crescent [h.s]

10

Aurora Adler
(tw. suicide)

"What's the plan for tonight?" I ask with my head in Harry's lap, sucking on an orange popsicle.

I had a craving.

He continues stroking my hair, "Anything you want, beautiful. As long as it's me, you and," his hands move on my bump, "this little one... I don't mind."

I smile and take the ice cold treat out of my mouth, lifting my head to peck his lips, he pulls back and mumbles, "Your lips are freezing."

I laugh and nod putting the stick back in my mouth.

I bite away the remaining popsicle, Harry watching me intently, "What?"

"How on earth are you biting that?"

I shrug, "Like this." I say, making a show of chewing the ice.

His whole body shivers and he shuts his eyes, "No, just no. Never do that again."

I laugh as I place the clean stick on my leg, Marshmallow back on my bump. I pull his head down, kissing him a few times– it being a little awkward in this position, but ultimately one of my favourite ever kisses with him.

If I had to rank every kiss I'd ever shared with people, then the kisses that filled the top 1000 spots would belong to Harry. Everyone else is so far down you can hardly even see them.

When we pull back, a small thought grows at the back of my mind, "Hey Harry.."

He smiles and keeps playing with my hair comfortingly, "Hey Aurora.."

I take a second to compose myself, trying to swallow down my nerves of rejection, "Can you tell me more about why you chose to move here? I want to know more about you."

His smile widens, "Of course, I want you to know everything about me."

"So," he starts, "wait–" he cuts himself off and looks down at me, worry etched on his face, "I, uh, this is a long story okay? And.. it's not very happy. Please tell me if you need me to stop or talk in less detail, okay?"

I nod and reach my hand up to stroke some of his hair back, "Of course. It's okay, I want to know every part of you. The happy, the sad, the dark, the emotional. I want to know every side of you."

With a small smile and a peck to my lips, he begins the story. "So... as you know, I moved here last summer, having just got the job with Delilah, but what you don't know, is that, that job saved my life. Literally."

I already feel myself getting emotional, because I care for Harry so much in so little time it may be borderline crazy. But, I stay quiet, wanting to be the best listener for him.

"Before I got this job, I was a freelance photographer, and I worked from my apartment, a little up north from here. As you know," he looks down and me and settles his vision on my jawline, his thumb falling down to stroke along the bone as he talks, "I'm on antidepressants, and probably will be for a very, very long time to come. The depression just started off as feeling sad, lonely, empty, and I wasn't making any sense to anyone I tried to explain my feelings too– because I had no clue how to put my exact emotions into words."

His vision darts across my face, but he doesn't look into my eyes, "However, it got to the point where I hadn't been in outside for over 3 weeks, I only left my bed to make toast and go to the bathroom. It was the biggest chore to even brush my teeth. I just laid in bed all day, sometimes sleeping, sometimes just laying there. And it got to the point where I pretty much had no money– because I wasn't working."

"Needing the mental support, I moved back home, and my mum immediately put a stop to this unhealthy routine I had myself in, and she took me to the doctors. I broke down as I spoke to the professionals, choking on my words. Because for the first time, ever, I didn't feel crazy. I felt like there was a word to describe how I was feeling. But, uh," he stumbles on his words, "I wasn't just struggling with depression."