Carmen's POV

After I've showered and taken my time getting settled in my room I find myself almost aching with how much I miss Harry already. It hasn't even been a day. It hasn't even been twelve hours and I'm ready to cry. Well, most things about this situation make me want to cry. I've been hiding in this bedroom ever since I heard the boys come home. Nineteen years old and I'm hiding from children.

When I got out of the shower all I put on was some leggings and a crewneck sweater of Harry's. It's dark green and giant and it smells like him. He doesn't even know that I have it, I stole it from him last night when he wasn't in the room and stuffed it in my bag. He texted me back some profanities that expressed how impressed he was. This time I take a picture of myself in his sweater and send it to him. His response only takes seconds.

Harry: is that mine? thief.

I smile a little and text back a maybe. He sends back a giant text of emojis and then says he wishes he was here with me. I really wish he was, too. The sweater smells good, but he smells way better. Plus he always wants to cuddle and I could really use some of that right now.

A knock on my door startles me out of my daydreaming about Harry. "Yeah?" I call out.

"We're having dinner," Gale says through the doors.

"Oh. Okay, I'll be right out."

After a few calming breaths I force myself to leave the protection of the bedroom. My bare feet pad against the cool hardwood and when I reach the end of the hallway I feel completely underdressed. Dinner isn't usually a formal occasion for me, what with the takeout or eating alone. But they're all dressed...nice. Too nice. Todd is even wearing a tie. Thank goodness Gale is still wearing what she was before, but now she's wearing heels. And I feel like a homeless person.

"Sorry, umm...I should change."

"No!" Gale says. She shakes her head and walks over, placing her hand on my arm. "No, don't be silly. Todd is still dressed from work and the boys are in their school uniforms still."

"Are you sure?" I look like a fucking homeless person compared to these people. She nods and gives me an encouraging smile, ushering me towards the massive dining room table. One of the boys, the older of the two, is already sitting on the opposite side and my place setting seems to be next to the younger one, who is peering up at me with curious, big brown eyes.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi."

"Carmen, this is Jayden," Gale says, standing behind him with her hands on both his shoulders. "And over there, that's Evan. He's eight and Jayden is four."

"I'm almost five," he says, looking up at his mother. She smiles and taps his nose.

"That's right."

"Carmen." I turn towards the man and he extends his hand for me to shake. "I'm Todd, Gale's husband. It's great to meet you after all this time."

I shake his hand and we all stand there for a few minutes in silence. My fingers twiddle nervously in front of me and then Evan breaks the silence.

"Who are you?" he asks loudly. He doesn't seem too pleased with my presence, to be honest.

"Carmen," I tell him simply. He makes an angry face at me.

"Evan, I told you Carmen was a friend of mine and would be staying with us for a while," Gale says. She smiles apologetically at me. I was actually hoping she wouldn't tell the boys about them being my half-brothers. I didn't think it would happen.

"You're pretty," Jayden says. I smile small at him.

"Thanks, Jayden."

"Well, I'm starving," Todd says. He claps his hands together and goes to sit down. "Let's eat, shall we?"

For the first while all you hear is utensils hitting the plates and every time I look up from my plate I find Evan glaring at me. The boys have similar features but they're quite different. Evan has blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, but Jayden is dark. Dark brown eyes and chestnut brown hair. It reminds me of Harry's, actually. Just not quite so curly.

"You look like my Mom," Jayden says. I turn towards him with raised eyebrows and he peers up at me again from his seat, which makes him look tiny.

"You think?"

He nods. "Yeah. My Mom is pretty."

I smile at him and he goes back to his food, happily shovelling the pasta in his mouth. Gale is watching him with the typically motherly adoration on her face and it makes me a little jealous of that sweet little boy.

"Evan, how was school today?" Gale asks. He shrugs. "Did you do anything fun?"

"No. School isn't fun, Mom."

"Sometimes it can be."

He glares at me again and looks down at his plate. I don't know why the kid hates me, but it's a little wierd. And maybe a little frightening. His eyes are so bright blue...it's a little off-putting. And I don't understand why he's so angry with me.

"I like school," Jayden says. He looks at me again. "I'm in kindergarden."

"You just play!" Evan says.

"Nuh-uh." Jayden shakes his head at Evan and looks at me again. "I get to draw pictures and my teacher says I colour the goodest in my class."

"Best," Todd says. "You colour the best."

"Sometimes we get to use paint but that's not my favourite because I don't like getting so dirty."

"I don't like that either," I tell him quietly. He smiles widely and I can't help but smile back. "But I'm terrible at drawing."

"I show you mine," he says. "Drawing is my favourite."

"Okay."

"All he does is draw. He never wants to play hockey with me," Evan says, staring pointedly at Jayden. "Hockey is better than stupid pictures."

"Evan," Gale says. "Don't be rude. People like different things. Jayden is allowed to like to draw."

"How do you like school?" Todd asks, looking at me.

"Umm...it's okay. It's a lot of work."

"You're on the volleyball team, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

Todd smiles. "That's fantastic. I was varsity football at UCLA."

"Todd." Gale laughs and shakes her head. "Not the time for tales of the glory days."

"Sorry." He holds up a hand in surrender. "It's fun, that's all I'm saying."

"What are you wearing?" Evan asks me. I look at him with furrowed brows. "That looks like a boy's shirt."

"Evan," Gale says sternly.

"It is a boy's shirt," I say simply. He scrunches up his face.

"Why would you wear a boy's shirt?" Jayden asks innocently.

"Umm...he let me borrow it." Innocent enough.

"Why?" Jayden asks.

"Because." I shrug. "We're friends."

Jayden gets a confused look and goes back to his food. I can see the wheels turning his head to try to figure out what I just said to him. When I look at Gale she seems...pleased. And a little confused.

"Harry," I tell her. "You met him."

She nods. "I figured."

"Who's Harry?" Todd asks.

"A friend of Carmen's from school," Gale says. She smirks a little as she says it, hiding it a little behind her wine glass. "A fairly handsome friend from her school."

Todd smiles and I stare at my plate with heated cheeks. I didn't really expect to talk about Harry with them, but I guess I asked for it. I remain pretty quiet for the rest of the meal and when Sarah starts cleaning up everyone refuses to let me help her. I don't think I could ever have a housekeeper; I'd feel way too guilty letting someone else clean up after me.

"Do you want to watch Batman?" Jayden asks me. He stands from his chair and takes my hand. "I can show you where the TV is."

"Jayden, she's been travelling all day. Let her relax, she probably doesn't want to watch Batman," Gale says.

"Okay." Jayden frowns and walks away with his head hanging low. I smile small at Gale and jog over to the little boy, leaning down to pick up his hand again. His face lights up and it absolutely makes my day.

"Batman is my favourite," I whisper to him.

---

"There he is!" Jayden shouts, pointing to the TV. "That's the bad guy!"

"I know." I try not to laugh and he curls up against the back of the couch, putting his hands over his face and letting his eyes peak between his fingers. Something happens in the movie and he dives towards me, hiding his head behind my shoulder. For a moment my body tenses up, then I just let him hide and do whatever it is he's doing.

After another half hour Jayden is sound asleep with his head on my lap. He's the sweetest little boy I've ever met. Very different from his brother. My phone starts vibrating beside me and I smile at the goofy picture of Harry that appears with his call.

"Hello."

"Hey," Harry says, exhaling as he does. "How's it going?"

"I'm watching Batman with Jayden."

"Who's Jayden?"

"One of the boys. He's so cute."

"Bonding with the fam. That's good."

"I guess." I let out a small sigh and lean my head back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling. The only person I've ever missed this much is my father. But I've gotten used to missing him. Harry, on the other hand, is someone I'm used to seeing every day.

"Tell me something," he says finally.

"What kind of something?"

"Anything." He pauses again and I hear him shuffling around, probably in his bed. "Something I don't know."

"There's not much," I admit quietly. He knows me better than anyone. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I do.

"What are you wearing right now?"

"Harry, there's a four year old sleeping on my lap. We're not doing this right now."

"No," he laughs. "That's not what I meant. Does that mean we can do that later, though?"

"You're so annoying." He laughs again and I smile to myself at the sound. I miss him so much. "I'm still wearing your sweater, if that's what you meant."

He pauses and I hear him take a deep breath through the phone, imagining him pushing his fingers through his mess of curls. "You're trying to make me miss you more, aren't you?"

"Want to know a secret?" I ask quietly.

"Always."

"I wish you came here with me." I hear him sigh again and I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath before I start crying. I'm a mess.

"I would have come, Carmen. You know that. But you didn't ask. I figured you wanted to go on your own."

"Too late now, I guess." Gale comes into the room and sits on the other side of Jayden. "I have to go, Harry."

"Yeah, okay."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. I lo-" He pauses and my eyes go wide, neither of us speaking for a moment before he clears his throat. "Goodnight, Carmen."

"Goodnight," I mutter. I hang up the phone and stare at it for a moment. What the hell was he going to say there?

"Everything okay?" Gale says, startling me and reminding me that she's here.

"Umm..yeah. I think so."

"He warmed up to you fast." She smiles at Jayden. "Your his new favourite person."

"He's adorable."

"I'm sorry about Evan. He doesn't like new people, but he'll be better in a day or two."

"It's fine. It can't be easy to have a stranger living in his house." I shrug. "I'll be fine."

She gently wakes the sleeping boy, his groggy eyes barely opening before he holds out his arms for her to pick him up. Gale says goodnight to me and disappears up the stares and out of sight. Part of me wants to call Harry back and ask about that call and ask him to come and tell him that I don't want to be without him anymore, but of course I don't.

When I crawl into bed my mind is racing. Suddenly it feels like there's so much happening in my life and I don't know how to deal with it all. Liam and I haven't spoken much since we had that fight about Harry and now I really miss my best friend. It's hard not having someone to talk to when there's so much going on around me.

Notes

jayden is going to be the best. i already love him.

love you peoples