Colorblind [h.s]

30

I blink a few times, trying to process what he just said, but also wanting to make sure I heard him right.

"What?" I ask in disbelief.

He stays silent, his eyes never leaving mine.

"You were driving the car that hit me? You're the reason I-"

"No, I was driving the car you were in."

Why were we in the car together?

Although the pictures triggered some of my memories with Harry when we were younger, so many pieces are still missing. I can't remember when or why we actually became friends. The moment my family moved into the house next door to his, all I wanted was to be friends with him, but that was seemingly the last thing he wanted. And unironically, that hasn't changed much since then.

"Violet," Harry says softly, pulling me from my thoughts. "Say something."

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. So many questions are swirling around my brain that I don't know what to say, or which one to start with.

"Boys, can you leave us alone for a minute?" Harry asks, his eyes leaving mine to look over my shoulder.

I turn around to see Niall and Zayn standing in the doorway. They're looking between Harry and I, and Niall has his gun out at his side. I didn't even notice they had followed me in here. I guess me grabbing the gun set off some alarms in their heads.

"Yeah, mate," Niall says hesitantly. "Just, uh, don't kill each other."

They leave Harry and I alone in the dining room, closing the door behind them as silence encloses the space around us. It's deafening.

"Violet," Harry says softly again, shattering the wall between us.

I turn back around to look at him.

"Please say something."
I stare at him for a few moments, staying silent and trying to control my breathing. Tears stay in my eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. He looks so much different than I remember him. Sure, we were freshly teenagers, but still. I feel a bit less guilty now that I didn't recognize him.

He looks like a different person. Not just that he's aged and has long hair- he looks worn out. Time has taken its toll on him.

"I- I don't know what to say. What do you want me to say? You still haven't answered some of my questions."

He nods lightly. "Just sit down and I'll explain everything, okay?"

I do as he says, leaving several seats in between us, the distance being the perfect metaphor for our current situation.

"Before the accident, what's the last thing you remember?" He asks, messing with his hair.

"About us, I mean. I'm just trying to see how far back I need to go."

"Um," I begin, closing my eyes and taking a second to think. "I remember you helped me with my math homework a few times. And you sat with me at lunch on my first day of school."