I didn't remember exactly how I had ended up where I was, but somehow I had arrived at a park next to a school a little ways away from my house. I sat on a bench, staring unseeingly at the ground in front of me. It was cold out, and the wind that whipped across my face was unforgiving, but I didn't care. I couldn't go home, and I couldn't go to Harry's, so the park bench it was.

This last week had been incredibly stressful, and it seemed to all have come to a point today. My parents were getting divorced, and Harry had, however small, at least some part in that. Neither he nor my father had been able to tell me what was said between them, but I couldn't ignore what my dad had said at breakfast.

After talking with Harry....

It was the phrase that had haunted me since the moment he uttered it. I couldn't decide what I was more upset about: my parents getting divorced, or the fact that Harry played some part in it, and I hated myself for that. Surely any normal child would care more about their parents getting divorced than something their boyfriend might have done, but my heart felt torn in two, hurting equally for both offenses.

Besides, Harry was so much more than a boyfriend to me. I had known that for a while now. And while this had made me angry and upset with him, it didn't change how I felt. Of course I still loved him with everything I had- there was nothing he could ever do to change that- but it hurt.

It cut me deeply that he was capable of saying something to damage our relationship when it wasn't even said to me. If he said it once, would he say it again? If my parents were able to stop loving each other, would Harry be able to stop loving me?

The thought terrified me more than anything that had happened up until right now. So much so that I almost jumped up from my bench and ran back to him, but I restrained myself. I needed to calm down, to think things through, and really acknowledge my feelings before I went back and tried to talk to him. I didn't want to say anything else I regretted and couldn't take back.

My body was getting very chilled at this point, thanks to the wind and my lack of movement. My mind shifted back to my parents, wondering what they were doing now that I had left them alone moments after they announced their impending divorce. Were they still both at home, or had my dad left already?

It occurred to me that he hadn't actually said that he would be the one to leave, but I knew it would be the case. My mom's job was here, our house was here, and I went to school here, while my dad's job was basically everywhere. In a way, it was like they had already been divorced, just without the emotional scarring that came along with it.

Maybe I would be able to handle this, after all. I knew if I was going to be able to handle it, though, I would need Harry, and at the moment I was still too angry to go to him. It would take me a long time to forgive this. My heart felt as cold as the rest of my body.

"Joey." I jumped at the sound of my voice, not expecting anyone to find me here. It had come directly from my right. How I hadn't heard him approach was a mystery to me, although I had probably been too wrapped up in my thoughts to really notice anything.

"Dad," I said, taking in his appearance.

"Can I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the open end of the bench.

"Sure." He crossed the small space and lowered himself to sit next to me.

"Here," he said, handing me a jacket. He must have noticed I'd run off without one. I stared at it for a second before accepting it and pulling it over my arms. I didn't thank him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I stopped myself from glaring at him. "No."

He took a deep breath, and I could feel him studying me from the side. "I hate to say it, Joey, but it really be for the best."

What a stupid cliché. I don't know what exactly he thought of me, but he should know I wasn't that stupid. "Okay, dad," I said flatly, sarcasm evident.

"I mean it," he pressed, trying to make eye contact with me. "It will be... we'll both be happier without having to pretend anymore."

I swallowed, my throat feeling like it was twice its normal size. I remained silent.

"It will be better," he said, rephrasing what he had already said. Again I didn't say anything. "I'm surprised you're not with Harry," he said suddenly, a pang of hurt striking my chest.

I couldn't stop the pain I was feeling from reflecting on my face at the mention of his name. "I can't stop thinking about what he could have possibly said to make you... for you to decide... for this to happen," I said, struggling to find the appropriate words.

"What? Joey, honey, this isn't Harry's fault," my dad said earnestly. This time I glanced at him, noting his face before averting my eyes quickly. He looked sincere, concerned.

"But you said after you talked with him... you decided to get divorced," I explained, not getting why he wasn't seeing my logic.

"No, well yes, I did decide after we talked, but it wasn't....it's not what you... what he said really... touched me and really made me think," he said vaguely. "He didn't suggest we get divorced, if that's what you're thinking."

I wasn't exactly sure what it was I had been thinking, but I supposed it was something along those lines. Why else would my father decide to do what he did? Harry must have helped the idea along some how.

"So what did he say, then?" I held my breath as I turned to face my dad, preparing myself to finally hear the words that had changed so much.

My dad looked at me intently, eyes focused on my face. He took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Joey, that boy really loves you."

My heart beat guiltily. Of course I knew that, but it was so hard thinking he had something to do with this. Yet again, I remained silent, allowing my father to continue.

"The way he talks about you... I don't know, he just lights up, and you can just tell you mean the world to him. He was talking about how if you love someone, you do everything you can to make it work, and it was blatantly obvious he meant you. He would do anything for you. Hell, he came and tried to talk to me, who he barely knows anymore and hasn't seen in years, and tried to save my marriage for you," he said, letting out a soft chuckle at the end.

My heart had started pounding as my father spoke, and I sucked in a breath that I had deprived myself of throughout the speech. Harry had told my father all that? I was deciding how to respond when he started speaking again.

"He told me how he can't stand to go a day without seeing you and how you've done so much for him. He said he's so in love with you that it physically hurts when you're not around."

I had to swallow three times before I was able to reply. "He... he said all that?" I couldn't believe he had spoken so eloquently about his feelings, to my father no less.

My dad nodded earnestly, pressing his lips together. "That's what Harry said to me. He said a love like that is worth fighting for. And that's what made me realize your mother and I won't work." He paused and sighed. "The way Harry feels about you... I haven't felt that with your mother in years. Honestly, I don't know if I've ever loved her as much as Harry loves you."

My heart, which had been frozen and ready to shatter mere moments ago, now felt like it was on fire. If what my dad was saying was true, and I was pretty sure it was, Harry deserved none of what I had just accused him of and put him through. Guilt flooded through me instantly, devouring every cell in my body.

Harry had bravely told my father how much he loved me, trying to inspire my father to feel the same about my mother, doing exactly what I had asked of him and more, and I had gotten angry with him.

Worse, I had practically placed the sole blame on him for my parents deciding to get divorced. Resting my elbows on my knees, I leaned forward and buried my face in my hands, palms of my hands pressing into my eye sockets.

I have the most perfect boyfriend in the entire world, and I did this to him.

What is wrong with me?

I am an asshole.

I pressed on my eyes until I saw little white spots in the field of black, vaguely hearing my father repeat my name.

"What?" I asked distractedly, trying to pull myself back out of my head.

"I said, you need to go to him," he replied, clearly repeating himself from before.

"I blamed him for this," I said, trying to justify why I shouldn't. He just shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, he'll forgive you. I already told you, that boy loves you more than what's even comprehensible." He sounded so extremely sure of himself, I started to believe it myself.

I still couldn't believe all the amazing things Harry had said to my father. My heart pounded at the thought as a smile stretched across my lips, feeling foreign but wonderful after a day of sulking. Harry loved me enough say all that, surely he loved me enough to forgive me, just as my father had said.

I stood up suddenly, taking my father aback before he quickly recovered and stood as well. Pushing my hair out of my face, I looked at my dad one. In a sudden burst of appreciation that surely was one hundred percent to due with Harry's words and nothing my father had done, I hugged him tightly, wrapping my arms around his neck and squeezing.

For a split second, he just stood there before realizing what I was doing and responding, hugging me back. When he pulled back, he actually looked happy- happier than I had seen him the entire time he had been home.

"Go get him," he said, grinning at me. I felt relief washing through me: relief at finally finding out what Harry had said, relief that my father appeared to be happy, and relief that, no matter how small, we seemed to be taking steps towards rebuilding our relationship that had crumbled over the last few years.

"Thanks, dad," I said, smiling softly at him.

"Don't thank me, thank your boyfriend," he said sincerely. "Now go!" He waved his hands at me, shooing me away. My smile grew a little wider as I obliged, turning and positively sprinting back to Harry's house only a few blocks away. The pounding in my chest made me feel like my heart was about to escape, and it only pushed me faster.

The sooner I got to Harry and explained myself, the sooner I could be reunited with him, and the sooner I could continue to be happier with him than I had ever been in my entire life.