Harper's POV

The week leading up to Angelo's fathers birthday was a strange one. Angelo wasn't himself, and I had no idea how to cheer him up. I had only done a few shifts at Opal since we had visited my parents and grandad at the cemetery however even though he was struggling with his father's up and coming birthday he was there every single night, and I was grateful for that. 

It was starting to get closer to Christmas, and I found my mind wondering too whether or not I should get Angelo a Christmas present or not, of course, people who are friends buy each other gifts at Christmas, but I didn't want him to think he was obliged to get me one.

Thursday morning was just like any other apart from the fact I was visiting Angelo's childhood home in less than 6 hours to visit the resting place of both of his parents , I had exhausted myself the night before trying to revise but my mind kept drifting back to Angelo who was more than likely shut away in his penthouse with his only companion being a bottle of scotch or whiskey. 

I desperately wanted to text him I even got as far as opening up our texts but my fingers were stuck hovering over the screen , I could never think of the right words to say and I knew he'd be fed up of the standard are you okay ? and the I'm here if you need me bullshit. So instead I buried myself in hours of English and math revision until my brain went numb and could no longer process even the simplest equation.

Walking to school, I had time to think about what I was going to do today; I had no idea whether I should bring flowers or how to act, this wouldn't be like visiting my parents and grandad who I had a connection too. Besides them and my grandad I had never visited anyone else who had passed away before, the thought overwhelmed me slightly, but I knew I had to do this for him, he needed me, and I promised I'd be there for him and I had no intention of letting him down.

Thankfully I didn't have a full day in school to contend with but I may or may not have told Angelo that I didn't finish till 2 and to pick me up at my nans house. It was only a minor lie , due to the Christmas break approaching there was only so much of the curriculum the teachers could go through due to our exams starting so soon after we got back from the holidays so more often than not they'd let us go early for 'personal study time'. I had to cover my mouth with my hands when the teachers had first announced that to the class , if I Harper Dawson wasn't even using our personal study time as it was intended I'd bet my left kidney that the rest of the class weren't either.

When the bell rang at one o'clock I made my way out of the school and towards the gates , November had ended a only a few days ago but the scenery had changed drastically , the leaves on the tree's had almost disappeared and the clouds had turned grey , I hoped that it would snow properly this year. I was fed up of the slight coating we usually got that melted and turned into ice , I wasn't the most coordinated person In the world and walking on ice wasn't one of my specialities and it usually resulted in multiple bruises.

"Nan are you home?" I shouted as I walked through the front door, throwing my bag down and kicking off my vans, I waited for a few seconds and just as I hoped there was no answer. Since she had begun dealing with what had happened with my grandad, she had become somewhat of a social butterfly and had reconnected with her old friends from bingo. 

I was glad she was getting out more I didn't like her being stuck in the house on her own and it also meant that when I wanted to go out more often than not she wouldn't be home to ask 21 questions about where I was going and who was I going out with.

I ran upstairs to my room and turned the shower on. I walked back into my room and pulled out a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. Making my way back into the bathroom, I threw my hair up into a bun and stepped into the warm running water. After a quick freshen up, I felt less nervous; it was like the warm water could wash my stress and worries down the drain. I didn't have much time to get ready, so I opted for light makeup and running my straighteners through my hair. 

I knew as soon as Angelo saw me he'd see that I had changed out of what I wore to school, but I didn't care, I wasn't going to visit his parent's gravesite looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge.

Grabbing a pair of nude stockings from my draw I began getting ready , just as I was buttoning my blouse my phone vibrated.

To: Harper

From: Angelo

I'm on my way; I'll be 5 minutes

I wished that he had given me something to indicate how he was feeling about today, but there was nothing just a simple text. I placed my phone back down on my bed and started the task of trying to tame my mop of hair. Thankfully I had already done my make-up, and I could devote my last few minutes trying to sort it out. Fortunately, it doesn't take too long, just as I slip on my black ballet flats my phone buzzes.

To: Harper

From: Angelo

I'm outside

My nerves kick back in instantly, I've never been good at consoling people when they're unhappy, and I blame my lack of social skills for that. Grabbing a small black bag, I make my way downstairs quickly writing a note to my nan to let her know that I've gone out and I'd be back later, grabbing the house keys from by the front door I make my way over to Angelo's car.

"You look smart" Angelo comments as soon as I get in beside him, shit he knows I lied.

I looked over at him; I was pleasantly surprised to see him smiling back at me. He probably found my flustered state hilarious but was too polite to sit there and laugh at me.

" I finished school earlier than I thought, I didn't want to show up today looking like a tramp" I decided telling the truth was the best. I only got a small smile for a reply.

Most of the journey was made in silence. I wanted nothing more than to bombard Angelo with questions about where he used to live as a child. What the house was like and when was the last time he visited but I knew due to the circumstances in which he was visiting that it wouldn't be the best idea I ever had.

Just over half an hour later the scenery started to change, we were no longer in the city but driving through the country. I hadn't been out of London for a while since neither my nan or grandad could drive. I was in awe everything surrounding the car was open fields and hedges I wondered what this place would look like in the summer when everything would be lush and green.

"My father's house is 10 minutes away" this was this first time Angelo had spoken for almost 40 minutes, his face was deadpan giving nothing away about how he was feeling.

"Angelo , are you okay?" I turned to look at him hoping that I could get him to open up to me even a little bit. " I don't know how I feel , I haven't been to this house for over 5 years I never came out here to visit my father he always came into the city to see me , he travelled from here every day to go to work I tried to persuade him to move closer to the penthouse when he retired but he wouldn't , I knew he didn't want to leave my mother behind" his voice was barely above a whisper.

Angelo's confession shocked me slightly, I hadn't expected him to open up to me like that, but I was glad he did, it gave me a better idea on how I could help him through what was currently going on in his life. "When did you move out?" I asked tenderly, not knowing how he'd react to my question about his past. " 5 years ago, that was the last time I was here. I left and never looked back; this was always just a building to me; it was never a home."

My heart ached for the man that was sat next to me for the first 20 years of his life feeling like he was living in just a building and not a family home made me want to wrap my arms around him until I could squeeze all of the broken bits of him back together.

I felt his warm hand close around mine. "Please don't be sad for me, Harper" I tried to speak, but there was a lump in my throat. I never cried, but I could feel the tears creeping up on me, and I knew if I spoke they'd end up slipping out, I gave Angelo's hand a small squeeze and turned my attention back to what was going on around the moving car. 

A few minutes later the limo had turned off the main road we had been travelling on and was making its way up to a small gravel road and then looming in the distance was Angelo's childhood home. The building that was quickly approaching was more like a mansion than a regular house; it was beautiful. It was the type of place that if I was more fortunate, I could see myself living in and bringing my children up here.

The limo coming to a stop outside the magnificent building pulled me out of my little day dream , I hadn't noticed that Angelo was now stood by my door waiting for me to get out , uttering a small thank you I climbed out of the car. We both stood next to each other for a moment , Angelo had a far off look in his eye I couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling after coming back here after 5 years.

"Their ashes are buried in the back garden", and with that small statement, his fingers entwined with mine as he led me round the side of the building and towards the back garden. I would have loved to have a look around the inside of the house, the outside was mesmerising with its old stone walls and large windows.

I could only imagine what the interior would look like. Angelo, on the other hand, had no desire to stop and admire his old home not even for a moment.

The back garden wasn't what I had thought it would be; the word garden didn't even suffice for what this area of land was. The 'garden' had a large stream running through the centre of it, and a small wooden bridge made a pathway to the other side. There were no flowers or any other foliage in the garden apart from a single tree, the blossom tree that Angelo had told me about. The same tree that both his parent's ashes were buried under.

I felt Angelo tense up beside me , his grip on my hand had increased slightly. I gave his hand a small reassuring squeeze , my mind drifted to a young Angelo playing in the garden and the thought made me smile. "Do you want some time alone with your parents?" I asked breaking the silence that seemed to have formed around the both of us. "No please come with me , I can't do this on my own" the raw emotion in his voice cut me like a knife , his face was still void of any emotion but his eyes told a different story , they were dark and intense looking at them made my body shudder. 

"You'll never be alone Angelo , you have me" I don't know what possessed me to say that , I hoped that my cheeks hadn't turned bright red. I looked up at Angelo and prayed that he hadn't heard me , when my eyes met his I realised he had already been looking at me , my heart rate picked up slightly as I found myself lost in Angelo's eyes that had somehow got even darker than they were moments before.

Angelo Deluca's POV

I don't know what I was doing here, I hadn't bothered to visit this place since I left for London 5 years ago, but like a bad penny this place kept creeping up on me, the thought of it always at the back of my mind. 

Most people would assume that this house housed terrible memories, but it didn't, some of my best memories were between the walls of that house. The reason I hated this place so much was that I could feel my father's sadness looming here every day. 

I often wondered why he didn't move house, but the answer was always evident. My mother was buried here under her favourite tree, and this was the house they bought together when the company first took off when my father was younger, to him this symbolised everything he had built up over the years along with wanting to preserve the memory of his wife.

"You'll never be alone Angelo, you have me" Harper's words were swimming round my mind, she had no idea how much those simple words meant to me. Over the past few weeks spending time with her had become the highlight of my week, whether it was spending time with her at Opal or merely sitting in the coffee shop and talking for a few hours, she brought lightness into my life that I had been missing for a while.

"Come, I don't want to be here long" I grabbed her hand and led her over to the small bridge that led us over the stream and to the blossom tree. I knew there must be hundreds of questions swimming round in Harper's mind. I could see it on her face. She was one of the most curious people I had ever met, but I knew she wouldn't say what was on her mind, she was interested but she was also respectful.

We were both stood in front of the blossom tree my father had planted when he and my mother had moved in over 40 years ago, it was a beautiful thing when It was in bloom, but due to the winter, it was void of any flowers or colour. At our feet sat two plaques, one for my mother and the other, more recently placed here for my father. I don't know how long we were stood here for, it felt like hours, but it was probably only 15 minutes or so. 

I was glad Harper was here with me, after what she told me about her parents and grandfather I knew that we were both broken in some way and a part of me hoped that we could put each other back together again. A part of me cursed myself if I was brave enough to tell her about my parents why couldn't I tell her how I felt about her.

I felt Harper shiver beside me, the wind had started to pick up, and the sun had disappeared behind the trees , winter really was here. "Let's go back to the car , you don't have a coat and I can feel you shivering". I looked down at her and I could see her body tense up trying to suppress the shivers that were wracking her body , I don't know why I did it but I shrugged of my jacket and draped it round her shoulders. 

She tried to protest stating that I'd get cold but I was having none of it. The walk back to the car was a quiet one , both of us lost in our own thoughts , I remembered a time where I loved this time of the year Christmas was my favourite holiday, now it was just another day to me but now I had Harper and hopefully things would start looking up.

After we had both climbed into the car it didn't take long for Harper to fall asleep , she looked beautiful wrapped up in my jacket , somehow luck must have been on my side today as her head was now resting on my shoulder , I could see her face slightly she looked so peaceful , her black hair was covering a part of her face and her lips were slightly parted. I found myself tucking the pieces of hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. I pressed a small kiss on the top of her head and I somehow found myself thanking the heavens for giving me this one person that was able to make me feel again after so long. She was my saving grace, she just didn't know it yet.

A/N
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