34
HARLEY
“Bel, you’ll never believe what’s just happened to me,” Harley yelled running up the stairs of their two-story home.
She needed to tell someone what had just occurred between her and Scarlett.
Annabel had become okay with talking about Scarlett and there was no way she was going to babble her business to anyone else.
Harley initially hadn’t thought twice about opening Annabel’s door; they did that all the time with one another, then either or would yell about privacy but still come to say what they were there for.
She had seen Annabel’s car outside so she knew she was home, Harley had been running entirely on adrenaline so she didn’t think about how it was a little odd for the place to be so silent. Usually, there was terrible rock music coming from the other side of the door.
Harley opened it wide when she saw Annabel on the floor, wincing in pain as she took a lighter to her thighs. She was immediately paralysed by the visual of what was happening in front of her. Annabel looked up and her eyes were burning red, rimmed heavily with tears.
“Annabel…” she started but her words faded away.
Annabel wiped at her eyes, trying to hide the lighter and got up abruptly. “You’re meant to be at Scarlett’s.”
“I came back early. What were you doing?”
“Nothing,” she lied. Trying her best to smile but it came out all wrong.
Harley walked further into the room, the curtains were closed and the place was a mess. Annabel hated any form of uncleanliness, she hoovered at least once a day.
“Don’t lie to me, I saw you!”
“You didn’t see anything.” Annabel turned away from her, writhing as she walked.
Harley walked up to her and grabbed her arm, “Look at me as you tell me you weren’t hurting yourself.”
Annabel’s face crumpled momentarily, she fell into her arms crying which was when Harley noticed that her hands were bandaged.
She walked them over to the bed and tucked her in then climbed in beside her. She feared what would happen if she took her eyes off her.
“When did this happen?” Holding her hands up to stare at how carefully wrapped they were.
“An accident,” Annabel answered. “I swear.”
Harley nodded, accepting her explanation. “Do you want me to call Arden?”
She shook her head, “I’ll do it tomorrow. I just need you.”
Annabel fell asleep in her arms and every second that ticked by Harley worried that her fears would come true.
Harley had gone to university the very next day despite what she had seen the day before. She was anxious that she should’ve stayed home but she had used up the last of her attendance excuses and needed to be in as there was also a project that needed handing in.
Annabel promised she’d check in with her every hour, it had been hard to coax that agreement out of her but Harley was extremely persuasive when need be.
She was walking down the corridor, after coming out of her class, when she bumped into a lecturer, a tall dark skin man she felt she had seen him about before but wasn’t sure.
All the files in his hand scattered onto the floor, she leaned down to help pick them up.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. ”
“Don’t worry about it, you wouldn’t be the first student to do so.” He smiled as he picked up the rest of the paper on the ground.
“Sorry, again.”
She began to walk away when he called on her again. “My apologies but you know Annabel Bass, right?”
“Most people do,” she said, wondering where this was leading.
“Naturally. But I meant you’re friends with her, aren’t you?
” He inquired. It was weird, Harley had been around people who knew their secret for so long that she had forgotten that their cover was that they were just friends.
Somewhere within her wanted to correct him and say No, she’s my sister but she held her tongue and nodded.
“I am.”
“Annabel usually takes one of my classes today but I haven’t heard from her at all,” he told her and it dawned on her instantly who this was. This was David. “She wasn’t the type to not show up at all, so I was wondering if there was something I wasn’t aware of.”
Annabel had mentioned how easily she had bonded with him and spoke to him about personal things in her life.
He had been acting as a makeshift therapist in a way, so Harley chose to disclose parts of the truth.
“There was a situation last night, she is feeling out of sorts at the moment so it must have escaped her mind to contact you.”
His brows furrowed in concern, “Anything serious that I could help with?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll make sure to tell her to get back to you,” Harley said, a little stunned at the honest worry he was displaying. They must’ve been closer than had been alluded to.
“Thank you.” He nodded, then walked away “It was nice to meet you, Harley.”
She paused. She never told him her name.
Why did it often feel like she was in situations where people knew more than implied?
Harley stared at his retreating figure, eyes narrowed.
Which was when she spotted part of a tattoo by his neck, the rest hidden by the rest of his shirt; a spider that looked awfully like the one that rested on Scarlett’s ribcage.
But that couldn't be. There was no way the university would hire a gang member, the idea was unseemly. Perhaps she was mistaken.
However, him talking about Annabel had her remembering she hadn’t checked in yet.
She called her number multiple times to no avail, for the next thirty minutes her texts went unanswered and panic began to arise.
There was no way she could get home on time to see if she was alright. She called her next option.
“Arden Thorne,” he answered after the first ring.
“It’s Harley.”
“Yes, I figured as much.”
Harley took a deep breath in and out to ignore his smart remark this one time as Annabel was more urgent than arguing with him. “I need you to check on my sister.”
“It’s noon on a Wednesday, she should be in Economics of Crime,” he said.
“No, she's not. She’s at home, something happened last night.” Harley told him everything from when she walked in on her burning her thighs to the bandage on her hands.
“Yesterday when she came to see Nicholas and I play, she cut her hands,” Arden informed her of what went down at the tennis match. Harley remembered the first time in the canteen when she’d seen her do that but not to the point of bandages.
“Is she okay?” she asked down the line tentatively, scared for the answer even though she knew it.
“She will be. I’m not that far, I’ll go check on her. She could just be asleep.”
Harley knew they were both rationalising but it was better than the alternative. He hung up and still she decided to forgo her next class, she could think up an excuse for her lecturers later.