Still Falling

02 | storm

Finn

*

An image of a dark haired woman came barrelling in my head. I couldn't make out her appearance, and then, a masked man. The unnerving sound of metal. A gunshot. A piercing scream.

My eyes snapped open as I woke with a gasp. I scanned my surroundings frantically. White walls, tall glass windows and an empty room. Daylight flooded in, putting me a little more at ease. There was no darkness, no darkness...

Slowly, I sat up in my seat, hand atop my chest, feeling my racing heartbeat slow down. One tap on my phone revealed that I'd only had my eyes shut for two minutes.

Two minutes, and it had felt like I was drowning for an eternity.

"Fuck," I hissed, sending a hand through my hair. These nightmares - I'd stopped having them months ago, but then they returned out of the blue, and this was the third one I was having this week alone. I hung my head back and sighed. Today was slowly turning out to be the shittiest and most depressing day of my life. Considering I was once in a coma for ten days, that was saying a lot.

I got off my seat and stretched. It was still an hour before my therapy session, and I had hoped to kill time with a short nap. Sleep was the last thing on my mind now, and I wished I had something to fill the void with. I walked to the window and braced my arms on it. I didn't go out often for leisure, choosing to be confined to the emptiness of my apartment in the middle of Zürich. A beautiful city, if I could be bothered to explore it.

Parker often tried to convince me to step outside for mundane tasks like grab a coffee or go for a walk, claiming it would do more than the therapy sessions I spent thousands of dollars on, but he knew better. I appreciated his concern for me, but I wished everyone would get over their need to save me.

Because there was no saving me.

She'd tried, but here I was. Because I was absolutely fucked. Hopeless and doomed to live the rest of my-

I snapped my head back to where my phone lay and grabbed it off the table. Frantic fingers swiped through the screen. There were only five contacts saved on it. Five I cared to save, anyway. One filled my call log than any other.

"Good morning, Mr Harris. Are you ready to leave for your appointment with Dr Levine?"

Parker was an excellent assistant. He'd been my assistant for two years now, since I was discharged from the hospital Elliot and my aunt had me stuffed in. Everything about my stay here was under close watch and intensely private. Mallard was most paranoid - she hated the idea of me being hounded on by the media and anybody outside the family.

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll just notify the boys-"

"Alone," I added softly.

The other side of the line went quiet. Finally, "Y-you want to drive yourself? Without the bodyguards?" His voice was heavily laced with incredulity, and I could imagine him rubbing his temples like he did when confused.

"Especially without the bodyguards."

"But... that isn't the safest idea, Mr Harris. You should let Miller drive you, at least."

"It's fine, Parker. Have the car out, I'll be out in five," I instructed, leaving no room for further argument.

He hesitated, but finally said, "Alright."

I slid my phone into my pocket and walked out of the room. I stepped out into the hallway the same time the neighbor across me shuffled out of her apartment. She was an elderly lady, the mother of a renowned neurosurgeon who lived in Sydney. Her small figure was dressed rather extravagantly, with large white pearls circling her neck and her puppy tucked into the crook of her elbow.