asset [h.s.]

fifty six // broken pieces

Harry

I use both hands to push open the double doors of the house, ignoring anyone who tries to talk to me as I walk down the hall, keeping my icy gaze glued ahead of me.

I immediately head for the lounge because I know that's where Liam is, pushing open that door just as carelessly as the first one. He raises his eyes from behind his laptop once he hears me walk in, although I pay no mind to him as I reach up and rip the bandana off my head which I used to keep my hair out of my face, tossing it onto the couch.

I can still feel him watching me as I place my bag onto the coffee table, pulling out the weapons and the remaining bullets, laying them out on the glass and brushing my finger against them as I count how many are left.

"Where have you been all day?" Liam suddenly asks, being the first one of us to speak and breaking the silence in the room.

"Working."

He just raises his eyebrows at me, clearly having figured that one out and wanting to know my location, but I'm really not in the mood to have a proper conversation right now. I haven't been for a few days now seeing as I've barely talked to anyone, mostly because I'm never in the house, but also because when I am, I just shut myself in one of the bedrooms.

"You know," Liam says as he watches me sort out the weapons I used today, a disapproving look on his face. "I don't really trust you being around guns right now."

I can't help but chuckle at that, although it comes out as more of a sarcastic, sour laugh. "Why?" I ask him with an amused smile, making his eyes widen when I lift up the loaded gun and place it against the side of my head. "Are you scared I'm going to off myself?"

Liam practically jumps out of his seat in lightening speed, snatching the gun out of my hand as if I was actually going to do it, quickly taking the bullets out of it. I laugh at him again, but he just shoots me a glare, looking unimpressed.

"Honestly, Harry," he sighs, tossing the bullets into the bag and placing the now unloaded gun along with them. "I think you're going crazy."

"Relax. I was joking," I tell him, even though I think that's only half true.

"Why are you even going out and doing these missions anyway?"

"I told you, that was Owen's deal. I stay here and do what he orders, or I end up dead."

"Don't you think you should at least be helping me with this Alicia thing?" Liam asks and I immediately feel my heart clench at the mention of her name, although I try to brush it off.

"There is no Alicia thing."

"So you're not even going to help me find her?"

"No," I reply simply. "Because she doesn't want to be found. She made her choice."

Liam rolls his eyes, clearly not believing me. He still hasn't let go of the idea that Alicia was forced into leaving and thinks there's something else going on that we don't know about, but I'm not too sure anymore. For the first two days after she was gone, I kind of fed into Liam's idea a little as it was the only sliver of hope I had, but after we didn't hear anything, I gave up on that.

I realised that clinging onto the false hope that she'll come back is much more painful than the fear she won't.

"Harry," Liam sighs, giving me that sad, sympathetic look that I'm getting so fed up of. It's the kind of look you give to a little kid when their favourite toy gets broken, and I hate it. "I've told you before, I think there's more to the story."