Chapter sixteen
*Alyson's P.O.V.*
I sat in the bathroom, quietly sobbing into my hands. He was here, I heard shouting coming from the front room. When it ceased, I could hear footsteps come quickly down the hall. Harry. He stopped in front of the door. I slowly tip-toed to it, placing my hand on the white oak as he started to speak.
"Aly...Baby girl it's me. Please.. Please let me see you. Please let it be you." He said into the door. I squeezed my eyes shut and gasping in a gulp of air. "Aly... Aly please." He begged. The rasp was there. The rasp in his voice I loved and longed for so much. I clicked the lock open and shuffled backward, facing the opposite direction. The door slowly opened behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut again, letting fresh tears drip out. I heard Harry crumple to the floor behind me and start to sob. I turned to face him. His chocolate curls were darker. His arms bigger.
But he was still mine.
I went over to him, pulling his chin up from his hands. His eyes stayed closed. I kissed his lips. The lips I missed so much. The lips that made my pain go away and my mind go numb. The lips that could always make me feel safe. The lips that were still mine after all these years. Harry cupped one of his huge hands behind my neck, kissing me more desperately. Like it was the only thing keeping him alive. I pulled away hesitantly, praying just to see those emerald green orbs I left behind. He unveiled them to me. They scanned over my face, soon connecting with mine. The shock was still there, as were the goosebumps.
"Alyson." He breathed. He pulled my body into his. The safety I always had when he held me was still there.
"Harry, I love you. I love you so much. I'm so sorry." I said into the crook of his neck. He pulled away from our embrace. I saw his face. He pulled something out of his pocket. The note. Clara wasn't lying. He really did carry this around.
"I'm so sorry Harry..." I said. He looked back up, into my eyes.
"Why did you leave me?" He asked.
"I left because I didn't want Mel and I to ruin your career." He was confused by her nickname. His face lit up as he figured it out.
"What is her name?" He asked.
"Melanie Lynn Rose."
*Harry's P.O.V.*
Melanie. I had a baby girl. I had Alyson back. But this time, I wouldn't let either of them go without a fight.
"When is her birthday?" I asked.
"July 23rd, at 8:22am." She said. Aly reached into her pocket and pulled out three photographs. She handed them to me.
"The first is Mel and I the day she was born." She said. Melanie was so small. She was so beautiful. Just like her mum. "The second is on Mel on her second birthday." She laughed. Melanie sat with pink and white frosting on her cheeks and nose, and it plastered her fingers. She was laughing and smiling, with my little dimples in her cheeks. "The last one was about a week and a half ago. That's her best friend, our dog Bear." Bear was a very big dog. He lay upside down on Melanie's' lap as Mel stuck out her tongue to him, holding out her ears like a little monkey. I smiled. This was my daughter.
"Why did you come back now? Why not a month ago? Or three years ago? Why now?" I asked her. The bright smile faded from her perfect lips. She looked down at her hands when she started to speak.
"I came back now, to help you remember who you were. Clara and the lads have all said that things with you were getting awfully bad. I thought that if you saw me again, and saw what Mel was like, then you would pull yourself out of this hole. Become the person you were before me." She said. She wasn't planning on staying. She was going to leave me again. I wouldn't let that happen. Not again.
"Aly, I can't let you go. I've become nothing without you. You can't just come here then disappear for, god knows how long again! I need you here Al. Please. Please don't leave me again." I pleaded. She had a look of sadness and confusion and frustration plastering her face. "Aly, I love you. I love you so much. More than you know. If you leave again, I'll become nothng more than a piece of bothersome dust. Please." I grabbed her hands in mine, something she had always loved. I held them in mine, watching her every expression. I couldn't let her go again. I was not going to lose her after I just got her back. I would convince her. And she would stay.
