Limitless

Chapter 10

I woke up in a bed.  It was early.  I could see through the blinds that it was still a little dark outside. I began to shift uncomfortably and wonder why I was awake so early, but I quickly realized it was because I had my jeans on from the night before.  My bra was twisted around my body and my shirt was half-choking me.  I sat up and adjusted all of my clothing. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in my room. 

I glanced around at the four plain white walls that surrounded me.  The only thing in the room aside from the plain white bed I was laying in was a tiny dresser that had a lamp on it.  The room was perfectly clean; no clothes on the floor, no unnecessary trinkets on the dresser, no food wrappers hanging out of random spaces in the room.  I had never actually taken time to notice how simple Harry’s room was.

I jumped slightly as someone next to me began to stir. I quickly laid back down and faced away from him, pretending I was asleep.  I felt the bed shift as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Shit, it’s too early,” he whispered, laying back down. “Are you feeling alright?”

I didn’t say anything.  I remained perfectly still.

“Lou, I know you’re awake.”

I giggled a little bit and turned to face him.  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Trying to pretend you were still asleep…” Harry turned to me and shook his head.

I shrugged.

“Are you feeling okay?” He asked again. 

Remembering that I passed out the night before, I pushed my fingers on my temples and nodded. “I’m fine.”

“That was incredible, I have to admit.  I’ve never seen a girl take 20 shots that quickly.  I’m surprised you didn’t die.”

I laughed. “It’s no biggie.”

Harry raised an eyebrow.  I flipped onto my back and stared up at the ceiling.  Harry did as well.  We laid awkwardly under the sheets for a few minutes just listening to each other breathe. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

“Tell me something really personal.  Something you’ve never told anyone. I dare you.”

I laughed. “You don’t have to make this one a dare, I’m fine with sharing,” I said.  Harry looked sideways at me.

I took a deep breath and thought for a moment about what I could tell Harry.  I actually had a lot of secrets.  I just didn’t know which one was appropriate for now.  Eventually, something came to mind.

I cleared my throat.

“My mom was in the Marines.”

“Your mom?”

I nodded. “It’s different, but it’s what she did.  She deployed once when I was in the 6th grade and she and my dad didn’t talk for weeks at a time.  When they did talk, they were fighting.  I don’t know what happened.  They used to love each other like crazy.  When my mom returned from war, they tried to work things out but I could tell they weren’t doing very well.  Soon enough, my mom had to deploy again.  The last thing she said to me was ‘Keep your father and I together.’”

“Holy shit Lou, that’s a lot of pressure for a 6th grader.”

I turned to face Harry and smiled weakly. “7th grade, at that point actually.” I winked. “She left again, and halfway through the deployment my dad told me they were getting a divorce. Two weeks later, my mom was killed in combat.”

Harry’s jaw dropped.  His green eyes studied my face carefully.  He began to shake his head sympathetically, but I could tell he had no idea what to say.