Immortal Lovers {Run 2}

12. Suffocation

After that day, Harry had changed. Every moment that I was awake he was with me, following me around the house, watching my every movement in case I would leave him alone. He clung to me like a small child and suddenly I was having to look after Kayla and Harry at the same time.

Weeks passed of Harry latching onto me at any opportunity. As usual we had been woken by Kayla's screaming in the night. I knew it was my turn to check on her as it had been consistently ever since Harry saw that memory. I let out a small sigh and pulled myself out of bed and across the hall to Kayla's room. As I pushed the door open, I could hear Harry stirring in our bed and mumbling to himself asking where I was. I rolled my eyes, but as I opened the door, I was rooted to the spot. Kayla was stood up on the floor outside of her cot looking up at me. Our eyes met and her crying simmered to sobs. I forced myself out of the shock and quickly scooped her up in my arms. Her sobbing was now sniffling as I rocked her back and forth, softly running my fingertips across the back of her head to calm her down. She had somehow managed to climb out of her cot onto the ground and pull herself up onto her feet on the carpet with nothing to hold onto. Her rapid development was beginning to frighten me.

I jumped as a hand fell to the small of my back. I spun around to see a sleepy Harry rubbing his eye and blinking at the dim light of the room. His arm was soon locked around me and his head was resting on mine. I tried to subtly move away, but he clung onto me harder and grumbled at my attempt to get some space.

"Can you go downstairs and get a drink for her from the fridge?" I asked him. He grumbled louder and shook his head. I glared at him, but he refused to do as I asked. I let out a loud sigh and marched out of the room with Kayla, but as I began to go down the stairs, I realised Harry was following me. I tried to ignore him and opened the fridge to find it empty of any bottles of blood. Quickly, I spun around to face Harry. "Why didn't you tell me there weren't any drinks left for her?" I spat, rocking Kayla calm once again. "Our daughter's hungry, Harry."

He looked away in embarrassment like a small child. I was angry and upset, but I wouldn't let Kayla sense it. Instead, I gave her to Harry and marched into the hallway to put a coat on. Harry followed me, awkwardly holding our daughter as if he had never done so before. She began to cry louder.

"Where are you going? You can't leave me," he insisted, holding Kayla a good few inches from his body. "Don't go."
"I have to," I replied. "Kayla's hungry and she can't eat until I hunt."

"B-but I'll be alone," Harry said frantically, taking a few steps towards me. "I can't be alone."

"You're not alone. You have Kayla. Just rock her for a while until I'm back. I know you can do that, Harry."

He began shaking his head, but I didn't give him a choice. I grabbed a bag and left the house without warning, clicking the door shut behind me and using my speed to leave the road as quickly as possible before he could follow me.

*****

A few hours later and I stumbled back into the house. The sun was creeping up into the sky, but the world was still so quiet. I clicked the door shut behind me, slightly out of breath and aching from the hunt. I had managed to fill several large bottles of blood which I knew would last a while before I had to hunt again. I swung the bag off of my back and let it hang on my arm as I shuffled into the kitchen. Putting the bottles in the fridge, I jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

"I missed you," a low whisper spoke. Harry buried his face into my neck, oblivious to the pain his constricting arms had on my aching muscles and sore ribs. I tried easing his grip, but he only pulled me closer to him, causing me to drop a bottle to the floor. The noise as it hit the ground rung in my ears, triggering my anger. With all my strength, I tore Harry's arms from me. I quickly spun around as he tried gripping hold of me again. I pushed him away from me with an angry grunt, causing him to stumble back and crash to the floor. I stared down at him, pressing a hand to my sore chest.

"You're suffocating me," I said. "I can't deal with this, Harry. I-I need space."

The man on the floor looked away as he slowly curled up into a ball. Tears brimmed in his eyes and he began to rock back and forth. I shuffled towards him, swallowing down my groans of pain as I fell to my knees beside him. I reached out to run my fingers through his hair, but he jerked away from me.

"I'm here for you, Harry, but you need to be willing to work through this," I said. "We can overcome this together. I just need your co-operation."

Harry shook his head. "You don't get it. Your parents wanted you. They loved you."

I put a hand on his leg, but he pushed it away. I sighed. "Tell me what we can do to make this easier for you and we'll do it."

He turned to me with dark eyes. "If I knew how to make this better then I would have done it by now," he spat.

I remained calm. "Let's have another meditation session. Maybe your memory wasn't as accurate as we thought. You can try and remember it again."

He scoffed. "I'm not doing that again. Your brilliant idea to meditate in the first place is the reason why I'm like this. This is your fault."

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He was right. This was my fault. I nodded my head, using all my energy not to cry. "I know and I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing for you."

"Well now I'm worse than ever," he spat, "and you can't deal with me wanting a bit of comfort and reassurance. You made me like this!"

I sat back on my heels, trying to wipe away the tears that kept falling down my cheeks. Eventually, I pulled myself up to my feet and took a bottle from the fridge before heading to the doorway. "I'm sorry," I whispered to Harry, but he simply turned away from me. I sniffled before climbing the stairs to feed Kayla. I sat back in the rocking chair watching her contently drink from the cup. Her small hands wrapped around the bottle to try and hold it herself. I let go for a few seconds to find her perfectly holding the cup as if she had done it a million times. I found the strength to smile down at her despite the tears in my eyes making her blurry. In dark times she was often the light that got me through it. Her smile was enough to remind me of the good times.

After she had finished the drink and her eyes began to close, I put her back into the cot and crawled into bed. The house was silent with no noise from Harry downstairs, but I knew going down there would cause a blazing argument. Instead I buried myself deep under the covers and waited for Harry to eventually join me.

Hours passed, but there was no sign of Harry. I drifted in and out with sleep, waking up to see if Harry was with me, but he never was. Eventually, I crawled out of bed and stumbled down the stairs to find the place empty.

"Harry?" I called out, barging into the kitchen to find that he wasn't in there either. I tried calling him several times, but his phone was switched off. My mind was racing. Was he on a hunt? Was he alone? Was he safe? My stomach twisted and the familiar uneasy feelings settled over me, reminding me of the time Harry had disappeared before to find Samuel. Was he holding secrets once again?