Between the Lines

Dakota's POV

I have a bag packed for three days and a laptop so I can continue writing. I’m a little nervous leaving my parents in our house, but then I remind myself that I’ll be alone with my family. My real family. Harry and our baby, Duchess. It’s hard to believe she’s five months old already. When we first got her, she could fit on my lap. Now she fits on both mine and Harry’s.

Duchess runs into my room and drop her squeaky toy in my bag. I zip it up with a smile on my face and pet her. “Hey Duch. Ready to go? Daddy’s outside getting the car ready. Wanna go surprise him?” I ask, kissing her nose.

She barks and runs outside making sure to run through my mother’s legs. She yells, frustrated and pulls her skirt down. I would be laughing if she didn’t look like she would kill me. "Keep that mutt in line! Though it does make sense. A dumb girl and a dumb dog."

I press my lips together and keep my head down. "Sorry," I mumble.

"Talk like a lady!" She shouts.

"Sorry," I say louder with my eyes on the ground.

"First you leave your parents for New Year's and now you let this mutt ravage the house. You truly have not matured," She sighs. "Where have I gone wrong?"

I quickly leave the room as my father enters. It's a miracle they haven't argued yet, but once they do, it's WWIII. I run out into the car and jumped in the passenger's seat. Duchess barks from the backseat once Harry loads everything in the back. He quickly gets in the front seat with me.

"Hey, love," He kisses my cheek. "Mother trouble?"

"She thinks I'm stupid and that's why Duchess is wild," I run my hand through my hair.

"Well she's wrong," he tells me. "There's nothing wrong with my girls."

Duchess barks in agreement. "I love you guys," I say with a small smile.

"And we love you," He responds, kissing me softly. "Now let's go. Your parents are annoying."

I lean back in my seat and close my eyes, thinking about a New Year's Resolution. I've never set one before, but this year's been a surprise. I fell in love, got friends, don't work for an abusive man, and live comfortably. I mean, not everything has gone according to plan, but I'm glad. I have Harry and that's all that matters.

*~*~*~*

I set down my bag in the master bedroom and sit down. I fell asleep halfway through the drive and now I'm waking up. I doubt I'm going to make it to midnight, but I'm gonna try for what they call a 'midnight kiss'. When the clock strikes twelve, we kiss. It sounds odd, but I gotta adjust to new customs.

Harry comes in and sits down next to me, "Hey love. Still sleepy?" I nod, "Well, wake up! It's only two. Ten more hours to go." He grabs me by my waist and we lay down. "Can you make it?"

I giggle and turn to bury my face in his chest. "That just woke me up," I tell him.

He strokes my hair and kisses my temple, "What do you want to do? My plans don't start until eight."

I stretch pull away and look at him, "What are you planning?"

He shrugs, "Surprises."

"This whole year has been a surprise. Please tell me!" I whine.

He shakes his head, "Each of my surprises are wonderful. Let me have one last one before 2014."

*~*~*~*

The surprise? A fire under the stars. Apparently, there's a fire pit outside and Harry made a picnic for us. Duchess runs around the property happily, leaving us alone. He brought his phone and plugged it into the stereo. He made a playlist just for us.

An hour away from midnight and I'm tired. Harry's with me under a blanket while we watch the stars. His attempts to keep me up isn't enough to keep me awake. “I’m sleepy,” I yawn.

“It’s one more hour,” He whine before laying on top of me.

I laugh, “Get off of me.”

“Not until 2014!” He yells.

I groan, “But I’m tired!”

He smiles, “I think I know a way to keep you up.” He leans down and kisses me deeply.

And I can solemnly say, I had the best New Year’s Day ever. The rest of the year wasn’t so hot though. Starting with January second.

Notes

I got writer's block on every single project I'm working on. Whether it's fanfiction or not. It's bugging the hell out of me. Since most of my sleep comes from daydreaming, I am exhausted.