Echoes of Us

Fifteen

It took two days. Two days for Harrison to work up the nerve. Two days of stealing glances at the camera where he had left it in the kitchen. 

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to the camera, something that he didn't quite understand. Something that only old man Frank would know.

That's how he ended up standing outside the old man's house, his hand raised to knock and an apology ready in his heart.

He hadn't meant to say the things he had said about old man Frank's wife. He was only after a reaction, but he winced in regret, knowing he'd crossed a line.

The door swung open in front of him before he could even knock. Old man Frank stood there with a mask of indifference on his face, his arms crossed against his chest.

"What are you doing here, kid?" The old man's voice was gruff as he looked down at him.

Harrison swallowed nervously, swiping a hand through his hair.

"I, uh, I came to ask for some help," he began cautiously, "and to apologise. I shouldn't have said what I said about your wife. I don't know what happened to her, not really. I was just angry and it was wrong."

Old man Frank didn't say anything. His eyes held an unreadable expression.

Harrison quickly cleared his throat and looked down at the ground before showing him the camera he had held behind his back.

"And this. I, uhm, I took it without your knowledge. I... I, dropped it and I think it broke. I'm so sorry, Frank."

For a moment, old man Frank just stared at the camera in his hands. Then his eyes narrowed as they shot back up, his jaw clenched, and his grip on the door tightened.

"What?" The old man seethed with barely- contained anger.

"You did what?" he spat, each word filled with anger and disbelief.

"After I specifically told you that I wouldn't give it to you, you broke into my house and stole my camera." His voice was harsh, tinged with something far deeper, an outrage that made Harrison flinch.

He swallowed thickly and began to speak, but the old man cut cut him off.

"You broke it? Do you have any idea what that camera means? What you've meddled with?" Old man Frank's drew in a ragged breath, trying to steady himself.

"You think you can just take what you want with no regard for the consequences?"

Harrison opened his mouth to respond, but faltered, unsure how to navigate his next moves.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I've been so caught up in my own thoughts, and with Avery's death, my head hasn't been in the right place these past few months," he held his head low as he spoke, ashamed at himself for letting his emotions control his actions.

He heard a scoff, and when he looked up he saw that old man Frank's expression had shifted, the anger subsiding into a heavy silence.

The weight of the moment settled between them, the air thick with unspoken words.

Slowly, he reached out and handed the camera over, the plastic slipping from his fingers like a piece of his hope.

"I'm sorry, here. I just--"

He turned to walk away, regret gnawing at his heart, when old man Frank's voice pulled him back.

"Wait."

Harrison paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

The old man's features softened slightly, though the edge of irritation remained.