It Only Happens in the Movies

by Holly Bourne

I tipped my head back and finished my wine. “Okay, okay, vulnerabilities.” I took another deep breath. “My dad left my mum,” I said, staring determinedly at the beer mat, picking it apart with my fingers. “You know when I told you stuff was going on with my family? Well, that’s what it is. They were, like, the most romantic couple ever. I’m even named after Audrey Hepburn because he proposed in Rome. And then…then, well, he fell madly in love with someone else. Jessie. He just left. Not just Mum, us.” I gulped. “He left us. Started a new family with Jessie. He’s just…not that into us any more. My own dad.” Harry leaned back and put his fingers together. “Woah, that explains most of Dougie’s fits of rage in college last year then, I guess.” I looked up. “Dougie had fits of rage?” Harry nodded, his face solemn. “Yeah, he punched a locker. He wrote all these weird songs in music…” I shook my head, to dislodge the bad thoughts. “Anyway, that’s why I’m so down on love, I guess. Because I’ve seen what happens when you fall for charm, or the promise of a happily-ever-after. I think there’s this huge void between what people think love is, what they want it to be, and what it actually is. I can’t…” I stuttered and Harry reached out and enlaced his fingers through mine. His raggedy eyebrows raised upwards in serious concern. This moment was real. This Harry was real. And he was holding my hand. I felt like I’d started to remove all the bandages wrapped up around my wounds from the ...