Our Story: Harvey's Life

Inner Peace

She woke to a throbbing headache. She was on a very strange bed and was wearing a strange outfit. She ripped off the needle in her wrist and staggered downstairs.

This was a mansion, she thought.
She heard cluttering coming from a part of the house and walked towards the sound.
It was from the kitchen. She moved closer and saw a lady wearing an apron, cooking.

"Hello?" She called out weakly and the lady turned around. Tess placed her hand on the counter to support her weight.
"You're up," she walked to her and felt her temperature. "Thank goodness, you were burning up and we were getting quite worried."

"We?"

"Jason and I. I'm Jason's grandmother, the one your mother's been sending gifts to all these years."

"Nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry for intruding on you like this but can I stay for a little while?" She pleaded.

"You're worried about Barb, aren't you?"

She nodded.
"She's a strong woman, just like you. Sure, you can stay here," She gave her a hug. "He's not coming back into your lives,I promise."

Tess could feel a tear slip out of her eye. She wiped it quickly after she disengaged from the hug.

"Are you up for chicken soup?" Grandma winked at her and she smiled. "I'll bring it to the dining."

Tess went to the dining area to wait for her when various thoughts made way into her head. Ironman is linked to James and James is linked to Mr. Harvey. Does that mean Mr. Harvey is linked to Ironman? Does he know anything about the deaths of the high school girls?

"Stop thinking about it," Grandma said as she placed a bowl of chicken soup on the table.
"I'm not thinking about anything," she tried to shrug it off but it clearly wasn't working. "What do I call you?"

"I'm Patty," she smiled and ate.
"Patty," she repeated.

Patty was busy eating while Tess just stirred her food around.
"By the way,the shirt looks good on you," she complimented. "I wanted to change you into one of my dresses but Jason insisted that you had to wear his clothes."

"He's kinda obsessed with getting me to like him."
"So, is it working? Are you starting to like him?"

She looked unsure for a while before she said,"Well,these past few days have been a rollercoaster and he's always been there for me. I think I.."

"I'm home!" Jason announced as he walked in. "Grandma?"
"The dining!" Patty answered him.

He walked in with a large bag and looked surprised to see Tess.
"You're awake," he smiled with relief.
"Yeah,thank you."

He moved closer and looked at her bowl and then at her.
"You're not eating as usual and you have a pale face. You're not gonna faint under my watch," He tried feeding her.

"I'm not hungry," she smiled weakly and blinked slowly.
"You have to eat something," he groaned.
"I'll eat when I'm hungry."

"I went over to your house and got you a few clothes. I told Barb you were going to spend some time here and your team is acting weird."

She reached out to collect the bag and he withdrew his hand.
"It's too heavy, I'll help you with it."

"It's fine, I can do this," she tried to collect the bag but he slipped his hand in hers instead.
"Goodnight grandma," he pulled her to the living room towards the stairs.
"Goodnight Patty."

They went straight to the room Tess came from.
Jason's room.

"Um.. do you need privacy?" Jason asked when Tess began to take off her clothes.
"That should be done without me asking," she replied.
"Right."

He went straight into the shower and left her in the room. After a few minutes, he was done and she was sitting, cross-legged on the bed.

He was drying his hair with a towel and walked out wearing a bathrobe.
"Where do I sleep tonight?" She asked.
"With me, I'm not letting you sleep alone," she shook her head and stood up. "If you try to go to another room, I'm coming with you," he completed and she sat down.

"Thank you for everything," she said to him. "Goodnight," she pulled the covers over herself and faced right.

"Goodnight," he replied, standing in front of a mirror and spraying his hair before crashing into bed.

Two hours passed but Tess was still moving around, tossing about.
"Are you sleeping anytime soon?" Jason asked sleepily.
"I'm sorry,did I keep you awake? I'll just go to another room," she tried to remove the covers.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"

She was silent for a second.
"Will you listen?"
"Of course,I'm here."

"He was never a good father. He abandoned my mother and I. I wasn't always like this. My teenage years were just a complete disaster for me. My mom was locked up in a mental asylum, my new grandma was murdered and my stepmother never cared about me. They only needed me when I was to sign some papers. I was all alone, left in my own little shell. I basically cried myself to sleep every night as a teenager. One time, they made a guy approach me intentionally,then he broke me. They made people I trusted turn against me. They made them betrayers. I was always available for their evil scheme until my mother recovered. They got divorced and I thought we finally got away from him, for good."

"But he's back, again," Jason completed. He was now sitting on the bed,his back against the head rest.

"Yeah,and what scares me the most is that he might be connected to the murders. I mean, he's done a lot of bad things to us and he left us bad memories but, he's still my father. Can I arrest my father?" Her voice was breaking as she tried to sniff back he tears.

"If he's innocent,you won't have to. And if he isn't, you have to do your job as a cop. You work for the government," he patted her. "Criminals must be punished,even if they're family. But, that only applies if he's a criminal."

"That's exactly what I'm scared of, what if he is one?"

"Then you'll know what to do then because you'll have me by your side and together, we'll figure this out together."

"Really? I don't freak you out? You can handle my mood swings?" She smiled through her tears.
"You freak me out," he said,"but in a good way."

She chuckled as he wiped her tears.
"Hey,when you're with me, you don't need to put up a front. You can be free with me."

"Thanks," she hugged him tightly. "You were a great listener."
"I'm always here for you," he hugged her back.