A Day of Ruin

Chapter 17

Finn

“Harlow,wait!”

Fucking hell, she always was quick on her feet.

Dex and I stared wide mouthed at the open door where Harlow had been seconds before. The sweet, fruity smell of her perfume had shot past me when Harlow had suddenly decided to run out of the room.

The front door opened with a bang, the door bouncing off the wall as I jumped up to race after her. Dex wasn’t far behind, equally confused as fuck as we caught up to her at the elevators.

Harlow was frantically pressing the ‘down’ button, a look of panic on her face. She still had bare feet and I threw a concerned, worried look at Dex.

Maybe he could shed some light on this strange behavior because I had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on.

“Har!” I tried again, this time grabbing her wrist before she could hurt herself from her jabs on the button pad.

“Oh god, he’s back. He’s fucking back. I can’t...”

My eyebrows shot up as I watched her face contort in fear. My own fear filled me as I took in her frightened face, but I was also wracked with confusion.

What the hell had her so scared... to the point that she was running to look?

Most people ran away from terror, but she seemed to be stuck in her own mind, desperate for answers or something.

“Who is back? What are you talking about, Har?” I asked, looking at her trembling hand in my grip. She didn’t answer, her terrified eyes stuck on the number panel as she waited for the elevator.

The elevator dinged and the two of us piled in behind her, my body immediately on edge as I suddenly felt the need to protect and comfort her. I threw a quick look at Dex.

“Dex?”

He shrugged, his face tight as he watched her like she was a spooked animal that was trapped.

Harlow paced the elevator, muttering to herself as she pulled at her hair, her composure frazzled as incoherent sentences fell from her.

“He knows... my stuff... fuck! This isn’t happening...”

I jumped as she yelled, hitting her hands on the metal wall. Dex and I rushed forward at the same time, each of us grabbing some part of her as we tried to restrain her. She clearly wasn’t in her right mind.

“We need to get her back upstairs,” Dex said, turning to look at me as he held her elbow.

“No!” she yelled, fighting against us weakly. “I need to see what he put there. I can’t let anyone else grab it. It might have personal information on it.”

Okay. Now she was definitely talking crazy. Was she having a psychotic breakdown? It made sense if she was. All the trauma and emotional shunning.

The doors opened and before we could properly make a plan, Harlow shot out, her bare feet smacking on the cold tiles as she stalked across the lobby to the front doors. I looked around noticing people staring at her – some with curiosity, and some with disgust. It made me angry, I wanted to punch them but unfortunately assault was usually frowned upon by the police.

Dex gave an awkward wave to the doorman, who ripped the door open as Harlow charged through. I threw a curious smile, his eyebrows drawn as he looked at me in confusion.

Don’t worry, Good Sir, I was also fucking confused.

The cold outside air hit me and I shivered, but Harlow didn’t seem fazed at all. Instead, Dex and I stopped as she walked over to the makeshift garden along the side of the road, her hands grabbing rubbish.

Okay – I was now fairly certain that she was, indeed having a goddamn breakdown.

By-passers stopped to watch her, muttering and shaking their heads in disapproval as she grabbed the rubbish, cries of frustration leaving her as she scooped it up.

I turned suddenly when I heard Dex tell someone to ‘fuck off’ and ‘mind your own business’. A middle aged couple gave him an offended gasp and hurried along, while another man give him the finger.

Harlow didn’t notice though, turning and heading straight back inside the doors with an armful of random crap. We quickly followed her, my eyes trying to catch a glimpse of what she was holding. All I could make out was some clothes and paperwork.

She stopped in front of the elevator, her eyes wet as she seemingly fought back tears. Immediately, Dex and I shielded her – standing either side of her protectively. Her body was still tensed, but I noticed her relax a little. It wasn’t enough though and as the three of us stepped back into the elevator, I saw her resolve finally crack. She hugged the items to her chest, silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she stared at the now closed doors.

“Har,” I pressed, trying to be cautious, “are you okay?”

Dex stood next to her, concern on his face as he waited to hear her reply too.

Her silence was what hurt the most. Because that meant she had shut down. She had just completely shut herself down, her body and mind slipping into survival mode. All we received was a little nod, though it was obvious that neither of us bought that shit.

We watched her exit the elevator, her feet dragging along the carpeted hallway as she slowly made her way back to the apartment. Dex slipped ahead of her, opening the door and standing back to let her go in.

I tried to catch up to her but she walked straight into her bedroom, this time closing the door before I had the opportunity to reach it or stop her.

But this time I didn’t try.

There was something about the fear in her eyes that stopped me. And it scared me.

I was losing her again. And I hadn’t even gotten her back yet.