Okay

.60.

Hannah "Birdie" Morrison

It's an hour early but I'm already headed for the doors of my work. Saying goodbye to my coworkers as I go.

When I talked to Drew this morning he sounded swamped with work, trying to make some deadline for his dad so I decided to work through my lunch and surprise him with dinner from one of my favorite restaurants.

I call in the order on my drive but traffic is already crazy, the sounds of sirens echoing through the city.

As I hang up with the restaurant, I call Holt. He answers after two rings and as soon as I hear his voice a smile comes to my face.

"Hey, are you on your way?" I ask him.

He hums into the phone. "Yeah, but traffic is bad right now. Probably take me an extra hour."

"I don't know how you live in Chicago." I comment, appreciating for a moment the luxury I have of living in a city that's not as stifling as Chicago can be.

"It's alright."

"You haven't told Drew you're coming home yet have you?" I ask.

"No, you told me not to." He says.

I laugh through my nose, of course Holt listened. "Just making sure. Thank you, for coming back. I know you were just here."

It was my idea, though Holt agreed without any hesitation. I'm worried about Drew and I'm not sure how to help him. But I'm hoping Holt does. I'm hoping that having Holt back even for a few days will recenter Drew. He seemed so determined when he came back from Chicago and I'm desperate to keep that determination alive within him.

"I didn't want to leave in the first place." He tells me. "Drew said if I quit it'll make him feel worse, so..."

It doesn't surprise me that Drew used guilt to sway Holt's decision. I'm glad he did, even if it wasn't exactly fair to Holt. I'm just as bad, if not worse because I started it, telling Drew he was part of the reason Holt was thinking about leaving the NBA. But I think it was the right thing to do, even if it was a little manipulative.

"I'm about to get some food, I'm going to let you go Holt but drive careful." I say as I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too. Bye Birdie."

It only takes me fifteen minutes to grab our food and drive to Drew's. As I pull into the parking lot there's a line of emergency vehicles, lights flashing. Instantly fear spreads through me. My thoughts launching to the worst possible scenario. It can't be Drew, I just talked to him this morning, I'm being paranoid.

My heart starts to beat hard within my chest. Climbing out of the car, I clutch the to-go bag in my hand, passing by an ambulance as I try to silently reassure myself. Everything in me freezes though when my eyes land on a black truck, a truck that looks too much like my dad's to not be his.

And then I'm running in an instant. The to-go bag falling in my haste.

By the time I reach the tenth floor, I'm sobbing. I burst out of the stairwell, frantically looking at the door numbers even though I can tell the apartment that everyone is lingering outside of is Drew's.

"No!" A sob rips through me as I go rushing, shoving people out of my way.

There's no way it's Drew. This is wrong. This has to be wrong! I'm almost to his open door when someone blocks my way.

"It's okay Birdie!" I collide into a body, their arms wrapping around me tight as they pull me close. "It's okay baby, I got you."

"Drew!" I scream his name like a wounded animal.

"I'm sorry baby." My dad whispers in my ear, backing me away from the open door. "He's gone, he's already gone."

He's wrong. This is some kind of sick joke. Thrashing in his arms I try to push my way out but he holds me closer.

"Let me go!" I scream.

"You don't want to see him like that Birdie." He tells me.

"Please daddy, please." A relentless stream of tears fall down my face, blurring my vision.

"You're gonna be okay baby." But I don't believe him. It feels like someone just crushed my chest and everything in it. "It's gonna be okay."

                             ————————

Alright I was going to spread these out more but honestly trying to wait the hour that's past has been hard. Ya'll are killing me. Plus Rensk3N is over here in my messages dropping puns so ya know, here's another update.