Black

LII

Song of the chapter: Little do you know by Alex and Sierra.

~

I brushed Zoe's hair as I rested my head against the headboard. She had fallen asleep on my lap once we finished dinner, which was abnormal considering she doesn't sleep this early, but I wouldn't blame her since she had woken up before the time set for her insulin shot and couldn't sleep because of the pain in her arm.

Her injured arm was put in a sling that rested against her rising and falling chest.

It has been two days since she had fallen down the stairs from Gemma's apartment when she ran down them upon seeing Harry coming out of his apartment with a bruised face. It has been two days, and I had consumed over ten cups of coffee because I couldn't sleep at night from his voice that hunted me.

Irresponsible.

It was like the world wanted to prove to me how right he was by making Zoe fall down the stairs when I wasn't watching over her.

I huffed, closing my eyes to be greeted with flashes of her red sobbing face. We had rushed her to the hospital right after, and she was so afraid to let the doctor check on her arm that she clung to my sweatshirt and refused to let go.

I didn't know how I held myself from breaking down with her too.

She eventually allowed the doctor to take a look at it after Harry spoke words of comfort in her ears then we convinced her that Harry's bruised face was because he ran into a door by mistake.

Throughout all of that, Gemma had stood in silence with her arms crossed along her chest and her facial expression showing nothing but regret; she blamed herself a lot for what happened—we all did.

Fortunately, she was right-handed because I knew she would have a greater fit if she wasn't able to draw till her arm healed.

I turned my head to the wall that separated our rooms.

He was so close, yet so distant. We have barely spoken since that day. Mostly, he would open up conversations with Zoe to cheer her up, and the only words directed my way would be warnings of my coffee consumption.

I even had the urge to call Dylan to check on him and ask if we could meet up because I needed to talk to him, but these thoughts quickly deflated when I realized that I don't have his number.

As much as I thrived off the silence a few weeks ago, it has slowly become a rope that was tightening on my neck and suffocating me.

Sighing, I tried to remove Zoe's head off my lap gently. I have wanted to pee for a while now, and I didn't want to move so I wouldn't wake her up, but by now she looked far asleep to be disturbed.

Once I succeeded, I padded out of the room then headed to the door across the hall, stopping midway when something else caught my attention.

I took a step away from his door, peering inside from the slightly opened area. I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't heard his deep breathing that I knew so well what was its cause.

He was sitting on his bed, his back resting to his headboard as he looked up at the ceiling. The mess the bed was in indicated that he was asleep. His bare chest rose up and down rapidly, but that wasn't what caught my eyes.

Regardless of the dimness of the room and the distance between us, I was able to detect the tears that clouded his vision.

Without having control over my feet or hands, I found myself pushing at the door and stepping inside.

His eyes landed on me instantly as he blinked rapidly and cleared his throat, "Is everything alright? Is Zoe alright?" he asked, looking beside him at the time before looking back at me with eyes that flashed with worry. "Are you alright?" he added quieter.