nine-eleven ♡ h.s.

ten

C H A P T E R        T E N

09:57am — Harry

They run.

 The three of them run like never before and then they see the entrance door. Harry hasn't felt such a joy in a long time. The last time he was so incredibly happy was when he held Amy for the first time, when everything was still good in his family, that was before he became such a workaholic.

 Suddenly, Harry hears a loud scream. Immediately, he stops and looks back. Susan lies on the ground and presses her hand against her ankle. An expression of agony rushes over her face. John, who still carries Amy, stops as well.

 "Can you stand up?" Harry asks with a shaky voice and runs over to her. John still stands on the same spot and watches the two of them. He doesn't know what to do.

 "Hey, do you want—" John starts but Harry interrupts him.

 "Go, go. Leave and find a paramedic. I'm going to take care of Susan," Harry says, "In case you find Valerie, she's my wife. Tell her I'll be out in a second. Here take my phone so you can call her when you're out."

 John walks over to Harry and takes his phone. However, John is hesitant to just leave with Harry's daughter. "Do you want me to tell her anything else?"

 "No, just leave." Harry speaks without looking at him.

 "Not even that you love her?"

 "She knows it, Val knows it," Harry says and then turns around to him, "Besides, I'll be out in a second. I'm gonna have the chance to tell her myself."

 John nods before he quickly leaves the tower with Amy still on his back. Amy calls for his daddy but Harry ignores it and swallows the urge to follow John and just leave Susan here.

 "What happened?"

 "I don't...my ankle—I think I twisted my ankle." Susan whines and Harry runs his finger through his messy hair.

 "How could that happen? You are bare foot!" Harry yells frustrated and then kneels down beside her, "Does it hurt?" Harry asks as he exerts pressure on her slightly swollen ankle. This incident only wastes time they desperately need.

 "Yes." She cries and bites her lip to hold back her tears.

 Harry is helpless and clueless, "Okay, so you can't walk? Can you try it, though? I mean, maybe it works and it's only the shock. Maybe you just..."

 With Harry's arms under her armpits, he helps her stand up. Susan stands on her right foot and carefully shifts her weight onto her left foot. She lets out a whimper and falls back so Harry has to catch her.

 "It doesn't work." Susan whimpers and Harry lets out a loud breath before he puts one arm underneath her legs and the other arm behind her back.

 Harry remembers how he used to carry Valerie like this after their wedding. Harry used to carry Valerie over every possible threshold. That was when they still were happy and only had eyes for each other, when Harry thought nothing was more important than her and their unborn child.

 And even when Amy was born there was nothing more important than his own little family. Harry can remember every little detail of the time they have spent together but Harry can't remember how he drifted away from them. He doesn't know why he suddenly cared more about his work than about his family.

 Harry would do everything to get all his back. The blithe laughter's and kisses Valerie and he shared, the stormy nights which lasted so long where they just talked about everything that came to their mind. Harry would love to turn back time to see Amy's first step or hear her first word.

 Now he would do everything differently. And the fact that his new life is behind this door encourages him to take long and fast steps so he gets out of this tower as soon as possible.

 A little tear rolls down Harry's cheek as he thinks about his little but so precious and beautiful family. He doesn't know why on earth he deserves a wife like Valerie and a child like Amy but he is happy that they are his.

 All of a sudden Susan and Harry hear a weird sound. A loud noise. Deafening. Both of them look outside the window and see pieces of the once so enormous tower falling down and then they look up at the ceiling and they see the ceiling coming closer.

 And Harry thinks once again of his beautiful Valerie and his little Amy and for a short, selfish little moment he thinks that he is not ready to die yet. Harry still has so much to say to his family, he has so much to show them. Harry has to prove that he indeed loves them more than he could possibly love someone or something else in the whole wide world.

 So Harry runs with Susan in his arms and tries to escape the South tower that is collapsing.

 And only seconds later there is no South tower anymore.