Fool's Gold [Completed]

14: Say Something

Once I had managed to calm down, I texted Dory to let her know that something came up and I wouldn't be able to stay the night. What Olivia said had struck a chord in me and I knew that I needed to see Harry to stop my mind from racing with all of the worries she'd put in my head. The reason why I hardly ever let people close to me is that I'm terrified of the possibility of them leaving. Harry was the first exception to that in a long time and I'd tried to convince myself this would work somehow. I knew she was right in worrying, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about some of the things she'd brought up myself, but I had tried to keep myself from thinking about it because I'd felt on top of the world the whole time I was with him.

I wanted that feeling to last. I was scared that I might even need it to counteract all of the shitty things that I had to endure on a nearly daily basis at work. I didn't want to depend on him for that, but as I filed into a taxi and gave the driver Harry's address, I found myself uncertain if I was able to give myself any sort of happiness that I hadn't already given myself.

Traffic was unbearable, but going across the bridge into Manhattan always seemed to be that way. I rarely trekked this far out, but I knew that Harry would either be at home or he'd be at work and both were in the Lower East Side, so I didn't have much choice.

I pulled my phone out of my bag and found his number in my contacts list, careful not to hit another name with my still shaky fingers. I decided it'd be easier to call than to type out a message and I might get a more immediate response than I had been getting every other time I'd tried texting him since we'd gotten home, but my only hope was that I'd be able to see him.

The phone rang once, twice, and nearly a third time when the sound in the receiver changed from the tone to a hum of low music and slight buzzing of tattoo guns in the background. Clearly he was at work and now I felt terrible for calling him and interrupting him, but he wouldn't have answered if he was busy, right?

"Mikayla?" It was evident in his voice that he was confused as to why I was calling, but there was also a tinge of worry in his words. Understandable considering the slight sniffling I was doing into the phone while I tried to figure out what to say. "Mikayla, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry," I said, shaking my head to try and collect my thoughts. "I, um... I'm sorry for calling you at work."

"S'alright, I had a cancelation so I'm manning the desk while Jeff gets us dinner. Are you alright?" he asked, edge of concern growing more.

"Not really," I admitted with a soft chuckle. I felt ridiculous for still being so upset. He answered my call while he was at work. Maybe he's just very bad at texting. Yeah, I'll go with that. "Is it okay if I stop in and see you? It's okay if it's not for long, I just... I could really use a hug right now."

"Yeah, of course, babe. Do you wanna talk about what's going on?"

"Not right now, but when we're alone, yeah."

Looking up, I noticed the cab turning onto Norfolk Street, the street his apartment complex was on. I remember watching from my window as the building was being constructed across the river, but being beside the towering Blue Condominium building was far more intimidating, the length of which seemed to be covered head to toe in a beautiful blue glass that acted as windows for the couple dozen condos and apartments inside. The inside was even more spectacular, wide open spaces and furniture that could probably pay for two years worth of rent on my rinky dink apartment. I felt out of place just standing in there, but Harry looked out of place too. The elegance of the apartment and minimalistic design of it all spoke to the controlling nature Jasmine seemed to have. None of it resembled Harry or his fun and lightness in the slightest. I vaguely wondered how he felt about it while I wandered the apartment that first night back, but didn't feel it appropriate to ask.