*J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter!*

**Title of this chapter comes from 'Broken Corwn' by Mumford and Sons. One of my favorites!

***Leave a review :)

Rose tilts her head and looks into the window of the Leaky Cauldron. Her eyes widen. "Belle, who is that man?" She asks me. "Why is he talking to Mum?"

I don't have an answer, and I don't want to stick around long enough to find one. "Come on, Rose. We can eat somewhere else," I say, putting my hand on her shoulder and trying to steer her away.

Rose's eyes widen. "He looks familiar..." she mutters.

"Rose, let's go!"

Rose turns to me so quickly, I fear that she might hurt her neck. "That's my dad!" she realizes. "Belle, that's my dad! I have to go and see him!"

"No, you don't. If Mum wanted that, she would have brought him home," I reason, trying to keep Rose at bay. "Don't go in there."

"Get off me!" Rose protests, prying my arm off her. "Of course, I'm going in there!"

"Rose Hermione Weasley, you'd better not!" I order, sounding too much like Mum for my liking.

Rose glares daggers at me. "You can't tell me what to do." She takes off toward the Leaky Cauldron and throws open the door, leaving me no choice but to follow her.

I make my way through the dark pub, apologizing to the people I bump into. When I get to Mum and Ron's table, the three of them are staring at each other, completely frozen. I'm sure Mum didn't expect to see us, and Ron didn't expect to see Rose.

"Hi..." Rose says uncomfortably, looking at Ron sheepishly. He gives her a slow smile.

"Rose," Ron says back, giving Mum a steely gaze. He doesn't even really look at her. Rose shifts her weight from foot to foot, looking uneasy. "Hermione didn't tell me you were going to be here." Ron gives Mum another accusatory glance. She looks away and turns to me instead.

"Isobelle, do me a favor and take Rose home." When Mum says my name, Ron gives me a look of hatred that could probably rival Astoria's. I know he believes I'm the reason his family was broken apart.

Rose crosses her arms. "What? Mum, no!" she protests, looking indignant. "I don't want to be taken anywhere!"

"Quit causing a scene," I mutter. Rose ignores me.

"Isobelle's right. Rose, please go on home. I'm sure your father's expected both of you to be back by now," Mum tells her. And I'm sure Dad also expected Mum to be out with Aunt Ginny like she said she was.

"Dad doesn't care whenever we get home," Rose argues. "He's busy working for the day."

Ron glares at Mum. "'Dad'?" he repeats, sounding a bit angry. "Is she talking about your husband, Hermione?"

Mum nods. "Who else, Ronald?" She replies in a biting tone. "Honestly, Rose. Now isn't the time. I'm sure you and Ron will have the opportunity to speak later."

"How long from now is later?" Rose questions, narrowing her eyes at Mum. "This isn't fair."

"Rose, many things aren't fair. Please, Isobelle, take your sister home," Mum requests exasperatedly.

I take Rose's hand. "Just come on," I say gently. "We'll talk about it at home. I'm sure this isn't a get-together you'd like to have in the Leaky Cauldron anyway."

Rose can't argue that point. She sighs and looks at Ron longingly.

"Just let me speak to your mother, Rose," he says flatly. Ron's face is virtually unreadable now. I can't decide how he feels toward Rose. At least when Astoria saw Scorpius again, she had an expression on her face. Ron seems rather apathetic.

"Okay," Rose concedes. I can tell it's only for the sake of her father.

"Let's go home." I squeeze Rose's hand, gently urging her to follow me. She hangs her head. I turn around and look at Mum for a long second, wondering why the hell she would do something so stupid. Honestly, meeting Ron in broad daylight? If we didn't see her, no doubt someone else would have.

I hold the door open for Rose. She turns and glares at me, not saying anything. "What?" I ask finally.

"He barely said anything to me," she complains, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "He was more interested in being angry with Mum."

I feel terrible for Rose, but I honestly can't relate to that. When I first met Mum, she seemed very interested in getting to know me better. Ron acted like he barely even noticed Rose.

"Just give it some time. I'm sure he didn't want to have a serious conversation with you while Mum or I was there," I reason.

Rose doesn't seem convinced. "I guess..." she mutters, kicking a pebble down the alley road. "What do you think he and Mum are talking about?"

I shrug. I really don't have an answer. I was wondering that myself. "Maybe, she just wanted to know if Ron was interested in seeing you and Hugo again," I suggest.

"He didn't seem too interested."

"Like I said, he was probably just a bit shocked," I remind Rose.

"What if that's not it?"

"Then it isn't your fault either way," I tell her. "No matter what, will you promise me one thing?"

Rose looks at me. "What?" she questions.

"Don't tell Hugo about this."

"Why not? That's Hugo's dad, too," Rose points out.

I nod solemnly. "I know that. But, Hugo's different about Ron than you are. It doesn't seem to affect him. He doesn't really remember Ron that well, and having him involved is just going to confuse him," I explain. "Besides, Hugo's really close to Dad. I don't want him feeling conflicted." Sometimes, I feel as if Hugo is the closer to Dad than I am. He's so sweet and easygoing though, it's difficult not to get along with him. Hugo reminds me of the way Scorpius used to be.

"Okay, I won't," Rose promises me. She seems upset. I don't blame her. "Can we just go home? I'm not hungry anymore."

I nod. "Of course, we can."

"Scor, I don't want you bothering Rose, okay? She's upset," I tell my younger brother. I pat the spot beside me on the stone stairs. We used to sit here a lot when we were younger.

"No kidding," he agrees. "She threatened to kick me in the bollocks."

I raise my eyebrows. "Did she do it?"

"No. Why's she so ticked off anyway?" Scorpius asks.

I'm silent for a while, debating whether or not I should tell Scorpius. Even though the little git's a Slytherin, he's still pretty trustworthy. "While we were out, Rose saw Ron- I mean, her dad- again today," I respond.

Scorpius turns to me. "Where?" He questions.

"Just out in Diagon Alley. She's upset because she didn't really get much time to speak to him," I say, answering Scorpius' second question before he can ask it. I don't mention anything about Mum being involved, deciding it would just confuse him more. I still don't even know what all that's about.

"That does suck," Scorpius agrees. "He should come by the Manor like my mum did."

It irritates me that Scorpius can so easily call Astoria his mother. Sure she gave birth to him, but Astoria was never a mother to him. "I take it you and Astoria are getting along well, then?" I ask before I can stop myself.

Scorpius nods. "Yes. She's really nice. She says she misses you quite a bit, actually," Scorpius tells me. I don't want to talk terribly about Astoria if Scorpius feels so great about her. I know it will only make him angry at me. "You should spend some time with her, too."

"I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"Why not?" Scorpius asks, frowning. "I know she isn't your mum, too, but you still knew her. She was your step-mum. Didn't you miss her even a little bit?" I shake my head. "Probably not, because your actual mum came back," Scorpius mumbles.

"It's been what, a week, and suddenly Hermione isn't your mother anymore?" I question.

"I didn't say that!" Scorpius protests, averting his gaze. But he was thinking it.

"That's how you're acting, though. Look, whether you want to accept it or not, Hermione knows you better than Astoria does. Hermione raised you. Even when Dad was still married to Astoria, it was mum that was a lot kinder to you," I tell Scorpius. "You have to at least remember that much."

Scorpius looks like he doesn't want to believe me. He sweeps his blond hair out of his eyes. "Why did my mum leave?" He questions.

I don't know whether or not I should lie to Scorpius or tell him the truth. Lying never helped me, it only made me more upset. "Astoria and Dad argued a lot," I say vaguely.

"Over you? Did they fight over you?" Scorpius questions. I sigh. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"I suppose now you're too big for me to pull in my lap, and explain things to you, and let you know that everything will be alright. I miss that," I admit.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asks, confused. "Explain what?"

"Anything...everything... But I guess things are a lot easier to explain to a five-year-old," I answer. Looking at Scorpius. And then, I think about the way he treated me when he was younger, because he couldn't understand everything. "Then again, maybe they aren't."

Scorpius opens his mouth to say something, then he closes it. "Why not?"

I look at Scorpius a long while. I haven't really noticed, but it's amazing how much he's grown. His personality has changed, too. He's no longer that vulnerable, innocent little boy he used to be. Now, he's a lot older, and much less naïve. He seems much more bitter as well.

"You blamed me," I mention finally. "You blamed me for Astoria leaving, for Dad being so angry at you sometimes, and for him arguing with our grandparents. You said all of it was my fault. You wanted me to go away," I tell him finally.

Scorpius purses his lips. "I'm sorry," he apologizes.

"You don't have to apologize. At that age, I would have been surprised if you didn't blame me." Gone are the days when I felt like Scorpius trusted and loved me unconditionally. Even though he resented me a bit, it's a lot easier knowing someone blames you for something they can't understand. Now, if Scorpius were to blame me for the way things played out, it really would hurt me.

"Were those things really your fault?" He asks. "I mean, were they-"

"I understand what you mean," I say quietly. "Well, they had to do with me, yes, but I don't know if they were my fault. Do you understand that?" I'd be surprised if he did. That was a pretty terrible explanation.

Scorpius nods slowly. "I think so... "

"It's all right if you don't," I assure Scorpius. I can tell he's still a bit confused.

"Good," Scorpius gives me a small smile. "Isobelle, when my mum left, why didn't she take me with her?"

The truthful part of me says, because she doesn't love you. I won't ever tell Scorpius that, though. I won't hurt him like that. "Dad didn't want us separated," I answer. "And you wanted to stay with me." Well, that isn't a total lie.

"Oh," Scorpius says quietly. "I wish Dad would have let Mum visit, though."

"What do you mean?" I ask, frowning involuntarily.

"I asked my mum why she never visited me after she went away. She said it was because Dad didn't let her. Why would he do that to me, Isobelle? I missed her. And spending time with her today, it was really fun. Things could have always been like that." It wasn't Dad who kept Astoria from seeing Scorpius. It was the Ministry of Magic.

"Look at me, Scorpius," I say. "Dad didn't do that. Some things are out of his control, even. If it was in his power, he wouldn't have wanted you to miss out on knowing Astoria. You do realize that, right?"

Scorpius nods quietly. "Why don't you like my mum?"

"I never said I disliked her."

Scorpius' piercing eyes meet mine. "I can just tell. You get always so defensive about her. Why?"

"It doesn't matter. How I feel about Astoria's got nothing at all to do with you," I tell Scorpius.

"I just wanted to know..." Scorpius mutters.

"Why would you need to? If I were to tell you that I felt negatively toward Astoria, would it make you feel any different?" Scorpius shakes his head. "Then it isn't important what I think, is it?"

Scorpius shakes his head. "No."

I kiss him on the top of of his head. "Go on, it's about time for dinner. Tell Hugo for me."

Scorpius stands up. "What about Rose?" He questions.

"I don't think she'll want to come out of her room. Speaking of which, this conversation is only between you and I, all right?"

"Okay."

"Scor?"

"Yeah?" Scorpius asks expectantly.

"I love you. Don't you forget that."

Scorpius gives me a small smile. "I won't. Aren't you coming for dinner?"

"In a second," I nod. "I suppose I should get Nina first, She's been in her room all afternoon and, quite frankly, I don't want the Manor to be burned down."

"Good thinking." Scorpius turns and heads downstairs. I get up and go down the hallway.

I brace myself before opening the door to Nina's room. She's turned around at her desk, her back facing me. A chemical-like smell fills my nose. "Nina, what are you doing?" I question hesitantly, stepping closer to her.

"Nothing..." Nina answers, still not facing me. I look over her shoulder to see Mum's owl, Giraffe, wrapped in one on Nina's necklaces. She's attempting to paint his claws crimson red, with one of my bottles of nail polish.

I sigh and put my hand over my eyes for a few seconds. "Nina, what are you doing to Giraffe?"

"Making him pretty," Nina answer nonchalantly.

"With my nail polish?" Nina nods. "Did you ask to use it?"

"I asked myself to use it," Nina replies.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Well, you didn't ask me. And you can't use nail polish on an owl. Give me that back, please."

Nina crosses her arm and pouts. "Belly, you always ruin my fun," she complains. "Always!"

"Because your 'fun' always involves something that you aren't supposed to be doing," I point out, taking the bottle of nail polish from her. I disentangle Giraffe from Nina's necklace and clean him up with my wand. Giraffe flies off.

"Well, nobody will play with me. You're all too grown up," Nina tells me. Yes, it must be terribly boring for Nina. Hugo, Scorpius, and Rose are all very close in age, and have similar enough interests. Nina doesn't really have anyone her age to play with.

"That does seem like a problem, doesn't it?" I ask, trying to think of something. Nina nods. "What should we do about it?"

"Something fun," Nina decides.

"Like what?"

Nina's face lights up. "Finger painting!" she exclaims, her blue eyes shining. "Belly, we can finger paint lots of things!"

I decide that this isn't nearly as terrible as something I thought Nina would have come up with. "Sounds like a plan. Tomorrow afternoon, okay? We'll finger paint until our hands fall off. How about that?"

Nina grins and nods at me me. "Okay!"

"Then it's settled. It's time for dinner. Come on, you little stinker."

Nina gets up from her desk and skips out of her bedroom, grabbing my hand. I smile down at her. Looking at her pains me to think of what could possibly happen now that Mum and Ron have spoken again. I don't even know if he'll make the connection, though. Nina doesn't resemble him much, but she does act a lot like him and Hugo.

"Mummy! Me and Belly are finger painting tomorrow!" Nina announces, leading me into the dining room.

Mum gives Nina a forced smile. "Is that so? That certainly sounds like fun."

"Yeah, and it will be! And we had fun today! Hugo and Scorpius and I had a lot of sweets 'cause you weren't home!"

Scorpius rolls his eyes at Nina. "Shut it, you little twit!" he hisses. Nina sticks her tongue out at him.

"Scorpius! Don't speak to your sister like that! You wouldn't have anything to worry about if you weren't doing something you weren't supposed to be," Dad points out.

"Your father's right," Mum says. "Apologize."

Scorpius gives Mum a look, and I fear for a second that he's going to say something disrespectful to her. "I apologize, Nina," he says, not looking at her, but glaring at Mum instead. I sit down beside him at the table. When Scorpius catches my eye, he corrects himself.

"Where's Rose?" Hugo questions, looking around the table.

"She said she wasn't hungry," I answer. Mum tenses and purses her lips for a moment, but she doesn't say anything.

"Maybe she's getting sick?" Hugo suggests.

I shake my head. "No, I don't believe that's it."

"Oh, but it's her favorite tonight," Hugo realizes. "We should leave some for her, in case she gets hungry."

"That's a wonderful idea, Hugo," Mum tells him. "Isobelle, Rose didn't seem upset at all this afternoon, did she?"

It irritates me a bit that Mum's playing dumb about this, even though I'm the only one that knows the truth. I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt and play along.

"No, she was fine, actually. I wonder what's gotten into her. Scorpius, any ideas?"

Scorpius pushes his food around his plate with his fork, not looking at any of us. "Maybe she's just tired. I am."

"Did you have a long day, today?" Mum questions, giving Scorpius a look of concern. "You know you woke up early this morning to spend time with Astoria." She says it in an accusing way almost, as if Scorpius was wrong for doing it.

Scorpius shakes his head. "That's not what I meant... just forget it, Mum."

"Dad, wanna pass the quaffle with us tomorrow?" Hugo asks, changing the subject.

"I'd like that Hugo, if only Scorpius would change that rotten attitude of his," Dad answers, raising his eyebrow at Scorpius.

This only seems to irritate Scorpius more. "I don't have an attitude," he snaps. I nudge Scorpius under the table.

"Your tone seems a bit sharper than normal," Mum points out, oblivious to the fact that Scorpius wants nothing more than to be rid of her right now.

"It is not. Dad, can I be excused?" Scorpius questions, turning away from Mum.

Dad shakes his head. "Not until you finish eating," he says.

"I'm done eating, then," Scorpius decides. "I just want to go to my room."

"You're grumpy today," Nina tells Scorpius. "Didn't you have fun with your mummy?"

Scorpius nods. I don't think his problem is that he had a bad time with Astoria. I know he had a great time. I'm just afraid that he's counting the days until he can go back.

I reach out and knock on the door of Holden's flat. I decided not to apparate or Floo, now wouldn't be the time to just pop up on him. Even though I planned on giving Holden more time to cool down, I couldn't help stopping by. After the ordeal with Teddy, I knew that I had to speak to Holden soon. The more I waited, the more I thought about what happened between Teddy and I. It just makes me feel even more guilty.

The door opens. When Holden looks at me, he frowns. He seems to be contemplating slamming the door in my face. That really hurts me.

"What do you want?" He demands, glaring at me.

"Can't I come in?" I ask quietly. Holden doesn't move for a while, then he finally opens the door a bit wider to let me in. "I'm so sorry," I apologize after Holden shuts the door.

"Are you, now?" Holden questions, as if he's waiting for the punchline of some stupid joke.

I nod. "Yes. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Is that it?" Holden questions impatiently. When he gets angry, he completely tunes out anything I try to say. He also has a pretty unpredictable temper.

"Are you still upset with me?" I ask.

Holden looks like he wants to laugh. "No, I just got in an argument with my dad and kicked out of the house for God knows how long. I'm not upset, though," he mutters sarcastically.

Instantly, I feel terrible. Holden must have gotten in a pretty horrific argument with his dad for him to kick him out. I remember how Dad and I used to argue about him being a Death Eater. I can imagine an argument like that would be a lot worse with two grown men.

"Oh, Holden, I didn't know-"

"What the hell did you think was going to happen, Isobelle? You can't just say something like that and expect it not to have any effect!" Holden says angrily, raising his voice. I want to point out that I wasn't the only one who said hurtful things, but Holden's so angry right now, I don't think it's worth it.

"I didn't mean to say it," I assure him quietly. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Well, you did."

"I love you," I tell Holden quietly. He really is making me feel terrible, and I just want him to know that it wasn't my intention to ruin things with his family.

"We're not doing that right now. Don't think you can just act like you're about to cry, and I'm going to forgive you! You don't understand what the hell you did, do you?" Holden asks, stepping closer to me.

I take a step backward. "I do understand. And I'm not trying to make you pity me, that's the last thing I'd want from you," I assure Holden.

He crosses his arms. "I don't."

"You've changed," I notice, looking Holden in the eye. "You were kind, and thoughtful, and-"

"You haven't changed," Holden cuts me off harshly.

"What?" I question, dumbfounded.

"You haven't! You're still as immature as you were when I met you! You don't understand anything, and nothing can ever be your fault!" Holden shouts.

"What did I ever do to you to make you feel this way?" I ask. "I said one thing, and suddenly, all of this is coming out?"

"You can't honestly believe that you've only done one thing to make me feel this way," Holden tells me. "You just can't."

"I don't... I don't get it," I say quietly, trying to follow.

Holden puts his hand to his chin. "Do you know how frustrating it is to come home from work after a long day, and then have something else to deal with?" Holden questions.

My mouth gapes open in realization. "You're talking about me? I make you feel that way?"

Holden nods slowly, as if I'm an idiot. "Do I have to spell everything out for you?" He asks acerbically.

"But, you could have told me. I just want to make you happy," I tell Holden. "If you had told me how you felt, I would have done something about it. You know that."

Holden narrows his eyes at me. "You won't even listen to your parents, and they want you to get some sodding help. Why would I think that you'd listen to me?"

"Because I would do anything for you, Holden. You know how much I love you," I remind him.

"You don't love me enough to marry me," Holden points out skeptically.

I shake my head. "I love you too much to marry you. I don't want you to feel trapped into a relationship with me. If you married me, you would feel stuck. I don't want that. I just want us to love each other forever because we want to, not because we feel like we have to," I explain.

"As long as it makes sense to you," Holden mutters.

"It makes perfect sense. I mean, it really is terrible about your family, and I feel really guilty, but don't push me away, too," I plead.

"Belle, you know that's the last thing I want to do. You just make it so easy," Holden tells me.

"Holden, you've done things to anger me, but I've never wanted to leave you," I tell him. "If you really loved me-"

"If I really loved you? If I really LOVED you?" Holden repeats, his voice loud enough to make me flinch. He grabs my arm so hard that wince. "Isobelle, I do love you! That's why all the stupid shit you do irritates me so much! If I didn't love you, I wouldn't care what you did! Has that ever occurred to you?"

I shake my head. "No, I just thought-"

"You thought what? You don't give me any credit for anything I do, Isobelle! You don't know how much I really am there for you!" Holden shouts.

"I do know, Holden! I never said you weren't!" I cry.

Holden ignores me. "If you think you can find someone who loves you better than I do, be my guest!" I've got no idea what's gotten into him. Of course, we've argued before, but Holden's never been so hurtful to me, and he's definitely never put his hands on me to hurt me.

"I can't. I know that no one else would love me more than you do," I assure Holden. I've known that for a while now. No one would ever love me as much as Holden does. But that isn't why I stay with him. I know that I'd never be able to love someone else as much as I love Holden. "I'm so sorry."

"Sometimes sorry isn't enough," he says, not looking me in the eye.

"Then what is? I wish I could take it back, but I can't. There isn't anything else I could possibly say, or anything else I could do," I tell Holden. "I feel as if you have unrealistic expectations of me."

Holden furrows his eyebrows and glares at me. "Unrealistic? How am I being unrealistic? I want you to be my girlfriend, not someone I have to look after! Why don't you understand that?"

"Am I really that much of a burden to you?" I question quietly.

Holden notices the fearful look on my face and loosens the grip on my arm. "Belle, I-"

"I've given you everything, Holden. Do you not remember all those years ago, on your birthday, what I told you? What you're saying, it's just words! At least I act like I love you!"

Holden lets me go and slams his fist on the wall. I suppress a frightened scream. "And how do you do that, Belle? By throwing yourself at me? By saying that you won't let me stop loving you? Or that you won't let me leave you? You know, loving someone and being with them are two different things! What would you do if I loved you, but I wasn't with you? Kill yourself? You said you can't live without me!" Holden asks violently.

What a terrible choice of words. My chest feels like it's closing in on my lungs from all directions. Do I really seem that petty to him? Or that insane?

"How could you say that to me?" I demand, trying my hardest not to cry.

"Because, Isobelle, those are all of the things you've said to me. They sound mad, don't they?" In spite of myself, I nod. "You said you don't want me to feel trapped in a relationship with you, yet how would you feel if you were in my situation? When you say that you won't let me leave you, that you'd do anything to keep me, or that you can't manage without me, how am I supposed to feel? That isn't normal!" Holden informs me.

"I just wanted you to know how important you are to me," I say timidly.

Holden reaches out for me. He puts both his hands gently on either side of my face. I see a softness in his eyes that I haven't seen at all today, or the last time I saw him, either. "Belle, I know how important I am to you. Things just have to change, alright?" Holden kisses the top of my head.

I know this is his form of an apology, but I don't want to accept it so readily. Isn't that what Holden expects of me? He can speak to me this way because he knows I'm too afraid that he'll leave me to say anything about it. I hate it that Holden thinks of me that way, and I hate it that I've made it so.

Things do need to change, from both of us. I just wonder how they even got this way. I remember at one point, where I couldn't even imagine Holden doing anything to hurt me. It just saddens me to think that that was years ago.

"What was it you wanted to show me, Belle?" Holden follows me into my bedroom, and I shut the door after us.

"Your birthday gift, of course," I answer, smiling at Holden and squeezing his hand. His actual birthday was yesterday. Understandably, he spent it with his family. "Sit here while I get it ready." I gesture to the bed. Holden sits down in the middle of my bed.

"So, whatever it is, will I like it?" he questions, trying to make small-talk.

"I'm hoping you will," I answer. "I really am."

"Any hints?" Holden ventures.

I shake my head. "Excuse me a moment. I've just got to... get it ready..."

"Oh, all right, then." I smile at Holden before I shut the bathroom door. I turn to look at myself in the mirror.

"Calm down," I tell myself. "He loves you. He said it himself." Slowly, I step out of my dress. I'm satisfied enough with what I see. I unbraid my hair and brush it out, letting my curls frame my face. Normally, I'd never do something like this, but the situation calls for it. After I spray myself with a bit of perfume and run my fingers through my hair one last time, I open the bathroom the door. Holden's looking around my room, completely unaware that I'm standing before him in nothing but my undergarments.

I clear my throat. Holden's eyes widen. "Er... Belle, w-what are you doing?" He chokes out. I don't say anything back. I open the cabinet above my mirror, taking out a bottle of Firewhiskey and two glasses. I fill them both halfway.

"Giving you your birthday present," I answer finally, moving to keel in front of him on the bed. I put a glass in Holden's hand. "Don't you like it?"

"What is it, exactly?" Holden questions, his face turning red. "Firewhiskey?" I don't understand what he's so embarrassed about. I'm the one who's half-naked.

I shake my head and take a deep breath. "No. It's Me." Holden glances at the door. I put my hand on his cheek and gently turn him back to face me. "My family isn't at home. It's just you and I," I assure him.

"Belle, what have you- what've you done with yourself?" Holden asks hesitantly.

"I took off my clothes, silly," I answer, playing with his hair. "You deserve something special. I just want to show you how much I love you. You'll let me do that, won't you?"

Holden seems conflicted. "Er..."

"Just drink. It'll help you relax a bit if you're nervous. It's fine, I do it all the time." I take a sip from my glass of Firewhiskey to demonstrate.

"Where did you even get this from?" Holden questions, gesturing to his glass.

"My dad's wine cellar. Now, honestly, I don't really want to talk about him right now. This is about you."

I'm waiting for Holden to shake his head, to say no, to tell me to get away from him. Any of those things he normally does. "I don't know about this..." he admits.

I can't help but sigh. I suppose I'll have to explain this to him. "Holden, you're seventeen. You're a man now. If I'm willing, you don't have anything to worry about. I think that, secretly, you've been considering this for a while." I tell him, poking out my bottom lip. "You can only deny me for so long before you stop meaning it..."

When Holden doesn't say anything back, I know that I'm right. "Belle, I-"

I put my finger over Holden's lips. "No," I whisper, shaking my head. "You've worried about me far too long. But, you see, the difference between you and I is that I can admit what I want."

Holden opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Look, tell me you don't love me, and I'll stop. But if you love me, you need to do something to let me know. What you say, it's just...words. Holden, I need you to show me. Show me why you won't ever leave me."

Holden clenches his jaw. "Belle, I'm not-"

"Tell me you don't love me, then," I urge him. "Go on. Say it!"

"I can't-"

I tilt my head to the side. "So, you love me?" I ask.

Holden nods. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

Holden sighs and takes an extremely large gulp of Firewhiskey. "Yes, I love you, Belle."

I wrap my arms around Holden's neck. "I love you, too. So much." I lean forward and kiss him. Surprisingly, Holden, puts his hand around my back, bringing me closer. I part my lips slightly, allowing him to kiss me better.

Holden looks at me- really looks at me. It's the kind of look that you feel inside you, as if someone's staring into your soul. "Are you sure about this?" He asks me.

I nod, leaning closer to Holden. Our chests are touching, and my knees are on either side of his legs. "I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life." I bow my head and begin to place soft kisses on Holden's neck. "I love you, Holden. I won't ever let you stop loving me. You know that, right?"

Holden nods. "Yeah."

"I mean it. I don't know how I could ever manage without you. You mean so much to me, I'd do anything for you. Do I mean that much to you?" I ask, looking into Holden's eyes. I couldn't imagine him not loving me. I don't know how I'd be able to survive if I knew Holden didn't love me.

"Is that why you're doing this, then?" Holden asks, stroking my hair. I know he isn't rejecting the idea, because he's smiling at me. Or maybe it's just the Firewhiskey.

I nod. "I just want to make you happy. That's all I ever want to do for you. I just want you to love me."

"I do love you, Belle," Holden assures me. I know he means it. But maybe he only loves me for now. Sometimes, I feel like I love Holden a lot more than he loves me. I just want him to love me forever.

"You won't ever leave me like Mum left me, will you?" I question, looking up at Holden with uncertainty. Even though Mum has been around for a good year now, the feeling never does leave. The fact that my own mother didn't even feel the need to be in my life makes it harder to believe that anyone else actually would.

Holden shakes his head, tracing his fingers up and down the curves of my hips. "Of course not, Belle. And I certainly wouldn't be here with you right now if I was," he promises me. I bite my bottom lip. "What's wrong?"

"You just don't...seem happy," I answer. "Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? I'm sorry I'm not-"

"What? Belle, no it isn't you," Holden promises me. "You're beautiful, really you are. It's just, this is a pretty big thing, you know?"

"I know. I just want it to be special," I tell Holden.

He nods in understanding. "Of course, and it should be." Holden trails his fingers slowly up my stomach, and I can feel butterflies. He crushes his lips against mine, kissing me more passionately than he ever has, more than I ever knew he had the ability to. I fold my fingers around the bottom of his shirt, pulling away gently for a second so I can tug it over his head. I toss it to the floor.

Holden lies me down on my bed kisses nearly every visible part of my body. I've never felt like this in my entire life. "Belle...I...love...you..." Holden tells me in between kisses.

I reach up and push Holden's hair off of his forehead, showing off those mesmerizing blue eyes of his. "I love you, too." A shiver runs down my spine as Holden kisses my collarbone, and goes further down. I drop my glass, and it shatters to the floor. I'll have it cleaned up later.

"Holden..." I gasp.

It takes him a second to meet my gaze. "Hmm?" he mutters against my neck.

"I don't want you to be afraid... of hurting me..." I tell him quietly.

Holden's eyebrows furrow. "I didn't even think about that," he realizes, sounding a bit guilty.

I shake my head, silently telling him not to worry. "I've been hurt before, and not out of love. It will be all right."

(A/N: Hope you liked the chapter and hope I didn't take too long to update! Leave a review, please! Thanks for reading!)