Carmen's POV

I really hate airports. Like, really hate them. At least this time it's me getting on a plane and not my Dad but still. I don't like it. I don't like being here at all, there's too many bad memories. There's a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me think this might be an addition. I guess it could be a good one but...that doesn't seem to be the trend in my life. Harry keeps telling me to be positive. I'm trying, but it's not easy.

"Just...just one more minute," I murmur, staring out the window at the airport. I hear a seatbelt unbuckle and Harry slides across the seat, his arm moving around my shoulders.

"I know you're nervous," he says quietly. "But Lou needs to move the car. We aren't supposed to park here."

I feel his lips through my hair and take a deep breath, nodding slightly to acknowledge what he said to me. Slowly but sure my seatbelt unclicks and Harry reaches across me to push the door open.

"Thanks, Louis." I smile small at him and he turns around.

"Good luck, kid. Take a picture of Oprah's house for us."

"Make a loop. I'll call you when I'm out," Harry says. He climbs out of the car after me and walks around to the back to get my bags while I stare up at the stupid airport. Airports are the worst. The absolute worst.

"Okay?" Harry takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Okay."

He takes a step forward and starts tugging me towards the doors with my luggage in his other hand. When the doors slide open my stomach jumps into my throat and I feel the beginnings of a panic attack coming on.

People walk every which way around us, little children screaming and running around while parents tend to them. Older couples look on disapprovingly and the airport employees do their best to maintain some kind of order. Everything is muted, like I've got earmuffs on or something. While Harry and I wait in line to check my luggage I find myself wishing the line was longer, just like when I bring my Dad here.

"You have your carry-on?" Harry asks. I nod. He squeezes my hand again and we move a little closer than before. "Passport?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

"Okay. Do you need some money? I have some cash if you need-"

"No, Harry. I don't need money from you." I almost laugh but I don't want to be mean. Harry nods and I squeeze his hand back this time. "I don't...I just want you here."

He smiles and pulls me closer, lifting his arm around my shoulders. He pulls us forward and I wrap my arms around his middle to make sure he doesn't get too far. It's terrifying how much I've come to depend on this boy. It's exactly what I didn't want and exactly what I needed. Our relationship may be complicated, but Harry is the only stable thing in my life.

Once we've made it through the queue and got my bags checked in, Harry leads me towards the entrance for security. He won't be able to go through security since he's not coming with me. It seemed like a good idea at the time...now I'm wondering why the hell I didn't get him a ticket too.

"Do you want to get some breakfast?" I ask Harry.

"Shouldn't you go through?"

"I have time." Before he can reason with me I take his hand and tug him towards the small cafe in this area of the airport. The old woman behind the counter reminds me of Marla, and when the middle-aged man in front of us begins to get irritated with her I feel my protective instincts start to kick in. Harry laughs a little and tugs me closer to him. I could kick someones ass for sure.

"He was rude," I tell the woman when it's our turn. "People like that suck."

She laughs and waves her hands. "People are always grumpy in the airport. What can I get for you?"

We end up getting our coffees for free and when our food is ready she slides a cookie onto our tray. Being nice to people is so much easier than being rude. It costs nothing and it makes their day better, so why not? There's a little smirk on his face when we sit down but I don't bother asking what he's happy about.

Suddenly I can't think of anything to say. My nerves for the trip I'm about to take are on full throttle and now I can't remember why I didn't ask him to come with me. To be honest it was a little disappointing that he didn't offer to come with me. That would be the most Harry-like thing to do and when he didn't I just figured he didn't want to come. But Harry has become my security blanket and now that he's not coming I'm not really sure how to do this.

"Hey." He slides his hand over mine. "Relax."

"Easier said than done."

"You're going to be fine." He smiles and starts gathering up his trash. "If you don't go through soon you'll miss your flight."

"Right."

The pounding in my chest rings through my ears and my feet feel heavy as lead while Harry leads me towards security. I know he's trying to be supportive and I'm thankful for that, but for some reason he seems to eager for me to leave. He's too okay with it. When he stops I know it's my turn to leave and I really, really don't want to let go of his hand.

"Carmen, I need you to try to relax. You're stressing me out, I don't want to be worried about you having a panic attack on the plane." He puts his arms around me, pulling me tight against his chest. "You're going to be fine. Gale has a car service at the airport for you in Santa Barbara and then you're going to have an amazing week, okay?"

"Promise?" I whimper, my throat tightening. He pulls away and places his hands on either side of my face.

"Promise." His eyes roam my face for a moment and he sighs as he presses his lips to my forehead. "But I'm going to miss you."

"Promise?" My eyes close and his breath fans my skin before he tilts my face up towards his. His expression is serious, like he's insulted that I would even question what he just said to me. This is ridiculous. I'm leaving for a week, I shouldn't be this upset to be leaving Harry.

"Yeah," he says finally. "That's a fucking promise."

He bends towards me and suddenly stops, our lips so close they're almost touching. Harry hesitates, though, and looks into my eyes. This is what we said we weren't going to do, but who cares about the rules anyway?

My chin tilts up to his and Harry holds my lips against his for a good few minutes. His shirt is gathered tightly in my hands like I'm holding onto him for dear life and when he stops kissing me I hug him so tight he might not be able to breathe.

"I'll see you in a week," I mumble against his shoulder. I feel him nod against my neck and slowly loosen my hold on him. It's just one week.

"Call me when you land, okay?" I nod and take a tiny step back. "Call me whenever you need to."

"Trust me, I will."

"Okay." He kisses my forehead again and picks up my bag from the floor where I apparently dropped it. "Good luck."

A small laugh leaves my mouth and he smiles at me. I wish I could take a picture of that smile because it makes me forget everything I'm scared of. Before I can beg him to come with me I kiss his cheek and turn around to walk towards security. Before I step through the doors I look back and wave at Harry, receiving a small one back and a smile that is burned into my mind.

---

The wheels of my suitcase seem louder than everyone else's as they pass over each space between the tiles of the airport floor. There's rows of people waiting in the arrivals section of the airport and my eyes scan the boards for one that reads my name. A man in a black suit is the winner, white beard and hair and a friendly smile. He reminds me a little bit of my grandfather.

"Are you Miss Lewis?" he asks as I step up to him.

"Carmen." I shake his hand and he smiles wider at me.

"I'm Gordon. So good to meet you, miss. Miss Gale is so pleased to have you in California. Your flight was pleasant?"

"Umm...yeah." I try to smile at him but when he says Gale's name my stomach twists into a million knots. "Thanks."

"The car is just this way." He gestures for me to follow and I fall into step behind him after refusing to let him pull my suitcase for me. He tells me all about the weather this time of year and the temperature of Gale's pool and how perfect it is; he must be close with her family if he knows about the pool. He probably thinks I'm incredibly rude, but all I can think about is why I'm here and what I'm about to do. Why didn't I ask Harry to come?

"Do you mind if I make a call first?" I ask as he holds the door open. The door of a limo, may I add. He nods and I hold the phone to my ear. Harry picks up after the first ring.

"Hey," he says. He let's out a breath. "I was starting to worry."

"It took forever to get my bags."

"Oh. Are you there?"

"We're about to leave the airport." When it's clear Gordon is already in the car I continue. "I'm about to ride in a fucking limo."

"A limo?" He laughs. "Holy shit."

"It's ridiculous. Her house is like...ten minutes from the airport. Why do I need a limo? Is she trying to impress me? Because-"

"Carmen, relax. This is clearly just the lifestyle they live, she probably didn't mean anything by it."

I take a deep breath and lean against the car. "I'm really nervous."

"I know, baby. You're going to be fine, though. Take a deep breath and get in that limo and go see your family."

Are they my family, though? "Yeah. Okay. I'll call you later."

"I'll be waiting."

Once I slide into the limo it feels like I've stepping through a portal to another world, one where I definitely don't belong. Gordon tells me when we'll be at the house and I simply nod as he pulls away from the airport. The palms of my hands start to feel sticky and my heart drums nervously while I wait. Slowly but surely the houses get larger and larger, each one more luxurious than the last. My baggy ripped jeans and plain white t-shirt seem like a bad choice as I feel more and more out of place. Which is exactly the way I expected to feel, to be honest.

Gordon pulls into a drive and stops in front of large iron gates. Outside his open window he reaches for a pinpad and types in a code. The large gates slowly start to swing open and he makes his way though. The long drive is lined with blossoming trees and if I wasn't so terrified I would be amazed with how beautiful this place is.

Then the house comes into view. If you could even call it that, because it definitely is not a normal house. It's a large u-shape, one of the long extensions fully lined with garage doors. there's a fountain in the middle and when I step out of the car my mouth falls open. The other side is lined with windows, probably family or entertaining space. The front doors are huge and wooden and the house is a mixture of modern design with vintage aspects and it's completely gorgeous.

"This is her house?" I manage to choke out. Gordon chuckles.

"Yes." He leans towards me and says quieter, "I think it's a bit much, but to each their own."

I've decided that I like Gordon.

He starts pulling my suitcase towards the door and I assume I'm supposed to be following him so that's what I do. A nervous throwing up kind of feeling crawls through my stomach and when we step up to the doorway I'm not really sure what to do. He gives me an encouraging smile, probably noting the look of terror on my face and then pushes the door open.

"I thought I heard the gates!"

My head spins to the side when I hear Gale's voice. She's dressed much more casually than when I last saw her, dark blue jeans and a black long sleeve cotton shirt. She smiles wide at me and clasps her hands in front of her while she comes towards us.

"I'm so glad you're here," Gale says. She seems like she's going to hug me for a moment, then thinks better of it and stays at arms length. "Thank you for getting her home, Gordon. The trip was good?"

"Yeah," I say quietly. "Fine."

"Great. Gordon, will you be joining us for dinner?"

"No, Ma'am. Thank you, but I should get home. Let me know if you need anything else."

They exchange a few words as she shows him out and then the massive would door is shut again. Even though the space is massive I feel a little claustrophobic. Gale places her hand on my arm and starts walking through the house.

"If you want a tour I'd be happy to show you around the house. Or just to your room for now if you'd like."

"Just my room is fine." She nods and leads me past the grandest kitchen I've ever seen. I don't get a good look before we're past it and into a wide hallway.

"This is your wing," she explains.

"My what?"

"Well...when we built the house I wanted to make sure there was space for you." She smiles at me and shrugs. "Just in case."

Definitely wasn't expecting that. She opens a set of french doors and steps through, explaining that this is the bedroom. But it's not a bedroom, it's a house of its own. There's a bed in the middle of the wall on the left with tables on either side and a bench at the foot. On the far wall there's a large flat-screen TV and a large couch in front of it, an adjacent reclining chair and table. The last wall as another set of double doors, and there's another door next to the one I'm standing in with my jaw hitting the floor.

"Do you like it?" I nod and Gale walks forward to the other doors. "This is your bathroom. I've already filled with towels and all that, but I wasn't sure what kind of products you use so we can go shopping for that if you need."

I don't think I can handle looking at it, and when I don't walk forward her expression falters slightly. She walks towards me again and points to the doors to my left. "That's your closet. There's some things from us in there for storage but I can get them out of there if they're in your way."

"I think I'll be fine." I jump slightly when a small woman appears next to me, walking straight into the room with my suitcase.

"Carmen, this is Sarah, the housekeeper. If you need anything just ask." Gale explains. Sarah smiles at me and walks out without another word. "She's a quiet little thing. Anyway, I'll let you get settled. Todd is getting the boys from school and then we're all going to have dinner. Does that sound okay?"

Completely overwhelming, is what it is. This isn't what I was expecting at all. Gale is acting far too normal and it feels like she almost...it's like she thinks I'm moving in. Permanently.

"Okay," I agree. I try to smile but I know it's too forced. "Thank you."

"I'm so happy you came," she says, standing in front of me again. "Really, Carmen. You have no idea how much this means to me."

When she realizes I have nothing to say to that she pats my arm agin, leaving me on my own in this giant thing she calls a bedroom. To be honest I was expecting her to be uncomfortable and unsure as I am, but that clearly is not the case. She's excited. Too excited. It's hard to be angry with someone that's this happy to see you.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and take a picture of the room to send to Harry. Before he can respond I shut the doors and toss my phone on the bed, moving towards the bathroom with my stuff. I need to try to relax if I'm going to get through this looming family dinner.

Notes

so...harry didnt go with her. i havent decided if the next one is going to be a harry pov or not. i could do it but idk...it would be a filler kind of because her being at her moms house is the more important part right now lol. anyway.

its starting to get really cold. its not fun times.

let me know what you think :)