Together

Sunrise, Sunset

Okay, so, if you came here looking for a smile or laugh, I wouldn't continue reading.... that's all I'm gonna say. Um, I really deserve any wrath you guys want to give release upon me after this so feel free to yell at me in the comments. Love you all and sorry for this xx (but um... sorry not sorry? Don't lose ur head? six anyone? Okay I'll shut up now.)
-ab

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March 24, 2026

Harper

I wake up just before 4:00 in the morning to my phone ringing. Fear strikes through me as I immediately know what it is and I'm jolted awake.

Patrick, seemingly, is too.

He grabs my hand right away. "You should probably take that, sweetie."

I sigh, knowing that he's right. With tears in my eyes and still holding Patrick's hand, I climb out of bed and pick up my phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is Harper Alwyn available right now?" a voice on the other end says.

"Speaking," I reply.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm calling in regards to your father, Cooper Kennedy. I regret to inform you that he passed away about an hour ago."

"Oh," is all that I can say. Hearing the words spoken, it really hurts. It hurts beyond a point of tears.

I can't do anything after that. I can't speak, I can't cry... I can barely move. Even if I could say anything, I wouldn't know what to say.

Before I know it, my phone is falling out of my hands and onto the carpeted floor. Instead of picking it up, I simply fling myself onto the bed and bury my face in my pillow. I vaguely notice Patrick picking up my phone and thanking the person on the other end, then hanging up.

He sits down next to me and starts to stroke my hair. "Love," he whispers, "you need to breathe, okay?"

"I don't believe it," I force out. "He's gone, Patrick. I'm never going to see him again. He's never going to get to see me again. He's never going to meet his grandchildren or see me play Anya again, or any other role."

"But he will," he tells me. "He's always going to be with you now. He's a part of you, and because of that, he'll be a part of our children, and everyone whose lives he has ever touched- he's part of them."

It's nice to think of it that way, I must admit.

"What do I do, though?" I ask, after a moment of silence. "Like, do I call my mum? What do I say to her? What do I say when I first see her again? Is there going to be a funeral? I mean, I'm assuming there will be, but is it going to be in London or back home? And where will he be buried? I don't want to take time off of Anastasia and-"

"Whoa, okay," Patrick stops me. "Love, you're going to have to take a bit of time off of the show for this. It's expected and understandable, completely."

"I've missed too much time already, and I'll go without pay those days."

"Harper, you've got to take off for a bit. I'm sorry, but that's just going to have to be the way that it is. You're not going to be in the right mental space for performing, and Anya is an emotionally draining role, okay? You can't expect to go through this and then go perform as Anya twelve hours later."

"Patrick, I'm fine."

"No, Harper. Sweetie, you can't box away your emotions like this. I'm sorry, and I don't want to be mean here, but you need to take off for a bit. I'm not going to let you go on."

"Fine," I finally say, letting out a sigh. "I just don't want to disappoint the fans."

"Your understudy will do amazing while you're off, okay?"

"Okay..." I nod. "Hopefully Luke won't be mad."

"Luke literally cannot be mad. That would be just about the most heartless thing that I've ever heard of."

"If you say so."

"I know that he'll be fine."

"Okay..."

"You can call him in a few hours. Right now, is there anything that you need?"

"Can I just... be alone for a minutes?" I don't want to upset Patrick by asking him this, but it's all that I really want right now.

Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be hurt by what I say, and instead, just nods, squeezes my hand, and leaves the room.

After a moment, I hear the faint murmur of the telly coming from the living room. I know that he's probably trying to distract himself to keep from being too upset. I know that he wants to be strong, for me.

I stare aimlessly at the wall, losing myself in thought. So many questions are running through my head. Was my mum there with him when it happened? Were there any nurses there?

I hope that he wasn't completely alone.

Was he in pain? What were his last words?

I can't see to control my thoughts, and it all gets to me, as the tears start to come back.

Before I know it, I have tears streaming down my cheeks and my entire body is shaking. He's gone. He's really gone. I'm never going to get to see him again. I'm never going to get to hug him again, or yell at him for singing badly, or be embarrassed by a stupid comment that he makes.

I don't know how long I'm sitting there, doing nothing but crying. It must be quite some time, though, because Patrick knocks on the door.

"Can I come in, love?"

"I guess so," I sniff.

He comes into our room and instantly wraps his arms around me. "Shhh, sweetheart, do you need some water?"

I nod weakly.

"Okay." He leaves and comes back in a few minutes with a glass of water.

"Thanks," I whisper, taking the cup and pressing it to my lips for a sip.

He sits with me for a long time, helping me to calm down. I suddenly realize that the sun is up. It must have be about three and a half hours since I got the original phone call.

Then, I realize that I'm still quite tired. Especially after all of that crying.

"I'm going to go back to sleep," I tell Patrick eventually.

"Okay," he nods. "Would you mind if I went to work? I can call out if you need me to, but I've got a lot of appointments today, and I'd rather not have to find time to reschedule them all."

"No, it's fine," I insist. I'm telling the truth, too.

"Okay. Make sure that you contact Luke today to tell him that you won't be on for a bit. And contact your mum, too."

"Okay. I will."