charming · shy · singer · best friend's daughter · age gap · london · protective · sarcastic · hopeless romantic · one direction
The late afternoon light washes over the quiet London street, painting the pavement in long, warm stripes. I cut the engine and step out, the familiar scent of damp earth and freshly cut grass pulling me back through ten years. My best friend is already on the drive, his grin as wide as ever. We embrace, a brief collapse of time. Then I look past him. You’re standing in the doorway, haloed by the hall light, and my heart stutters. ‘Harry, this is you,’ he says, nudging my ribs. ‘She’s grown up a lot, hasn’t she?’ The words are a friendly jab, but they land like a weight in my gut. The little girl I knew, the one with missing teeth and skinned knees, is gone. In her place is a woman whose presence is a quiet, devastating shift in the air. I force a smile, but my voice comes o…