Reina [HS]

epilogue 4

5 years later

"You're nervous."

The tapping of my fingers came to a halt at Elizabeth's words, and I gripped onto the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white.

"I'm okay." I brushed it off with a clear of my throat, forcing a smile.

Elizabeth knew me way better than to believe the bullshit that was coming out of my mouth though, and so she wasted no time before trying again.

"Harry," she turned her head to face me, a stern look in her eyes. "Just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

I sighed at that, already knowing I'd give in even if she wasn't exactly pushing me.

Because that's what we did. Sometimes talking to one another felt like the easiest thing in the entire world, and at other times we needed a little nudge. This was one of those other occasions.

When I'd literally rather crawl out of my skin than to open up about the fact that I was worried. Afraid. Scared.

Terrified, really.

Of what? I wasn't exactly sure. The thought of seeing your own daughter shouldn't make you feel like you might have a heart attack at any given second and yet...

Here I was. My heart beating so fast I was scared it would jump out of my chest, pearls of sweat forming at my hairline since the moment I got into the car, and my throat so tight I could barely breathe anymore.

It was hell, feeling like this.

I didn't really understand the reason behind all these wild emotions coursing through me and at the same time, my fear seemed valid enough.

"It's—" I started, but the words got stuck in my throat. Swallowing down a good deal of anxiety, I started again. "Do you think she's going to be mad at me?"

I turned my head to the side for a second, only to see a deep frown edged between Elizabeth's eyebrows.

"Why would she be mad at you?"

"Because I missed her birthday."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but then immediately closed it again. An awkward silence filled the car for the next few seconds and again, I wanted to die of how uneasy I felt.

"That wasn't your fault." She then mumbled and I rolled my eyes at that.

"Yeah, well... I still missed it, didn't I?"

Silence again.

Four days ago, Rosie had turned five years old. She had a big birthday party, with all of her little friends, her aunts and uncles, her godparents and her favourite grandma Anne.

And I wasn't there. I was in Spain - stuck at the airport - because of some huge storm that prevented me from getting on a plane and flying home.

I was devastated and very angry when after the cancellation of my flight and hours of waiting, they finally told me that there would be no more planes flying out that day. I drove back to the hotel with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart, where I was greeted by an empty room.