know I shouldn't let her ignorant words get to me, but I just can't help it. She knows my weakest spots and uses them against me and throws them in my face when things don't go her way. I seriously can't believe I was friends with her.

I hate the way she gets into my head about every little thing I do. She's always been that way and usually I didn't think about it. But now that it has to do with Harry and my family, all I'm doing is thinking about it. Because she's right.

My mom expects me to marry some rich, handsome man who plays golf and has some perfect and privileged life. Someone who's probably never experienced any sort of discrimination or unfairness in his life and stands by the saying that women belong in the kitchen. My dad never voices his opinion on what he wants my life to look like but I'm sure it's the same. God forbid he disagrees with my mother.

I simply shake my head, leaning my elbows on the counter and letting my fingers lace into the roots of my hair. I want my parents to support me, I've always wanted that but I've never needed it. I get along perfectly fine without them behind me and I will say they got better about art, my dad did mostly but my mom did too. However they should have supported me from day one. And they didn't.

But Harry continues to do everything I thought I'd never get. He supports me and my decisions, he listens to me and he doesn't invalidate my feelings. He allows me to cry to him without feeling any sort of judgment. He's always there for me no matter what, even if he has a much harder situation than I do. He reassures me whenever I need it and tells me what I need to hear. Not what he thinks I need to hear or what he wants me to hear. He's honest with me. And that's a big thing for me.

I've been trying to think of a way to tell him how I'm feeling because I know I need to and I want to. But I also don't want him to feel offended or think that I'm embarrassed of him because that's not the case at all. If anything I'm embarrassed of my parents. I don't want him to think I'm like them.

I would never change Harry or the way he is for anything. I'm proud to be his girlfriend and I wish I could call my parents all excited and tell them all about him. I want them to be excited to meet him and ask about him on our annual Sunday phone calls that never turned out. I want a relationship with my parents more than anything, but I'm never going to get that.

I won't ever forget how differently they treated me from Cora, the daughter they wished they had. A chance for a healthy relationship with either of them is long gone. And it's not my fault. It never will be.

I jump when my door is slowly pushed open, Harry stepping inside with a small smile on his lips that grows when he sees me. He shuts the door and slides his shoes off, rounding the island to meet me.

"Hi, baby." I smile, his arms snaking around my waist as his face finds its way to my neck, pulling me into his chest. He grins lightly as I keep my arms wrapped around his neck, closing my eyes and taking in his scent that I haven't smelled for a few days.

"I missed your pretty face." He mumbles against my neck, my heart jumping at his words. I grin and squeeze him just a bit tighter, making it known I missed him just as much. "You're quiet." He whispers, pulling away and taking his warmth with him.