To Nightfall

Chapter 10: Silver Lining

A/N: An important heads-up, this chapter does include that chapter between Luther and Allison

Warnings: ⚠️sexual assault⚠️, alcohol, implications of sexual content, mentions of death

Word Count: 3242

Viktor's heart was breaking in two as he watched Harlan beside him on the sofa, eyes softly shut as he peacefully listened to whatever tape he had selected. Viktor was glad he had found some way to calm his nerves. He remembered when Harlan was a little boy and watching Sissy desperately try to calm him down, some sort of casualty taken in her attempts, whether that be the hitting or the biting. This place that Viktor was put into just felt like a disappointment in Sissy's honor. Everything she had done to keep Harlan safe was going out of the window as soon as he would be handed over to the Sparrows.

"What are you listening to?"

Harlan looked over at his friend before pausing his tape and sliding off his headphones. "Wind." He gently answered. "The sound it makes blowing through a field of corn. Tractor half a mile away. And horses. Mustangs mostly. One palomino. It sounds like..."

"Home." Viktor finished, the imagery bringing back lovely memories of the farmland the two of them used to live on, what felt like years ago for Viktor, but actual years for Harlan. "Yeah, I remember. What do you think would have happened if I had stayed?"

Harlan looked around at the broken room they sat in. "We'd have been happy. Or maybe I still would've ruined everything for her."

"Hey," Viktor sympathized. "I know the little boy you were, Harlan. You didn't ruin anything."

"Then why are you giving up on me?" When Viktor didn't answer, Harlan pointed at his head. "I can feel it."

Viktor sighed. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"That's our curse..."

"I'm sorry I couldn't fix things. I tried."

"But we never tried together. I bet we could get it right this time."

Viktor nodded, a small smile of hope on his face, Harlan smiling back. "There's still time."

Below in the poolroom, Luther found Allison sitting on one of the tables, sipping from a glass as she boredly dropped the cue balls into one of the pockets. When she noticed him entering the room, she tried to avoid eye contact. She knew that out of anyone, he would be the one to hear the argument between her and (Y/N).

"Hey." He awkwardly glided his finger along the edge of the table. "So, um... should I be worried about you?"

Allison softly chuckled and looked up at him. "Me?" She blew a raspberry. "Better than ever. Just ask Diego."

"Ah, yes," He nodded, taking a seat beside her. "See now, you hanging out with Diego is how I know something's wrong."

She hummed with a smile, her expression soon falling as well as her gaze.

"I know you, Allison." He softly said, Allison looking away. "And I know when you're drowning."

She took a deep breath and relented. "It's happening again, isn't it? Everything's ending."

Luther shrugged. "Yeah, we'll figure that out."

The two shared a smile and then a laugh as she took a drink. "Yeah," She giggled. "Or we won't... Or we will... but it won't matter because the new timeline will be even worse for me. I can't keep doing this. I can't keep losing people. It's not fair."