the new year

seventy-four

S E V E N T Y - F O U R :

Vibrations emitted unabatingly from the grey pine bedside table, without some much as a care in the world. Grumbling and fumbling out of her semi-deep sleep, she rolled over like a dog on the grass, grabbed the source of the vibrations and lifted it to eye level, squinting at the light from the screen. The vibrations didn't stop. The time read two twenty-five AM. Who on earth was ringing her at this ungodly hour?

Soon enough, she figured out who had been calling her relentlessly, her heart dropped.

harrison stiles is calling. . . 

Nervously, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, she had a barbed wire digging into her with the amount of worry she was feeling. He very rarely called her and when he did, it was at a time where he knew she'd be awake, a fact that made her panic tenfold. Rapidly, her thumb swiped across the screen and promptly placed the device to her ear, her arm holding her up in a leaning position.

"Harrison?" She mumbled, her voice croaky from the sleep she'd just been in. She received no response.

"Are you okay?" She spoke again but still received taciturnity. 

The thuds that were exploding from within her chest only tripled when she heard a choked sob from the speaker of her jet black mobile. "Harri?" Oak said more vocally, she put his lack of words down to the fact that he perhaps didn't hear her, again, she got nothing but a silent sob.

"Please tell me you're okay. . ." She trailed off her words in a pleading manner, swivelling her legs around so that she was perched at the side of her bed. 

"Please. . .I need you," He finally spoke, his voice was barely understandable from the gravelly tone it had and it was tearing her apart like a piece of paper that was now to be scrapped.  

"You've got me, I'm here," She asseverated and in response got another cry and more pleas, what had happened? 

"Oak, please. . ." He averred with cracks in the words, even though she couldn't visibly see him the image of his state in her head was enough to make her go into overdrive. He had repeated that same statement twice more before he fell silent again, Oak was trying to muster up what to say because she didn't know his situation. 

"I'm here," The reassurance was prominent as she spoke to him, she didn't want to get him anymore worked up than he already sounded. Static noise was ringing in her ears as her worriment kept piling and piling up, she stood from her once seated position and just as quickly as she stood she was slipping on some slippers that were under the black nylon acrylic chair in the corner of her bedroom.

"I need you," His words were wailed from the obvious surge of emotions he was going through. She didn't know what to do and that was killing her slowly but clearly, nowhere near as much as it was killing him. "Please," He pleaded again, she let out a shaky breath unsure of what to do that would help him.

"You've got me, I promise," She repeated, putting her phone on speaker call and laying it on her ruffled sheets before she fleetly dragged her black STRINGS hoodie she got given for free on their tour. "I'm here," She told him so he knew she was still on the other end of the phone.