Solace | ASHTON IRWIN

One

Harley woke to the sound of heavy footsteps that morning, almost like their owner was wearing work boots made of concrete, or so it sounded to her tired ears. When she finally got up the courage to go downstairs, she was greeted with a scene she'll only ever hope to forget.

EMT's were everywhere and Jack Glenrose, the owner of the house and her employer, lay still on the floor. His head and shoulders pulled haphazardly into the lap of his wife, Maggie, whose sobs felt as if they rocked the window panes; Harley felt them in her chest. It was a brain aneurysm, they had said, something completely unpredictable that could have burst at any time. He was gone before he hit the floor.

It was the middle of November, the ground was frozen and there was a thin layer of ice covering the lake, a light snow threatening to fall outside. Harley spent the rest of the day with Maggie, comforting her as best she could before finally coaxing her to get some sleep around 8pm.

Though it didn't feel like it at the time, the day Jack Glenrose died would, in a strange way, be the greatest thing that would ever happen to Harley Denvers, only second to meeting him.

-

The rest of November passed in a haze, arrangements were made and quickly carried out for a celebration of life for Jack on Saturday, December 1st. Harley was happy to have put those few days behind her. Yet, as they walked through the front door that evening, Maggie went straight to the kitchen and turned on the kettle, moving around the room to collect their favorite mugs instead of going to bed. Maggie only made Harley tea when she had something important to say.

With a small sigh, Harley went upstairs to her room to change into something comfortable and then back downstairs to sit at the kitchen island, feet dangling above the floor, and simply watched Maggie, knowing fully well that she would be shooed away if she tried to help the older woman. When Maggie finally handed Harley her mug, she wrapped both hands around it securely, taking in its warmth against the cold November air. "What's up, Maggie?" Harley asked, bringing her mug closer to her face.

Maggie smiled, soft and sad, and took a deep breath before saying, "I sold the house."

"You... You what?" Harley gasped, forcing the words out of her mouth, eyes wide as she lowered her mug in shock.

"I can't be here without him, you know that. I found somewhere small, just for me, somewhere warm. It's what he would want." She said, placing a hand over one of Harleys.

"But what about..." Harley started to say, but Maggie cut her off.

"You? Oh, my darling girl. I'd never leave you hanging like that. The buyers have agreed to keep you on full-time, live in staff, even though you're technically the only staff. They seem very nice." She said, patting Harley's hand.

"I would have left, you didn't need to do that. But thank you, I suppose... Is it a family? Where are they from?" Harley asked, mind starting to wander.

"Not a family really. Four young men from what I understand. From LA, although I spoke with one of them and he had an accent so I'm not sure." Maggie sighed, standing up and placing her mug in the sink, still full.

"Four. Men. I dunno, Mags, you know how I feel." Harley said, standing as well but setting her mug on the counter and moving to start a small fire in the fireplace.

"I need you to trust me. I have a good feeling about this for you." Maggie smiled as she placed a hand on Harley's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, "I'm going to bed, we can talk more about it later."

Harley sighed, thoughts running away from her as she said goodnight to Maggie before grabbing her mug from the counter and settling down into an armchair in front of the fire.

The mug was losing its warmth already but Harley still laced her fingers around it and hugged it to her chest, staring into the orange light of the fire. She considered herself lucky to have worked for Jack and Maggie for the past two years. She had grown up in this town, surrounded by people with too much money, who seemingly did nothing to earn it, while her family struggled to pay their bills or get groceries. When she left for college she had no intentions of returning, but after a horrible heartbreak she knew there was only one place to hide herself away from the world.

Her family moved away, finally, a year before she moved back. She was thankful for that because she hadn't spoken to them in a few years. Any friends she had before she left for college had either moved away or had no interest in interacting with her, so she was alone, and she liked it. She spent a few weeks living in her car and working at a local resort, where she also showered and ate when she could, and then she ran into Jack and Maggie Glenrose, an older couple who she had known since she was 6 years old; Maggie had been a teacher's assistant in her kindergarten classroom. When Harley explained her situation to them, they immediately offered her work and a place to live.

So it was just the three of them, but she loved it. She loved her morning routine of waking up, drinking coffee, reading on the docks, going for a swim, (when it was warm), then getting to work. She also loved sitting curled up in front of the fireplace, alone with her thoughts, in the winter, like she was now. More than anything though, she loved sitting on the screened in porch while it rained in the summers.

She was thankful her routines would not have to change, as she wasn't ready to give them up quite yet, but she was nervous about letting new people into her life. There were few people she would let in, and, if she could help it, she wouldn't let anyone in at all. Harley sat there with her thoughts until the fire burned out, her tea long cold as well. She left her mug on the counter and went to bed, hoping that the four men who bought her home weren't anything like the money hungry, stereotypical families she had spent her childhood exposed to.

As she did most nights, Harley spent a few minutes scrolling her social media before bed. Although she was completely unaware of it at the time, she scrolled right past an article that would have let her know exactly what she was about to get involved with. The headline? 

"5 Seconds of Summer's Meet You There Tour has ended! Where are they now?"

Authors note:

hiii, welcome to solace <3 

how are we feeling? setting the scene, getting some character background underway and all that jazz. the fun stuff starts very soon :)

This is the first time I'm writing and publishing anything in a very long time so I hope you'll be gentle and patient with me as I get used to it again! Some formatting things might change as I adjust and hopefully my writing style smooths itself out as I go! 

I hope you'll enjoy wherever this silly little idea takes me, I'm already having a lot of fun! 

you can find me on twitter @/irwinsmiles (main) or @/haywritesafi for updates and things about Solace!

see u soon 

-hayz