Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
HARLEY WAS SURPRISED TO SAY THE LEAST. She was not expecting Chris to show up at her house, especially not at three in the morning. He looked tired, beyond tired, but despite that he was still smiling at her when she opened the door. "H-Hi," She said. "Hey, can I come in?" Chris asked, shivering against the cool air slightly. "Oh, right, sorry! Come in."
Harley stepped to the side and allowed Chris to come in, his luggage behind him. "I was going to get a hotel, but I think I'm a little late." Harley closed and locked the door and blushed slightly as she remembered her choice of attire, a long vintage Spice Girls t-shirt and fluffy shorts, along with her fuzzy goat slippers. "How long are you here?" She asked him as she set his suitcase down next to her couch. "For however long you want me to stay," Chris spoke. "Well, you may not get to leave, then." He chuckled at that, looking back towards her as he unzipped his bag. "Do you have a pillow I can borrow?" He asked. "You don't need to sleep on the couch, Chris, honestly," Harley began. "I barged into your house at three o'clock unannounced, let me take the couch," He argued. Harley bite her lip and looked up at him, "What if I don't want you to sleep on the couch?" She asked. Chris looked at her again and started to ask what she meant, but then grinned when he realized what she was asking.
"Then, I'll sleep wherever you want me to sleep." Harley nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Well, then, come with me." Chris followed the small brunette towards the bedroom of the penthouse, grinning when he noticed the decorations. The room was lit by Christmas lights, vintage comic books hung all over the walls with an occasional photo of Audrey Hepburn or Madonna, and a bulletin board full of personal photos.
"Cute," Chris whispered. "Thank you," Harley blushed. "The bathroom is through there, if you need it," She said shyly. He nodded and headed towards it, starting his normal bedtime routine while she hurriedly tried to clean up her room, stuffing dirty clothes and shoes underneath the king sized mattress. By the time Chris was done, Harley's room looked slightly cleaner than it had before, and Chris suppressed a grin when he realized. "Nice bathrobe," She teased.
"It's warm," Chris shrugged, and laid on the end of the mattress where Harley's feet rested. "Hi," She mumbled. "Hey," Chris mumbled in return. He could still see the path the tears had followed against her tanned skin, the redness had yet to fade. "I... I am so, so sorry." Harley looked up at him and smiled weakly. "It's not your fault. You can't control what they say," She replied.
"I know. But they said those things because of me." She shook her head with a sigh. "Well, you aren't their parent. It doesn't matter, I'm over it anyways." Chris snorted at that, moving so he laid next to her on top of the duvet. "No you aren't, and that's okay. You don't have to be over it right now. You can be sad, Harley," He reminded her. She grinned and shook her head, "No I can't. I'll slip into a hole, and I won't be happy. Again." Chris frowned, "Again?" He asked. Harley smiled grimly.
"There's a lot that you don't know about me, Chris. Things happened when I became a model. A lot of things," She said, her voice cracking again. "Tell me about them," Chris comforted, grabbing her dainty hand in his own. "I... The time they said I was having complications with my contract, and I was gone for three months last year... I was checked into rehab."
"I tried to overdose on antidepressants." Chris' heart dropped at this, his mouth going dry and his jaw going slack. "You.. you what?" He asked. "I was in a really bad spot. Nick was really emotionally abusive, and he would say things like.... Well things like the comments on my post today. And he would say them constantly, every single day, no matter what I did. But, I thought I was in love with him, so I stayed. And then he left me, and I didn't see an end to the bullshit, so I tried to end it."
"Ryder found me laying in the living room floor of the apartment that Nick and I lived in. She took me to the hospital and then they sent me to rehab." Chris inhaled sharply and squeezed Harley's hand. "That's... that's awful. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But.. I won't let that happen. I won't let you slip back to that, Harley, I promise." Harley smiled shakily, tears pricking the sides of her eyes as she stared at him. "You... are the most wonderful man I have ever known, Christopher Evans."
Chris grinned and scooted closer to her. "You are beautiful, Harley Marino." And then his lips met hers. It was gentle at first, and then Harley's hands slid up his arms and onto his cheeks, holding his face as their mouths molded together. "You mean a lot to me, and I don't care what anyone else says. Neither should you, you're beautiful. You are so, so beautiful, Harley." And they fell asleep enveloped in each other's arms, holding tightly to each other, their biggest fear being that they would have to let go.
------- my favorite cuties. so yeah, i'm gonna be writing more about depression and abuse, etc. i'll figure out a way to mark a trigger warning before chapters that have possibly triggering moments.
