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No word of mine will ever hurt you.
Avery didn't talk to Harry for the rest of the week. He didn't contact her and she wasn't brave enough to reach out to him. Her mind immediately thought that he'd gotten bored of her. If she was honest with herself, she knew that this would happen eventually. She's just glad it happened before she grew more attached to the boy.
She already found herself being attached to him a small bit. It was easy for her. As a child, she would cling to anyone who showed her the slightest bit of love and affection, all just to be disappointed again. She had tried to be more distant with people, less open, but that plan didn't go too well. As if her mind wanted her to be hurt over and over again and accepted this as her life. Just because it was familiar didn't mean it hurt less.
Avery worked every day this week at the cafe. Tom was still worried about finances, he had told her not to worry about it, so she tried her best not to. He was on the search for a new employee and had asked her if she had any friends that were in need of a job, She had told him that she would ask around, leaving out the fact that she had no one to ask.
She imagines asking Harry as a joke but decides against it soon after. Not wanting to reach out to him in case he didn't want to hear from her. On Wednesday night, she found herself standing outside of Sam's front door. Her tiny fist raised, ready to knock, but her heartbeat had suddenly gone so loud she ran back to her apartment.
She had gotten used to having Harry around. Even if he hadn't been around long, this was the first time that she had someone to talk to. That night just felt so different with no one around. Even Sam would have been enough to satisfy her need for human contact, but that didn't end up working out. Normally, being alone never bothered her, but lately, her heart ached for the company.
Today was Sunday, making it day four with no sleep, with the exception of a few hour long naps here and there. The world record for the longest consecutive hours of no sleep was 264, just over eleven days. Though she was nowhere even close to that, she was beyond tired. Her whole begging constantly begging for rest, but her mind kept on racing and racing. She knew that closing her eyes meant eight hours of terror, eight hours of being a child again, eight hours of being back at that godforsaken house.
After eight cups of coffee, her body started to shake. "You're pathetic." She told the girl in the mirror. "Look at you."
So, she left her flat at 8 pm. Wandering through the streets of London, the cool air calming her down enough to think straight. She watched all the groups of people pass her. Friends and couples having the time of their lives. It brought a small smile to her face.
As the night grew, it only got colder. She made her way back home at around 10 pm. "Tomorrow you have work, Avery. You'll have something to do, get your mind off of things." She always enjoyed working at the cafe. It wasn't as successful as Tom had hoped when he originally opened his doors, but they had people come there every day. Somewhere regulars and some only stopped by every once and awhile.
On the steps of her apartment building sat Harry. His hair was a mess, strewn about messily. He adorned a pair of black jeans and a dark green hoodie.
"What are you doing here?" He didn't say anything at first, thinking about how he wanted to respond. "What happened to you?"
"I was out walking and thought I'd drop by." He said with a shrug. "Can I come in?"
She unlocked the door, letting him inside without another word. He looks around her flat like he did the first time he had been there. Letting everything sink in. Avery lets her jacket fall to the floor and turns on the kettle, grabbing two peppermint tea bags out of the cabinet.
"When was the last time you slept?" Harry breaks the silence. He was sitting in front of the piano, hands dancing across the keys without letting the weight of his fingers push down on them.
"Why does that matter?''
"You don't look good..." His eyes were fixed on her every move. "You look tired, and a bit sick."
"Wow, thanks, Harry. You really know how to compliment a girl."
"Ave...'' He sighs, turning his attention back to the piano. After the water started boiling, Avery placed two tea bags into their cups and poured the hot water over top. She made her way to the living room, setting Harry's cup on top of the piano.
"Why won't you let yourself rest?"
She takes a deep breath and a sip of her tea before leaning her head back, staring up at the ceiling. "I get really bad nightmares."
"That's why you won't go to sleep?"
"They scare me. A lot." She whispers with closed eyes. Harry was right. Avery looked sick and exhausted. Of course, there were weeks that things were better. She got more sleep at night with the occasional afternoon nap, but things hadn't been like that for months now. She didn't know if it was the weather, or the cold season, or maybe even the crying child she had seen on her way home a couple of weeks back, but she knew that things were only getting worse.
"How about I stay here and you sleep? So when you have a nightmare, I can wake you." Harry suggests. She feels the sofa dip beside her, signaling he had sat down next to her.
"You don't want to be here when I have a nightmare."
"I really don't care, Ave. Come on. You need to get some sleep, otherwise, you are gonna drop dead somewhere."
It was hard for her to open her eyes, it took way more energy than it should have. When she did, Harry's eyes were fixed on her. His eyes were so soft, so full of sympathy and utter kindness, that she found herself agreeing.
"Okay... but wait here a second." She sped off to the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, she found the bottle of valerian pills, taking three of them before going back to the living room. She knew that she wouldn't be falling asleep without them.
"Don't wake me if I have a nightmare, okay?"
Harry looked at her with total confusion. "What? Why?"
"Just... please don't wake me. You have to promise me."
He seemed unsure for a second, contemplating his decisions, he soon nodded. "Okay, I promise."
Avery went to her bedroom and closed the door, the valerian slowly taking effect. And as she closed her eyes and her mind finally quieted, she heard the sounds of a piano being played softly in the background.
The photo isn't of Avery, it is the only one that I had that seemed to fit♥️✨🦋
