The Beginning and Ending of Everything

Chapter Thirteen

[Harley Kreener - Third person limited - Sunday, October 8, 2023 - 11:53 AM]

Harley Kreener didn't have many people in his life.

He didn't remember having a father there for him; from what his mother told him, he never really did.

He was there for his younger sister. But Harley wished he could have an older sibling he could lean on, someone he didn't have to act strong for.

He'd never had a best friend. Growing up, bullies picked on him, and any friends he did have weren't the greatest. They weren't the type of friends that kept in touch for years. They weren't even close enough to hang out after school, let alone talk about hard things.

But at the end of the day, Harley could always hug his mom if she was home.

His mother, Karen, regarded him from the car's driver's seat. Harley could never hide anything from his mom. She could probably see the sadness poking out from underneath his slight smile, his fidgeting fingers.

She reached across the console and grabbed his left hand, stilling his fingers and interlacing them with her own. Harley stared at their intertwined hands as she squeezed his reassuringly. He looked at her kind expression, eyes crinkled up in concern, her smile comforting. "Are you okay?" she asked him, her eyes searching his face for the answers to the question they both knew he probably wouldn't answer honestly.

His mom squeezed his hand. Her question reminded Harley why he was in the parking lot of the Avengers Compound in the first place, turning the quiet peace he'd found talking to Peter into a bittersweet remembrance.

Harley cleared his throat, "Ye―" he cleared his throat again, "Yeah, yeah, of course."

He shook his head a bit as if it would clear his thoughts and smiled ― albeit a bit forcedly ― at her.

She sighed through her nose, scanning his expression before she focused on backing the car out of its spot. She knew he was lying through his teeth but didn't press. They both had a bad habit of hiding how badly they were hurting to be strong for the other.

They were a team. Harley's mother had always been good to him. He had tried his best not to act out, even though his ADHD sometimes made it hard, and his dyslexia had him bring home report cards that weren't necessarily terrible but were worse than he felt he should be getting. His mom worked overtime to pay the rent and the bills. When she did come home, she was always so exhausted that she would wear weariness in her smile and have sleeping pills stashed in the cupboard.

But no matter how tired she was, she would always find the energy to hug him after a bad day. She would find the strength not to cry as she patched him up after he got beat up by the neighbor kids again. Yeah, they were a team.

But teams have to catch a break every now and then, right? Harley mused as his mom turned onto the highway, where they would drive farther and farther away from the only home he had ever known, all the way until they got to the new place where they were to build a new one.

[~~~~~~]

Harley regarded the house. It seemed okay, not too different than the pictures. He looked at his mother over his shoulder, pulling his wedged bag out of its hiding place in the car's trunk. He was tired. They'd driven a long way on Sunday, stayed at a hotel, and gone what seemed like even longer on Monday. "What level are we on again?"

Karen finished heaving a heavy bag out of the car. She put her fists on her hips and turned to look at him, blowing a piece of light brown hair out of her eyes. She was sweating. Harley was, too; it was a lot more humid here than back home. Finally, after a second of staring blankly at him, she came to. "Ah, yes. Uhhh, where did I..." she trailed off, scrolling through something on her phone.