Callum & Harper (Sleepless 1)

“He’s going to find me,” she said to no one.

“No, he won’t,” I said, we’re not listed anywhere. We don’t live anywhere,” I humorlessly laughed. “Please, stop worrying.”

“And the judge may consider his threat to you,” the detective chimed in. “There is a chance he won’t be given bail. Also, depending on the charge, his bail will be set fairly high. You’ll just have to wait and see but you can’t worry about things that haven’t even happened yet. Go home, or wherever it is you go and get some rest. Call us tomorrow afternoon. We should have some answers by then.”

“Thank you,” I said, leading Harper toward the double doors of the station.

Cherry and Charlie stood on either side of us again but Cherry held Harper’s other arm as we descended the steps. Charlie hailed a taxi van and we all climbed in.

Charlie’s apartment was bursting at the seams when we walked in. A few had fallen asleep but most had stayed awake, the worry that lined the room was tangible.

“What’d they say?” Aaron asked, folding his arms.

“They took our statements,” I answered him while setting Harper on a bit of couch that wasn’t taken up by sleeping friends. “They aren’t sure what charges will be given but they said we can call up their tomorrow to get a few more concrete answers.”

“And who was that guy?” Nat asked. “Do you know him, Harper?”

“Yes,” she said. “I used to live with him three foster homes ago. I thought he had been my friend until his insaneness started making an appearance. He’s a psychopath.” Harper looked up at me. “If only I had told someone about all that he’d done, that woman could be alive right now.”

Everyone started to protest but I cut them short. “No, Harper. I told you, you can’t blame yourself. You can’t be responsible for his actions. Stop blaming yourself. Seriously.”

“I can’t help it,” she said quietly. “I keep seeing her dead eyes staring up at me.”

Those who were awake rushed over to her and soothed her with words and hands. I could visibly tell that her heart had lightened at their proximity. It was like they were absorbing her pain through touch. I loved them for this. They loved her for me. They loved her because she was amazing.

Chapter Nine

For The Longest Time

Callum

Harper and I didn’t sleep a wink that night but finally succumbed around five o’clock in the afternoon the following Sunday, which worked out nicely as we had an eight o’clock appointment with my advisor, Sylvia, Monday morning. Both of us woke at five in the morning, silently getting ready in Charlie’s apartment. Everyone had left sometime after we’d fallen asleep. When I woke, I found a note from Charlie saying he was going to sleep at the studio so we could get some rest. He was so generous to me. Also, we hadn’t thought about it before but were awfully grateful that Cherry had our bags brought from her flat to Charlie’s.

“Are you ready?” I asked Harper.

“Yes,” was her simple answer.

We locked the door behind us and rode the subway toward campus.

A minute into our ride, Harper asked me, “What about your bike?”

“Who cares about the bike, Harper. I’m just glad he didn’t hurt you.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” she whispered.

“Absolutely not. You have nothing to make up for, Harper. You owe me nothing. Shit happens, babe.”

She smiled slightly. “You’re incredible, Callum.”

“I’m really not. If I was, I never would have left you alone in the first place.”

“I’m not an invalid,” the old, sassy Harper said.

“Oh, got your tongue back, have you?” She smiled wider. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“I can’t believe the past few weeks,” she said, shaking her head.

“I know. You, kicked from your home, us, working all those weeks just to have our money stolen.” Harper shook her head. “That’s not your fault either! Then, that psycho comes after you and kills that innocent girl.”