The Strings Being Pulled

Ch 72

Harry's POV

"That was the best thing I've ever eaten!" Liza smiles.
"Haha, I can give you the recipe and you can make it any other time even if I'm not here anymore!" mom smiles.
"Thanks." she replies.

The amount of nostalgia I get from the strawberry cinnamon rolls is comforting. Miss making them, they taste really good and the fact it's mom's original recipe is even better. I just love my mom a lot.

Rose and Liza were the ones who ate the most though, more than half if you count the total they ate together. Weller ate nothing, he just said all food is tasteless to him. Guess purified blood is all he needs, probably has some stored up because I make nothing for him anymore.

"This is just way too fucking good." Rose states. "Evelyn, where'd you learn to bake like that?"
"Erm, I just always loved baking and experimenting..." mom thinks a little bit. "But also wanted to give Harry the best possible time when he could visit me!"
"That's so sweet, would've done the same if our child survived back then..." Rose mumbles.

Weller pats her shoulder and gives a specific look which seems to calm her down...my mind wonders to both their apologies, Rose was very sincere and Weller's is difficult to understand. Just wonder what he means by that I deserve it?

It was also very sudden. I feel something in my left ear, I glance at the side and can just barely see a thin red string. 'Just a little power of mine, I can read minds so we can talk about my apology.' I hear his voice in my head. This power is fairly surprising.

'Alright, why did you apologize?' I ask in my head.
'Well, to put it simply, I never intended for you to think about why you should kill me, it would've been preferable if you just killed me out of hate because I 'killed' the only people you loved because I wanted you to hate me so much you'd kill me yet now I was flawed in my ways, unexpected things happened.' he explains. 'Fucking hell, I'm seen as a bad person because of people's moral compasses yet people forgave me despite their moral compasses and what's considered right or wrong even if no one decides what's good or bad.'

His words are in a way, almost fascinating. I'm not sure what his point is but I'll continue listening. He sounds like a person here too, not just a cold vampire but a genuine person. I'm not sure what to say about it.

'I apologize because of that, you sure as hell impressed even me and I'll give credits for that.' he states.
'I won't fully accept the apology but...thanks, you still fucked up my life though I'm not on that level and can understand some of your motives.'
'So, do you still wanna kill to avenge or because of Rose.'
'You know what, both, both reasons.'

The feeling in my ear leaves and I glance over at him, he's talking with his wife. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I look at Liza who seems tired. Guess this has been a long day, meeting Weller and Rose, mom, baking and her yelling while I was getting some sense into her head while carrying her like a potato sack.

She rests her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes. Mom is taking lots of pictures with my phone, guess she wants us to save these memories. Despite all our backgrounds and relations, this day turned out surprisingly wholesome and nice...

There's a shift in our dynamics and it works really well. It just works, despite the circumstances, works perfectly and I can't help but feel warm about it. I never thought that it'd happen. Is Weller a villain and if he did know I'd want to kill him before I even did it, then a mastermind kind of villain...yet he doesn't act like a villain to me. Just comes out of nowhere and then disappears.

"Harry, you're very caring for Liza..." mom states suddenly. "But I can tell you're exhausted from constantly burdening other people's needs and problems, even now you're tired."
"Tired?" I ask.
"Just look at yourself closely in the mirror, you'll realize what I mean." she kisses my cheek. "You're a fine young man but the eye bags are very obvious from that insomnia, mafia work and training."

With that, a huge wave of exhaustion hits me when I rub my eye, I didn't realize how fatigued I was. Mom pats my head and gives me a glass of water which I drink up instantly. Mom pats my head again and I close my eyes. My head rests on Liza's head and I pass out in a matter of seconds.

I wake up, still at the table but it's evening. My head is resting on the table and I have a blanket over me, it's evening and empty already. Everything is cleaned up...there's no sound around so I stand up feeling a little wobbly, my hands looks strange...

Looking at the window, the sky is orange fading to yellow but the sun is blue. The blanket is suddenly gone, I walk around, it's quiet. Completely silent, no birds, people, wind, not even footsteps. I search around the house, eventually I end up at an upstairs bedroom door.

Opening the door and seeing my old room when I still lived with mom. The room is a light blue color, some toys laying around and a brown wardrobe. There's a picture frame hanging over my old bed, I look at it. There's my current self, looking at my younger 6 year old self. Head patting my younger self, I'm looking down at him with a smile. My younger self is only up to the length of my knee.

He's looking up at me with curiosity, the image moves suddenly. My present self telling my younger self all about the future he has. He talks with a smile and passion but also concern, worry about the deadline. Worry about Liza's well being, worry about Asher hurting himself again. My present self is worried, the clear eye bags while my younger self listens.

My younger self is quiet. He speaks through body language, he's timid. He's fragile and skinny, compared to how I'm much stronger now...then my younger self switches to mom. My present self is hugging her tightly, with the expression of a happy child. Mom pats my head in the picture.

Then mom turns into Asher, high-fiving me, seeming proud. My present self smiling with relief. Then there's Liza, her face red as a strawberry while I'm kissing her forehead. Her expression changes into smiling, holding my hand. She's so cute...then there's Rose, crying infront of me. I'm there with a soft expression, listening to her cries.

It switches to Weller, yet my present self changes too. I look older and stronger, almost seeming stronger than him. Both of us are just talking, small talk and nothing else...then the picture frame disappears. It's dark now, the moon is out, shining brightly through the window.

"Oh..." I whisper quietly when I realize that I can't move anymore. Reminding me when Asher told me that a dream meaning of when you can't move in dreams is that you're taking too much responsibility. I feel someone holding my left hand, I look to my side and see a small shadow that goes up to my thigh.

Suddenly being able to move again, I crouch down to meet them at eye level.

"Is there anything worrying you?" I ask.
"Cold..." they tremble in a distorted voice. "Can you keep me warm?"
"Of course." I smile gently and light up a warm comforting fire that hugs them.
"Thank you..." they say and hug me before disappearing.

Then I wake up. Me and Liza resting at the table alone, both of us have a warm blanket over us. It's evening, I hear Rose and Weller talking while mom is cleaning up everything.

............................................................

Just feel like this fits here