Chapter 36

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO THE BRADFORD BAD BOI, DJ MALIK, ZAYNIE POO, ZAYN JAWAAD MALIK. Oh my god he's 20 now. So old. I LOVE YOU ZAYNIEEEEEEEE.

Oh my God, guys. I had gotten so emotional while writing this chapter. Ermahgod, it was too much. I hope you like it. I love it. Oh my god. Ok. Go read & enjoy.

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Carly's POV:

San Diego was one of the coolest places around. We were in California now, and the Teen Choice Awards were just a few days away. I was really excited, but nervous as well. I really wanted to win, and I was just a bit afraid that if I didn't, my disappointment would show, and I don't want it to. I'm grateful for as far as I've come, and if I didn't win, it's going to be fine. There's always next time. All I need to do is focus on my music and perform with all my heart, and if I win, then that would be just bloody amazing.

As I drank the cool water from the glass, standing in the middle of the kitchen, Harry walked over. "I'm going to CVS to get some things," he tells me. "Do you need anything?"

I shake my head, but ask, "Can I come with? I'm bored," I pout.

Harry chuckles, nodding. "Sure thing, babe," he says.

I look down at myself to see what I'm wearing, and I see that I'm wearing a red top that stops around my mid thighs and has sleeves that go down until my wrists, skinny jeans, and white Converse. My hair was tied into a semi messy bun with my side bangs over my forhead, and my make up kept to a minimum. "Let's go. I don't need to change," I tell Harry.

He nods and we say goodbye to the boys. We decide to walk to CVS, since it's not that far away. As we walk, I feel Harry's right hand laced with my left one, and I smile in content. Smiling is what I always do when Harry holds my hand, hugs me, or kisses me. It just feels right, and I love it whenever Harry holds or kisses me. Neither Harry nor I were wearing sunglasses or any type of disguise, so we were gonna get recognized at one point; but we didn't care. Harry was wearing a button down white T-shirt with blue stripes going down, his Rolex watch on his left wrist, dark blue jeans, white Converse, and a dark green beanie that had his hair pulled back from underneath.

The two of us approached CVS and Harry opened the door for me. Smiling at him, I walk inside with him following behind. I then followed him to wherever he was going, and I watched as he picked off a small plastic box of strawberries and then one of blueberries. I chuckle as he takes them, and he looks at me. "That's what you needed?" I ask.

Harry rolls his eyes. "I need my dose of fruit, you know," he says.

"Oookay," I chuckle, stretching out the 'o.' I then walked over to where the water bottles and sodas were, so I opened the door and grabbed one for myself. I also grabbed a pack of Trident gum, and then met Harry at the cash register. I saw that he put a box of M&Ms on the counter as I put my stuff, and I let out a dramatic gasp. "M&Ms?" I ask, wide eyes. "You do know me!" I exclaim in an overly dramatic voice.

Harry laughs, his dimples in full show, as he wraps his right arm around my shoulders. "Of course I do, babe."

The lady behind the counter smiles at the two of us. "You two are a truly adorable couple," she says.

I blush and say, "Thank you."

Using his left hand, Harry takes his money out and pays for the items. Once I take the bag from the lady, the two of us walk out of the store. As we walk, Harry accidently bumps into a man in a business suit, and says, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir."

"It's fine," the man says curtly, brushing off whatever imaginary dust was on his suit. Wow, rude much?

All of a sudden, my eyes widened. Thos dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, that familiar voice... It couldn't be. What in the world was he doing here? "D-Dad?" I stutter, my eyes wide. Harry's head snaps towards me, his eyes wide too. He knew how my real father left my mum and I, and it's safe to say that Harry didn't like him.

The man looks up with a frown, and when his eyes land on me, they harden. "Carly," he says with yet another curt nod.

I feel my breathing get a bit heavy. Here, standing right in front of me, was Jack Cunningham, my biological father. I haven't seen him in so many years, and here he is, right in front of me. He obviously looks a bit older than the last I saw him, but that mean look on his face is still the same.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. Harry is busy glaring at Jack, and I bite my bottom lip.

"I live in San Diego," Jack replies, his British a bit vivid. "What are you doing here?"

I twiddle with my thumbs. "I'm, uh, on tour. I am a singer, you know."

"Oh, yes yes," Jack says dismissively. "I hear you on the radio. You can do so much better than be some stupid singer."

My heart falls into my stomach, and I feel deflated. Sure, I don't exactly like my father, but it still feels disheartening to know that he thinks that what I do isn't significant. All every daughter wants is to make her parents feel proud. Sure, Mum and Brian are proud of me, but what about my real father? Who thinks what I do is just stupid and not important?

I bite my bottom lip as I take in his words, and Harry steps forward. "I'm sorry to intervene, but you can't say something as rude as that to Carly," he tells Jack. I surpress a smile at Harry's gesture. Trust him to always support me.

"And who might you be?" Jack asks, glaring at Harry.

"Harry Styles," Harry says in his deep British voice. "I'm a member of the band that Carly's touring with. And Carly is more than 'some stupid singer.' She's wonderful; and if you can't see that, then that's your loss."

Jack's glare hardens on Harry, and I can see his jaw setting. "And who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"

"My boyfriend," I step up beside Harry, once again holding his hand.

Jack lets out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head and I frown, confused. I exchange a glance with Harry and look back at Jack. "So you're dating a pop star? You do realize that it isn't going to last, right?"

My jaw drops as I gape at him, and I feel Harry tense up from besides me as his jaw clenches. "Why would you say that?" Harry asks. I can tell that he was trying to control his anger, but we all know that Harry turns into the British Hulk when he gets really angry.

My father rolls his hazel eyes. "Hollywood relationships don't ever last. There's always some problem going on. What makes you think that you're the perfect couple? You more than likely will have to face about a million problems," Jack says, and then his gaze shifts over to Harry. "Mostly because of you, son. Everyone - even I - know how much of a player you are. You aren't capable of staying committed to one girl."

I let out a breath in disbelief as I squeeze Harry's hand. Did he really just say that? How can he think that Harry would do something to ruin our relationship? He doesn't even know Harry, let alone me. He doesn't know how happy Harry and I are together. "You have no right to say that," I tell him, my voice shaking. I was trying so hard not to cry, and was fighting back tears. The last thing Jack needs to see is that he's surely getting to me.

"Why? Because it's true?" Jack retorts, brushing the sleeves of his suit's jacket.

Instead of crying in front of him, I regain my confidence and glare at Jack. "What's up in your life?" I ask. "How's that second wife of yours? What is she, twenty?" I ask, knowing that Jack was much older than that. Jack glares at me while Harry gives me hand a firm squeeze. "Your life must be great, right? You left Mum and I in the dust to go marry some girl who's fifteen years younger than you. And you know what, neither Mum nor I care."

Jack rolls his eyes. "Of course you don't," he says sarcastically.

I raise my eyebrows, my other hand gripping the CVS bag tightly. "You think I'm joking?" I chuckle, amused. "I'm not. Mum married a guy who is so much better than you are. His name's Brian, and he's the father to me that you never were, or never will be. They're even having a baby," I add with a victorious smirk.

As I say that, Jack's eyes and glare hardens by each word. Harry then says, "I don't think neither Carly or her mum need you anymore. They're better off without you," he says. He glances at me and then looks back at Jack. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have a sound check to go to." With saying that, Harry turns and drags me away.

But before completely walking away, I turn and smirk at my 'father', who stood there glaring at us. "Bye, Jack," I say before walking away with Harry.

As the two of us walk, Harry mutters, "I'm sorry, but that guy was a total arse."

I chuckle bitterly. "Don't be sorry," I say. "I fucking hate him."

Harry kisses my temple. "Language, Carls," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever," I say. As we make our way to the hotel, I sigh and stop walking. Harry stops as well and stands in front of me, confused. I let out another sigh and look up into his green eyes. "Did that really just happen?" I ask, biting my bottom lip.

Harry gives me a sad smile, taking both of my hands in his. "Yeah, babe. I'm afraid it did."

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Harry's POV:

"He really said that?" Louis asks, his eyes widening and I can see the anger lacing in his blue-green orbs.

I had just told the boys about Carly and I's unpleasant encounter with her father, and it's safe to say that they were all beyond in shock. Carly's dad, or as she calls him, Jack, is indeed an awful father figure. The way he just straight out told Carly that she can do better than become a stupid singer just shows how heartless he is. And towards his own daughter? How can he even do that? The pained and disappointed expression on Carly's face just told me how disheartened she was at Jack's words, and it angered me even more at how Jack had just spit it out. Honestly, the only thing keeping me from punching him square in the face was that he was Carly's father. No matter how much of an asshole he was, he was still Carly's father.

"What a dick," Niall murmurs, his Irish accent strong.

"Niall," Liam says in a warning tone, and Niall just shrugs as if saying, 'it's true.'

Zayn just shakes his head, upset. "He can't just say that, though," he sighs. "Carly must be heartbroken."

"Where is she, anyway?" Louis asks, sitting up.

I lick my lips. "I'll go see," I say and stand up from the couch. I walk across the room to where the room Carly and I sharing is, and stop in front of it. "Carly? You in there?"

"Y-Yeah," I hear her reply, and I suddenly frown. She sounds like she's upset, as if she's crying.

Turning the door knob, I walk in and close the door behind me. I look at Carly and my eyes instantly widen. Her hair is open from it's bun from before, and her nose is red as she has tears streaming down her face. She's sitting on the floor, with her back against the bed, as she sniffs. "Carly, why are you crying?!" I cry, running over to her and bending down.

She shakes her head, and I sit down next to her with my back also against the bed. "It's nothing, Harry," she wipes away her tears. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" I guffaw. "How can I not worry when I walk in and see my girlfriend crying?" I ask. "Tell me, what's wrong." Carly shakes her head once again, looking down at my lap. Something clicks in my head and I ask quietly, "Is it because of Jack?"

Carly lets out a sigh, running a hand through her dark hair. "How can he say all of that stuff?" she asks, tears once again gathering in her eyes. "He knows nothing about me. Nothing."

I chew on my bottom lip, my heart breaking as I take in the sight of Carly. Her eyes are red-rimmed with tears gathering in them, her nose a bit red from the crying, and she kept biting the inside of her cheek. "He doesn't know what he was talking about, Carly," I say. "Don't listen to him."

Carly shakes her head, sniffing. "I had always thought that it was my fault that he left, even when Mum told me it wasn't. I had thought that he didn't want me as a daughter, and he left without another word, leaving Mum and I in the dust. As I grew up, I kept telling myself that he didn't matter anymore, that he was out of our lives. But there was always this part of me that wanted to have him feel proud of me. Proud enough that he wouldn't be disgusted to say that I was his daughter," she explains, sniffing here and there. I didn't mind. I sat there and listened to every word she has to say, because I know how upset she feels, and I just want her to be happy again.

"I thought I had finally done that when I got signed," she continues. "I wrote my own songs without anyone's help, and I started recording. People starting recognizing who I was, and I would hear myself on the radio and see my pictures in the magazines. Inside, I'd always ask myself, is Dad seeing this? Is he hearing my songs? I always hoped the answer was yes, and that he would be proud. Turns out the answer was yes, but he wasn't proud. He's annoyed; disgusted. He thinks I can do better than become a singer. He doesn't realize that this is my dream come true. Instead, he thinks it's a waste of time."

As she talks, both of my hands wrap around hers, and I hang on to every word that comes out of her mouth. "It just disappoints me to think that all that I'm doing, all of my hard work, is nothing to him. And then he goes on about my relationship with you..." she trails off, licking her pink lips and letting out a humorous chuckle. "He doesn't know you, and he doesn't know me. Yet, he goes on saying that this won't last. We're teenagers; we're gonna have arguments and fights once in a while, but we'll be able to make it work. Just because Jack was too much of a wimp to face his problems, doesn't mean that I - or in this matter, we - are." I crack a small smile at her choice of words as I look at her, and she smiles back. "We have to fight for the people we love and care about, and I'm definitely willing to do that."

Something snaps inside of me at that word.

Love.

It's one simple word, but it holds so much meaning. But for me, when I think of the word 'love', Carly always seems to come in mind. Thinking it over for a second, I realize that my thoughts are correct. When you love someone, you feel a sense of happiness when they are near. You can't wait to see, hug, or cuddle with that person. You would do anything for that person and you might even put yourself last for them. You would defend that person until the very end, and make sure you're by their side whenever, wherever. You think about them every single moment. Nothing else matters but you and that person at that moment. You find yourself doing silly things for that person, things you'd never done before. Your face will light up when you think of them, or even when you just hear their name. After having a bad day, only they can make you feel better, maybe just by holding your hand.

And in that moment, I knew.

All these definitions and actions of love happen with me and Carly. I love holding her. I love kissing her. I would do anything for her, and I would protect her. I think about her whenever we aren't together. I always feel the need to make her smile or laugh, to just see her face light up the way it does. I feel the the need to protect her from all of the harmful things; like the hate she gets, and from now on, Jack.

My thoughts were correct. It's a hundred and ten percent true.

"Hey Carls?" I ask, playing with her hands, and then looking at her face.

"Yeah, Haz?" she asks, looking up as her brown eyes lock with my green ones.

I take a deep breath before saying something that I never thought I would say to a girl, other than my mum or my sister.

"I love you."