Waking up in Harry’s arms for the second time felt unreal. I find it unbelievable just how how lucky (and unlucky) I am at the same time.

We start our day with another amazing breakfast. After sitting around a bit and watching television, we finally decide to go for a walk in the park. It’s a bit chilly, but we decide that we won’t mind too much.

I’m in the middle of changing my clothes when my phone rings. I look to see who it is, and to my surprise, it is my mother. “What?” I say out loud to no one. This is so weird. She rarely calls me.
I hesitate a bit before answering. “Hello?” I say. “Megan! You answered, I am so glad. I need you to come over to the house.”

“Why?” I asked, completely irritated. What could she possibly want? “I need you to meet some people from work. It would greatly benefit your future. It’s a lunch/business meeting type thing and it starts at noon.”

She has got to be freaking kidding me.

“I’d rather not.” I reply. “Megan, it’s not really an option.”

“But mother, I -” I try to argue, but she interrupts me.

“You already spend too much time with that boy, Megan. You are lucky I let you. So unless you want to see less of him, I strongly suggest that you come over to the house immediately.”

I am so angry at this point, my hands are balled up into fists. “Oh, really? And how would you keep me from him exactly? You’re never home.”

She replies with, “I’m sure I could get in touch with his parents.”

I take a deep breath to calm down before answering flatly, “Fine.”

“It won’t take long. It’s just a little lunch meeting. Wear something nice. Maybe a dress or a skirt.” I can hear a cheeriness in her voice, and it makes me sick. I can not believe she is so happy about forcing her child to go to a meeting that will help her with a career that she doesn’t even want.

I am not her child to her; I am just a person who’s life she gets to have control over.

I change into a chiffon dress with tiny polka dots on them and put on some nude heels that have bows on the front. I put on a bracelet and grab a clutch purse before going to tell Harry the bad news. I also grab a small black cardigan so I won’t be freezing.

“A little dressed up for the park, don’t you think?” he asks as soon as he sees me. “Not that you don’t look beautiful. Because you do.”

I laugh before telling him the news. I see the immediate disappointment on his face, only to be replaced by a smile. “It’s fine. I understand.”

I walk over to him and we hug. I don’t want to leave his embrace. I know how silly it must seem to be so upset over having to be a part for such a short time; especially when you consider how much we get to be around each other. But that’s not it. It is the reason I am having to leave that is bothering me. All this is is a horrible reminder of my predestined future that I have practically no control over.

“Do you know what time you’ll be back?” he asks after we part. “Well, meetings like this can last about…five hours. Maybe five and a half. I should be back by five thirty, if not a little before then.”

“I can’t wait, love.” he says with a crooked smile. He then kisses me softly on the lips. “What are you going to do while I’m gone?” I ask.

“Oh, you know…watch television, play some music…miss you.” he says with a wink. I can feel my face become red. “I’ll miss you too.” I reply as we head to the door. “See you later.” I say as I walk outside.

“See you later, Megan.” I begin the walk to my car, but am stopped by his next words. “And don’t forget…I love you.”

A huge smile spreads across my face, and I have to hold back tears. I turn to look at him. He is smiling just like I am. “I love you.”

And with that, I am off to begin the longest two and a half hours of my life.

Harry’s POV:

I watch Megan a minute longer as she gets in her car and drives away. I shut the door and lean against it while smiling ridiculously. I am so lucky.

Alright, now what?

I head over to the couch and plop down with a sigh. I miss her already. How is that even possible? I use to think it was so stupid when people said stuff like that.

I try finding something to watch on television, but I don’t find anything interesting enough. I consider getting my guitar and messing around a bit, but because I know Megan will ask what I did, I decide to figure something else out.

What could I do to surprise her?

I begin walking around out of boredom. Maybe something will come to me eventually.
As I walk to the kitchen, I consider making her dinner. Is that too boring? I have made her breakfast several times now. I guess dinner would be a bit different.

That’s when I spot some candles. Candle lit dinner? Now that I might can make work.
I search the house for more candles; all similar smelling of course. Wouldn’t want the place to smell weird. Let’s see…vanilla and cinnamon work together, right? Yeah…that will work. There are two each of those, and a bunch of unscented ones.

I get a dark burgundy table cloth I’ve seen my mom use before and set it on the table. I set two tall, unscented candles in the middle of the table. I then set various other scented and unscented candles on a table/cabinet thing in the dining room, the kitchen island, counter tops, the coffee table in the living room, and the side tables.

There are a lot of candles.

It’s only one, but I feel like I should start cooking already. But what? I could make her a Sunday roast. She’s lived in Ireland so maybe she has had that before. I hope so.

By the time I get done, it’s exactly five o’clock. Oh, man…I don’t have much time if any. I quickly decide to call her; although I begin to question if that was a good idea as soon as I’ve dialed the number. I hope I don’t get her in trouble.

I wait only two rings before I hear her sweet voice, “Harry! Save me!” I can’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry, babe. How did you answer so quickly?”

“I couldn’t stand it in there anymore. I went to the bathroom just to have an excuse to escape for a bit.” I wish there was something I could do. Something I could say. Just…something that would help her…change her situation. It kills me when I think about her having no control over her own future.

I push those thoughts aside before asking, “It’s that bad, huh? I really am so sorry. How much longer do you think?” Please say at least thirty minutes.

“I actually asked my mom earlier. Apparently these things have a set time they begin and end; thank God. It ends at five thirty. So if my mom delays me, and I am sure she will, I should be back by five forty five.”

“I miss you.” I tell her. I didn’t really mean to. It kind of just came out. But when I did, I felt a sense of relief as if I had been holding it in all day.

“I bet I miss you more.” she replies. I can just picture her smiling right now. It makes me smile.

“I guess I better go back out there.” she says.

“Ok. See you soon. Not much longer, just remember that. You can make it.” I say for encouragement. “I’ll remind myself that every minute.” she says with a laugh. “See you soon.”

And with that, I hear the dial tone.

I light the candles and warm up some of the food before setting it all on plates. I arrange the plates and utensils neatly on the table along with napkins neatly folded next to them.

At exactly five thirty five, I light the candles. I guess that’s not too many…I’ll just have to make sure not to knock any over.

I change into a black blazer with a plain white shirt underneath. I also change into black jeans and nicer shoes.

At five forty, I go outside to wait for Megan. At five fifty, her car pulls up. I walk over to the parked car and open it up for her. I extend my hand to help her get up. That, and because I really like to hold her hand.

“Oh, wow.” she says once she is out of the car. She looks me up and down as she says, “You look…amazing.” I can’t help but blush. I hate doing that.

“Thanks.” I reply as I take her hand and we head to the house. “I have quite a surprise for you.”

“You mean there is more?” she asks. “Oh, yes.” I say as I put my hand on the doorknob. “Much more.”

I open the door and we walk down the short entry way. “Close your eyes.” I tell her. She does so without questioning it. I gently take her hands and lead her into the living room. I stand by her side and whisper in her ear, “Open your eyes.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops. This moment…her priceless reaction…it is what makes all of that work worth it.

“Oh, Harry…” she begins to say before trailing off. I have the lights dimmed, so the candles really do make the place look amazing; that says a lot coming from me.

I begin to ask her what she thinks when she runs into my arms. I hold her tightly to me. “Thank you.” she says a little above a whisper. I think I can hear her holding back tears. That of course, makes me do the same. “Only for you, love.”

“This place smells amazing!” she exclaims as I pull out her chair and she sits down. “And this food…amazing.”

“Have you ever had it before?” I ask as I sit down across from her. “I haven’t! I’ve wanted to for a long time, though.”

“I hope you like it.” I reply. “You made it; I am positive that I will.”

As we begin to eat, I consider asking her about her day, but I don’t want to ruin the night. I am sure that bringing it up will only make her upset, and I do not want that. I am also sure it will make me upset.

We talk about random stuff while eating, but as soon as we are done, she brings up her day. “I know one thing for sure after today.” she says. “I want to do just about anything but what my mom does.”

I feel a sting in my heart. What do I say? Nothing I say will really help the situation. “Come on, let’s not talk about it.” I tell her trying to help in the only way I can think of.

She does not listen.

“I just…I do not understand my mother at all. She knows how much I want to do something else. She saw for sure tonight how miserable I was. I even told her! But she never listens!”

“Megan…” I begin to say, but she interrupts me.

“Why doesn’t she understand? It literally makes no sense. Why would she treat her own child like this? I mean, who does that?”

“Megan, please, listen, I -” but I am interrupted once again.

“She has always been like this. She has never really cared about me. She doesn’t even try to pretend.” I can tell she is beginning to hold back tears at this point. “What am I suppose to do? Nothing I say works. I try telling her how I feel, but it’s like talking to a brick wall. Is she trying to make my life a living hell?”

I can not take it anymore. I see tears rolling down her cheeks. I get out of my chair and squat down next to her. I firmly grab her arms; not too tight, though. “Megan, look at me.” I say firmly yet tenderly at the same time.

She slowly looks up; tears flowing steadily now. I wipe some away with my thumb before putting my hand back on her arm once more.

“No, Megan. No. That is not what is going to happen to you; do you understand me? You are going to have a wonderful life. The life that you want to have. I don’t know how, but I will not…you will not allow your mother to control your life. You deserve so much more, and I will make sure that it happens.”

“But..how?” she asks quietly. The tears have stopped now. I think a second before answering honestly, “I don’t know. I don’t know, Megan. But it will happen. One way or another. I don’t care if we have to run away, I am not going to just sit here and see your life get taken away from you.
Even if you end up hating me and never want anything to do with me, I will help you. Ok? Because I care. Listen to me, I care. Even if she doesn’t. I care.”

I am just now realizing that my heart has been beating very fast. It’s as if I had a rush of adrenaline. I feel so angry that she has to put up with all of this, but at the same time, I feel so relieved to get all of that off of my chest. Not that I know if I helped her much.

She then pulls me close to her with a tight grip. “I love you, Harry. And I know you care. I am so sorry… I don’t mean to be so negative.” she pulls away. “I guess I ruined tonight, huh?”

“A night with you is never bad.” I reply. She laughs her sweet, adorable laugh. “How about a movie?” she asks. “Sounds good to me.”

After watching a movie, we change back into some comfortable clothes. We also end up playing some board games. I swear, everything I do with her is so much fun. I have never had more fun with anyone else in my entire life.

We end up making a fort in the living room and decide to sleep there. School is tomorrow, but I don’t mind like I use to. I have Megan now; she even makes school enjoyable.

We talk a bit before she falls asleep in my arms. I watch her sleep a while before carefully moving us to a laying down position. “Goodnight, my beautiful angel.” I say after kissing her forehead.

She will break free. She will have control of her life one day. She will choose what career she has. She will choose where she lives. She will make all of her own choices in life, just like she should.

I just hope she chooses me.