Sorrow |hs|

III

As Harry and I were sat in the kitchen talking to my mum, I heard the sound of the front door opening, signaling my dad was home from work.

I heard his heavy footsteps enter the kitchen. He looked from me to Harry to my mum. He threw his keys on the counter and said: "sure, make yourself at home, son", sarcastically.

  My mum's eyes had widened. "Willis!".

  "It's okay. I need to-" Harry began to get up from the chair.

  "Harry, sit down", I told him. He continued to stand.

  I could see my mum sending daggers at my dad.

  "Eva, may I speak to your father alone, please" I mumbled a 'yes' and led Harry to my room.

"I'm so sor-" Harry interrupted me.

"No. I understand. Your fathers right. I mean, there's a strange man in your-"

"You're not strange", I spoke.

"No. Not to you, but I understand your father. I'm a boy, staying at his house, where his daughter lives. Anything can happen in that circumstance", he told me. I just smiled at him.

  "You're too nice", I said.

  "No, I just understand where your father is coming from", he said. "I'll rent an apartment, get a job, and get my life back on track".

  I nodded. "What happened to your house?", I asked quietly.

  "I can't afford it. I can't even afford a decent apartment right now", he let out an aggravated sigh.

  "It'll all be better soon"

  "No. That's the thing, Eva. I know it won't be better. I've heard those words so many times since the accident and to be quite honest with you, I'm annoyed at them because it's all a lie. Every bit of it", he spoke, angrily.

  "Want to go for a walk?", I suddenly asked him. He glanced out the window.

  "Eva, it's snowing".

  "I know".

He shrugged his shoulders and stood up from where he was sitting on my bed.

"Here", I handed him his coat and put mine on as well. I slid on a blue, knit hat and my gloves.

"Do you want a hat?", I asked him. He shook his head.

"I'm fine", he said this softly. "Thanks".

We snuck out the back door unnoticed and began to walk on the snow-covered sidewalk.

  "So, I'm . . . sorry I was so rude to you yesterday at the coffee shop. I was just angry and-" he began to say.

  "You don't need to apologize for that, Harry. I understand you were upset. I would be too. You don't deserve to live like this". I shook my head. "Where . . . do you sleep?".

  He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have just one place". As he said that, we began to walk past a homeless man curled up on the sidewalk, a blanket covering him.