Let's Pretend [Niall Horan]

Chapter 32

-Harry-


••Feb 4, 2013••

"H-Harry, Payton just gave me papers to legally sign Max over to me. I can't raise a kid Harry. I-I can't."

My eyes widened as I stood up from the table, my hands trembling oh so slightly that I knew as a fact that no one else could notice.

"Okay, take a deep breath," I said instinctually. I've known Aria for years and I knew when big things like this happened, she always freaked out and had panic attacks, even when they probably weren't necessary. When we were only 12, Aria and I were in the park near our home. Like usual, we were just running around playing tag and chatting. But as we walked around the pond, we noticed three little boys... Probably the same age as us. They were standing in a circle throwing something red around. This completely took our attention and as we neared them, we noticed it was not a toy they were tossing around but actually a red bird. This little bird was obviously injured, since it did not try to fly away. Instead it was just in a little ball as the three rascal children continued on throwing it and occasionally dropping the poor bird. Aria, being such a big hearted person, of course stood up for the bird, yelling at the three boys, and grabbing the bird in her arms as she ran back over to me. I, of course, did not even move a muscle as I just hysterically watched three boys run scared from my best friend, who was a girl. (And for boys to be scared of a girl at this age was just too funny. Especially three boys verses one girl!) When Aria reached me, she said that she would do anything to save this bird's life. The bird, which was not in the best condition after being tossed around like a baseball, barely moved a muscle as Aria took off her cardigan and wrapped it around the poor bird. Less than 5 minutes later, as Aria and I sat on the bench, the bird started to hop away, much stronger than we had found it. But as it hopped away, it tried to fly, and ironically it fell directly in the middle of the only small pond in the whole entire park and immediately drowned to death. Aria started freaking out, trying to save it, but knowing that she couldn't swim, and that it was too cold for her to even attempt it, she just sat there and cried. The tears soon became something more. And she had, the first panic attack that I have experienced with her. – This is why it was so surprising to me when she had told me that she was studying to become a psychologist. She did not like to hear tragic stories, nor did she like to help people though them.

"Okay," I could hear her take the longest deep inhale and exhale.

"Think about who's been raising Max this whole time?" I paused, only for a second, "You have, Aria." I answered my own question.

Silence.

"And you've been doing a great job at it, A." I said slowly not fully knowing if that was even a fact about Max, since Aria and I didn't speak too much when she came to visit. But from her silence I just assumed so.

"Yeah, but I can't raise him alone!" I could hear her crying. I knew it shouldn't have been something I should have found kind of cute, but it was. It had been quite a long bit since I was the one she called when she cried.

"Aria, soon it won't be alone. You're getting married, remember? You can raise Max with–,"

"No! I lied! I am not getting married! Harry, I can't do this alone! I need to finish school and, and, and, Harry..."

The thought kept on replaying in my mind, as if it was a broken record that I couldn't physically or mentally stop. Not only have I spoken to Aria for the first time since we had our falling out but, this was also the first time that she had seemed to remember the past that we used to share. I thought that she had forgotten us.