I awake in the morning half-expecting Harry to already be gone but to my surprise, I find him sleeping beside me, arms still draped across my body protectively. Unlike the last time I caught him sleeping, he still looks stressed. His eyebrows crease in the center and his lips form a pout. I wonder how on earth he can be comfortable like that.
I shift as quietly as I can, attempting to get up and go to the bathroom but Harry’s grip tightens suddenly and I flop backwards onto the bed again.
“Where’re you goin’?” he mumbles sleepily, long fingers splaying against the side of my stomach.
“Bathroom.”
“Alright. I guess that’s allowed.”
A month ago, I would’ve laughed and responded with something witty like, what, are you my bodyguard now? but I don’t have the heart. I mumble a quiet thanks before making my way into the bathroom Lisa and I used to share.
Used to.
It hits me like a ton of bricks as soon as I pad across the cool tiles of the bathroom floor and I’m in hysterics again. I slam the door and lock it as quickly as possible, hoping to keep Harry away so he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore. Gripping the counter hard, I stare at myself in the mirror, barely recognizing a single hair on my head. I look ghastly, as if I’m wasting away and to be honest, I’m scared of myself. How can Harry even stand to be around me like this?
I can faintly hear Harry pounding on the door and pleading for me to open up but all I can see are Lisa’s beauty products splayed on our shared counter. They sit exactly how they did before she died; completely messy and strewn all over the place. There are even little blonde hairs woven between the bristles on her hair brush. The anger seems to swell inside of me and I grab the brush, screaming as I chuck it into the garbage can, the clattering noise ringing loudly in my ears. I stumble over to the toilet and sit on the cover, crying into my knees until I feel like I’m all out of tears.
It must be a while before I come back down to Earth because I no longer hear Harry calling out my name. I sniff and wipe at my eyes but nothing really helps.
“Harry?” I croak, my throat sore and dry.
“Alexa? I’m right outside the door,” he responds, his voice somewhat strained.
I swallow a couple of times before standing up, leaning against my side of the door. I slide down to the floor, my knees near my cheeks. The cold sensation of the linoleum spreads through my body, providing some sort of relief.
“Why are you here?” I ask Harry, nearing my second round of tears already.
“What do you mean?”
“Like…I’m a mess. You already have so much shit to deal with.”
I can almost feel him sigh through the cheap wood barrier as I wait for his answer. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Alexa, but I care about you.”
“But-”
“Just, listen. Please,” he pauses, checking to make sure that I’m willing to pay attention. “I’m not here because I owe you for the rest of my life. Hell, I’m not even here because I feel obligated or any of that bullshit. I’m here because you can’t do this alone.”
Tears begin to track down my cheeks again as Harry continues. “You need me, even if you don’t think you do, Lex.”
I process his sweet words before whispering, “You’re right.”
“Then open up the door and let me help you.”
Without another word, I let him in.
*
YOU ARE READING
Heroism (h.s.)
Fanfiction"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." - Joseph Churchill. After a frightening incident on her way home from work, Alexa Mackie is left with more questions than answers. A mysterious stranger in black sa...
