Free Fall. // l.r.h.

Step 7: Run.

178 hours. That's how long it'd been since our family had been torn apart.
I sat at the kitchen table staring at the fresh coat of paint patchily and sparsely covering Mama's message on the wall. Lindsey dropped a small stack of envelopes in front of me. I sifted through the mail, sorting out the unimportant documents when I came across one with the word "urgent" written in bold across the front. I looked up at Lindsey. "What's this?" She only shrugged in reply. It was a notice about the mortgage on our house.
"Delinquent," I read aloud.
"I've been called worse," she mumbled, sipping her coffee from the mug in her hand.
"No, Linds, this means we're behind on paying bills."
"Mama wasn't paying bills?"
"No, we're not paying bills."
She sunk into a chair adjacent to where I was seated, hands folded over her mouth. It was silent for a moment as she let it all settle inside her brain. She spoke weakly, as if she had suddenly fallen ill with this new development.
"Are we going to lose our house?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bell rang loudly, dismissing us from first block. Luke and I had different second block classes, but we always walked to his together.
I was silent for a while. "Something on your mind, Matthews?" he asked.
"We got a notice that we're behind on our mortgage since Mama and Daddy left." I sighed heavily in an attempt to regulate my breathing.
He furrowed his brow. "How's your anxiety?"
I flashed a fake smile at him. "Worse than ever. Didn't take my medicine today."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harper. But you'll pull through. You always do." Sounds like he believes in me more than I do. We stopped outside his class. "I'll see you later, Matthews."
I'd barely taken two steps alone when I felt my feet lift off the ground, and I was slammed into the lockers. Jace was fuming, face dangerously close to mine. "Who do you think you are?" he spat. "You really think you can make your little football boyfriend stay?" He cackled loudly. "You can't even make your parents stay."
Tears welled up within my eyes. "H-how did you--"
"I heard you talking to Hemmings earlier."
This is the end.
"What'd you do, Harper? How'd you make them leave?" It was like my anxiety became a living embodiment and was now taking the form of Jace McBride. "You will never--"
Jace was tackled to the ground, and the sudden release of his grip from me made me fall to a crumpled heap on the floor. I scrambled up to see Luke over Jace, beating Jace's head against the floor.
"Stop it!" I screamed.
Jace threw Luke off of him and grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the ground. Luke flung himself into Jace, causing both of them to slide into the wall. I didn't even notice the crowd forming around us as Luke and Jace let their fists fly.
"Harper!" I heard Lindsey's voice as she grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the fight. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't speak. The only thing that kept me moving was Lindsey's tight grip on my arm. She pulled me into the bathroom, and I immediately locked myself in one of the stalls. I slid down the wall, head in my hands as she banged on the door. "Harper, what happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I only sobbed in response.
My thoughts flew a thousand miles a minute. Harper, you have to calm down.
I tried to breathe deeply, but I only inhaled shallow air and rapid tears.
Big Dipper... Little Dipper... Canis Major... Canis Minor... Orion's Belt...