Song: Hedley - Wild Life

Before I even know what's happening, Dad is yanking me out of Harry's car, telling Harry to get out as well. I thought that telling Harry I had to be home by eleven o'clock was embarrassing enough, but I'm pretty sure this tops just about everything that's happened in my entire life. If it wasn't bad enough that Dad caught me making out in the front seat of Harry's car, straddling him, no less, seeing the look on Dad's face as Harry follows his orders to get out, just makes everything about this situation heightened about one hundred percent.

Harry is trying not to look at me as he gets out of the car and leans against the car door, keeping his eyes turned down towards the ground with his now messy hair falling into his face. I feel the need to protect him in this circumstance I've gotten him into.

"What do you have to say for yourself, son?" Dad asks loudly, glaring at Harry. "Your dirty hands all over my daughter like that."

"Dad!" I try to cut in. I can't believe this is happening right now. He is so out of line.

"And you, Paisley, I'm so disappointed in you," Dad says, looking over at me. "For one, you're late. And two, did you not learn anything over the past two years? Boys are animals, who want for nothing but the wrong thing. This one here is just the same as the rest!"

"Stop it Dad, he's not!"

"You need to respect my daughter," Dad raises his voice at Harry. My chest feels heavy at the way he speaks to him.

Harry lifts his head to look at Dad, disbelief written all over his face. "With all due respect, Sir, I have plenty of respect for your daughter."

"You call what I just saw with my own eyes, having respect for my daughter?"

"Dad, we were just kissing. I'm allowed to kiss the guy I like!" I try to reason. "He wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"Like hell he wasn't!" he screams.

At this point I feel like Dad is yelling so loud, he is going to wake the neighbors, or just annoy the hell out of them, and I need him to stop making this seem worse than it was. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have just got out of the car when we got here. Stupid me, and my damn hormones!

"Can we talk about this inside, Dad?" I ask quietly, pushing Dad towards the door and away from Harry's car. "Harry, I will talk to you later. Thank you for tonight. It was perfect."

Dad starts pulling me along with him to the front door of the house, as Harry still stands leaned against his car with a bewildered look on his face, watching me get pulled away from him. I can't just leave him like that. I can't let this night end this way. He is such a great person, and he never deserved Dad's words. I will not let Dad ruin this in any way.

I remove myself from Dad's grip on my arm and run. I run down the driveway to Harry and wrap my arms around his neck tightly, and instantly I feel him pull me as close to him as possible. His whole body sighs in relief as he breathes out a long breath.

"I'm so sorry about this, Harry," I whisper. "So sorry. It was all my fault."

"It's okay," he whispers back. "Everything will be fine."

I take a moment to look him in the eyes, my arms wrapped loosely around his neck. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Don't fight too much with him over me. I know he's important to you," he says quietly. "Don't let being with me, ruin that."

"I won't," I smile.

I lean in to kiss him, letting my lips linger against his with pressure, silently showing him that I hope this doesn't change anything between us. I know that Dad and I are in for some arguing when we step into that house, and the only thing that matters right now, is that Harry understands the only thing I care about, is him, no matter what Dad says.

*

The tension around the breakfast table is thick, making it hard for anyone to breathe a normal breath. The only sound is our forks clinking against our plates and the crunching of toast. Dad made a scene in the living room last night with a wide eyed audience of Aunt Rachel and Jared, leaving this morning's breakfast an awkward environment I can't wait to get out of.

Things had been going relatively well over the last few days since I got here. Everyone was happy and things were normal. The non-judgmental atmosphere, feeling like a normal family, had shifted because Dad was so angry with me. I had never in my life, heard him scream at me the way he did. But when he started over-doing it, by talking about how I should never trust a guy with hair as long as Harry's because he couldn't even see his face hidden behind his mound of curls, that's when the line was drawn and I left the room. You can never judge a book by its cover—something I learned quickly when I got to college and met Nova, when I wanted to judge her by how she looked like the awful people I knew in Vancouver—and that is exactly what he was doing with Harry because he had nothing left to scream at me for, and I wont have it. No fucking way!

Dad's lecture lasted for a lot longer than I could have ever anticipated. And although I could understand his anger towards me being with Harry, knowing very well what I went through in the past, he couldn't understand my point of view; that I was better. It was as if he wanted me to shy away from boys for the rest of my life and be alone forever, and I don't want that for myself. How could Dad not want me to get better? He acted like Harry was just some guy I picked up off the street and he caught us kissing. What he couldn't understand, was how long it took me to get to that point with him, and Harry never pushed me into anything. He waited patiently for me—or had sex with someone else. Either way, Dad was set with his thoughts, and nothing I could say, was going to change his mind about Harry.

"Want to hang out today?" Jared asks, breaking the long awkward silence. "I need to go to the mall and do some last minute Christmas shopping. You should come."

"That would be nice," Aunt Rachel chimes in. "Get you two out of the house for a while."

"I actually have plans," I say, staring at my almost empty plate. The amount of plans that I have made are zero, but all I want is to be away from this house, and away from these people, because now that it's clear that Aunt Rachel and Jared know what happened to me, because of Dad's freak out, the last thing I want is for Jared to say anything to me about it on this stupid trip to the mall.

"Not with that boy, you don't," Dad says, angrily. Oh yeah, because he can really stop me from hanging out with Harry when we go back to school.  I don't know why he has to do this.

"That boy has a name!" I stand from the table, unable to sit through anything more that Dad has to say. "It's Harry. And don't be ridiculous. I can hang out with him if I want to. What are you gonna do? Come to school with me and sit between us in classes? Are you gonna come on our dates and make sure he doesn't even hold my hand? You're being—"

"Sit back—" dad tries to interrupt.

"Harry is good for me, Dad. And you know that! He's helped me so much with things that Doctor Swanson told me I needed to work on. He has been everything I needed. You have listened to me talk about him so many times, and you know that he's been great for me."

"He just wants—"

"No, he doesn't! He isn't like that with me! And you need to quit being an asshole about this! Because I happen to like him. Without him, I would still be the same girl I was when I left Vancouver, and that's the last thing I want. And I know that's the last thing you want. So, just accept the fact that someone cares about me, and if that means I'm going to kiss him—"

"Please, just sit down—"

As I'm grabbing Dad's car keys and my coat, I'm finding it hard to believe just how stubborn Dad is being about this. How if Harry had just came to the door to greet me when he picked me up, like Dad had wanted, would things be this bad right now? Fucking karma, I swear.

"You are not leaving this—"

"Watch me!"

I find myself leaning against Dad's car, in front of my old house. Staring at it, with a cup of hot coffee clasped between my hands. Tears stream down my face as memories flow through my mind, and I want more than anything to go back in time and hug Mom just once more. It's funny how you can miss someone so much, but not really feel it until you're back where all your memories of them are from. This house held so much love inside of it. It's hard to believe everything that's happened since I was last here. Even the things that happened today with Dad seem so far from the life we had inside the walls of this beautiful white house, with the big front yard and a perfect ocean view. It almost doesn't even seem like that was my life at all. It was grand and easy and happy, and I missed the simplicity in it, because life now, was just not at all, any of those things.

Things with Dad never would have escalated to what they were last night or today, if we still lived in this house. I'm positive that Dad would have absolutely loved Harry if he didn't have my past stuck in his head—The past that never would have happened if we had just stayed here, in this house. I know that I can't change how my life turned out, and I know that things will never be as great as they used to be, but one thing that I never had then that I do now, is Harry, and he sure has a way of making everything in life interesting.

Maybe being reminded of the life I once had, isn't the best way to add to the day that started out all wrong. Although I never thought that I would ever be back here, I feel like leaving it again, part of me is leaving Mom behind, and the thought of having to say goodbye, hits harder than I thought it would. As I get in the car, images of Mom teaching me to do kart-wheels on the front lawn flash through my mind. It was a good day, that one. Fun and full of laughter and exactly the way I want to remember her.

I send Harry a text. I want to see him. I need to. And today seems perfect to introduce to him my most favorite place in the world. As soon as I left the house this morning, I knew that's where I wanted to go. All I can do, is hope that Harry will be able to meet me there with such short notice.

He replies, telling me he knows where the place is, and will meet me there. A smile spreads across my face as it seems to relax me a little, knowing that once again, I will be able to mix the good part of my past with the best part of my present and the world around me, feels right again.

It doesn't take long to get there, as it's just down the street from my old home. It looks the same as it always did, except more driftwood lines the beach. The refreshing sense of home washes over me as I walk towards the big rock, the feeling of knowing it's where I belong, the place I have always loved the most, where the open ocean breathes me in and takes all my troubles away.

As I sit on the driftwood next to the rock, I notice a carving beside where I'm sat. P + H = 4 Ever. My fingers trace over the letters, thoughts coursing through me. This was never there before, and I know that I didn't do this. Who's P and H? Although it's a nice thought that it's me and Harry, I know that it isn't, but it's cute nonetheless, and I can't help but think it's some sort of sign that Harry and I were meant to find each other and come to this exact place that means so much to me.

The sound of a Hedley song takes me out of my thoughts and I turn around to see Harry standing behind me. His outstretched hand pulls me up and he smiles at me, before spinning me in a circle. 

"Dance with me," he whispers, pulling me close to him. I laugh at how he always seems to want to dance to songs played on his phone, but secretly love this romantic side to him. He never plays the typical love songs that would mean nothing to us, and somehow always chooses songs that fit so perfectly with who we are together, when trying to express how he feels. I can't help but think that this song, Wild Life, has more meaning than he realizes at the moment, knowing that there's a jungle inside the home I'm staying in and the teeth were clearly out this morning. And right now, in the moment, I want to be with him, and I need him to need me, because I need him.

Deja vu surrounds me as he kisses me, and I breathe in the comfort that it brings, the way it does every time I get the sense of deja vu with him. It's a feeling I've allowed myself to get used to. I take those moments in, like they mean something more than I could ever know, deeming them to be moments that have always been meant for me to experience with him.

"Hey check this out," I say, pulling away from him. I turn to show him the carving in the driftwood and look at him to see that he has a smile on his face when he sees what it is that I'm showing him. He has a longing in his eyes, like he's taking it in. "You haven't been here recently, have you?" I ask. "Carving our initials into wood, expressing you think we're going to be together, forever? Was it you?"

He laughs, bending over to trace the letters with his fingers the same way I did. "No, I haven't been here, recently," he answers. "How did things with your dad go last night?"

We sit down next to each other on the drift wood and stare out into the ocean. I sigh, remembering how bad things were this morning and I wonder if I should lie and tell him everything is fine. But I know lying isn't the way to go in this situation. I need to start being honest at some point, right? "He's pretty mad. But he'll get over it."

"He's scary as hell, Paise," he laughs, putting his arm around me. "That was a really bad first impression. Please don't ever make me meet him officially."

"He needs to know how amazing you are," I say. "I know he knows you're a great guy, Harry. He was just shocked by what he saw. He's not usually scary, I promise!"

"I'm still not meeting him," he assures me.

"One day."

*

Christmas day is finally here, and the only reason I'm happy about it, is because it means we're leaving tomorrow. I've been debating if I even want to go to Vancouver or not, seeing how Dad's anger hasn't subsided, making Christmas Eve everything but a good one. He seems a bit more relaxed today, now that he's had a couple days to relax since he caught me making out with Harry, but I'm not sure if it's because it's Christmas and he doesn't want anything to ruin it, or if he's finally realized he was being a complete idiot about the whole thing. I'm hoping it's the latter, but I have a feeling that I'm wrong.

We're done opening presents, Dad and Rachel are in the kitchen working on what's supposed to be a fabulous dinner and I'm watching Edward Scissorhands in the living room with Jared. It's something we used to do every Christmas when we were kids, and I guess that tradition is being held, seeing as we're doing it again. 

When the doorbell rings, I walk slowly to the door, assuming it's going to be Dad's sister, my Aunt Sharon, who was invited for Christmas dinner. But to my surprise, it isn't who I thought it was. Instead, Harry is standing there. When he sees me, a dimpled smile forms on his face, probably relieved I answered the door and not Dad.

"Harry!" I say, surprised.

"Merry Christmas, love." He leans in to kiss me, pecking my lips quickly. "I wanted to bring you your present."

I frown, looking down at the wrapped box in his hands. "I thought we weren't exchanging gifts."

I really don't have a gift for him. If I knew in the slightest that he'd do this, I would have something for him. This is just awful and I feel myself grow hot at the thought I don't have anything to give him in return.

"Who's here, Paisley?" I hear Dad ask, and I turn around to see him walking into the foyer. "You." The look on his face shows how angry he is to see Harry standing there, and my heart sinks at the realization he's going to ruin this moment for us. "You need to leave. Now."

"I was just bringing Paisley's Christmas present over," Harry tells Dad. The weird thing about this moment, is that Harry sounds so calm telling my dad this, like the way Dad is looking at him right now, isn't phasing him in the slightest. I look between Harry and Dad with wide eyes, wanting to know what is going to happen next. Because with how calm and unafraid Harry seems, it can really go any which way, and I'm curious as to what Dad will have to say now.

"Like hell you're giving my daughter a present," Dad says, walking in front of me and taking the present from Harry. He shakes it next to his ear like a child, except he doesn't look excited like a child would. Just angry like a very over protective father of his daughter. "There's probably condoms in there."

"At least you'd know we're being safe," I joke. Clearly the wrong time to joke about something like that, because the look on Dad's face when he looks at me, says I'm not funny at all. I thought I was. I look at Harry who is trying not to laugh, but straightens up quickly when Dad looks back at him.

"It's not condoms, I can assure you, Mr. Hayes," Harry says, seriously. 

Dad's facial expression changes and he looks at Harry curiously, studying his face for what feels like a long time. Harry looks back and forth between Dad and I, confused as to why he's being stared at, and I watch as Harry's face turns slightly pink as he clears his throat, uncomfortably. 

"You look familiar," Dad finally says, not taking his eyes off of Harry. "Have we met before?"

"Not that I want to remind you of the other night, because—well, you know why—but we did meet," Harry answers.

"No," Dad turns him down. "From somewhere else. I know I've met you before."

Harry shakes his head with his eyebrows raised. "Maybe you've seen me in passing before. I do live not too far from here."

"Probably pictures, Dad," I cut in. "Now, can I open my present?"

This awkward moment needs to end. Dad needs to stop staring at Harry that way, because the last thing I want, is for Harry to leave feeling anything but happy. I'm proud that he showed up here, knowing that Dad was here, after saying he didn't want to meet him officially. This was a step that he didn't want to take, but he knew it was important to me.

I take the box from Dad's hands and look at Harry. "Is it okay to open it?" I ask.

Harry nods his head and smiles. "I got it for you when we were down at the harbor. I figured you could use it."

I take it out of the box, a smile crossing my face, seeing what it is, and holding it up for Dad to see. "See Dad. Not condoms! It's a dream catcher."

"I thought it would be good, so maybe your nightmares could go away," Harry explains.

The look on Dad's face says that he is nothing but surprised, because he knows that this present is really thoughtful and he is realizing that Harry isn't what he made him out to be. It's obvious that Harry and I know each other well, if he knows about my nightmares, and Dad's mind is going a mile a minute thinking about what has just happened.

"Thank you, Harry." I wrap my arms around him, holding him closely to me. I don't care what Dad thinks about him being in my arms, or the way Harry kisses my forehead. "I love it."

"A dream catcher?" Dad says under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "You know about her nightmares? You still have nightmares?"

"Only sometimes," I answer. "Not a lot anymore. But yes, he knows about them. Of course he does. I trust him. And you can too."

The mood in the room shifts when Dad's anger has noticeably subsided, when he looks between Harry and I. "I—I'm sorry. I just—I just don't trust anyone."

"Guess now I know where Paisley gets it from," Harry laughs. "It took me forever to get her to trust me."

"I was wrong about you, and I'm sorry," Dad tells Harry. "If Paisley can trust you, it says a lot. But I swear to God, if you hurt her, I will break you—no word of a lie."

"I don't doubt that for a second, Sir," Harry laughs.

Dad puts his hand out in front of Harry, and I watch as Harry takes it to shake his hand. "It's really nice to meet you, finally. I can see now that my daughter is in good hands with you. Be good to her. She puts up a good fight for you. I hope you're deserving."

"All I can do is try," Harry replies, looking at me. The smile on his face shows how proud he is of this moment he's just survived, and I can't help but smile back, knowing that once again, he's made everything in my world feel right again. I don't need to wonder how he does it. I just know that it's because he fits so perfectly in my life. He's the piece that was always missing. The piece that I always needed to feel whole, again.

**

A/N: Make sure to listen to the song at the top. Hedley - Wild Life. ☺☺ It's the song Harry plays while they dance on the beach.

A longer chapter for you! ☺Hope it wasn't boring. I'm finding with seeing more people read this, I'm starting to feel pressure to make sure it's  still good enough. I'm still very proud of myself for the way the story is unfolding, and there is still so much of it to tell, so I hope you'll stay with me, because big things will happen later! Things you will not want to miss! So hopefully you will stick around until then!

Also, I want to apologize if something in this chapter doesn't make sense. I wrote it while my 6 year old daughter was pretending to be in the olympics doing gymnastics all day, and my eyes were on her most of the time...lol

The support you guys have been giving me is breathtaking! I've read every single one of those 4K comments on this book, and I am literally floored at how much you guys are into it! So, please keep your comments coming, because I love them so so much! I'm happy to say I've only ever gotten 1 bad feedback the whole time, and that person's thoughts don't matter to me, because I have so many amazing things being said.

Karma has reached 13.2K reads and 2.2K votes and I cannot express to you how happy this makes me! In 2 days, it will be Christmas, making Karma 3 months old, and the last 3 months, I have lived for writing this book! Thank you to everyone who reads this, adds it to your reading lists, comments and votes! You have kept Karma going, and I can't thank you enough for believing in me to write this!

I love you!
Merry Christmas!

much love,
amberlove
xo