CHRYSALIS

23.

It's too early.

I know this because it's still dark in here and my eyes burn when I try to pull them open.

My brain is taking a while to register why the fuck I'm awake right now but then it hears my phone ringing from the nightstand next to me.

"Frankie, it's Harry. Is everything okay?... Jo's fine, she's asleep. I just heard her phone ring for the millionth time and saw she had a bunch of missed calls from you. What's going on? Is it Santana? Did he do something?"

My brain is slowly processing the information being heard by my ears. His voice is so low and grumbly in the morning, like whiskey spreading through your chest.

I'm surprised Harry answered my phone, honestly. I'm not mad that he did, just surprised he wouldn't wake me up to answer myself...he probably just did it cause it was Frankie, no big deal.

Damn, I'm so sleepy...

"WHAT!?"

Well fuck, I'm awake now.

I sit up as quickly as I can, dragging myself up and out of the covers. I wipe the sleep from my eyes quickly and place a hand on Harry's bare shoulder. His skin is hot to the touch, like his anger is radiating from him. "H? what's going on? What does Frankie need?"

His head turns quickly and I can see the stress in his features, the storm clouds in his eyes. He looks torn like he doesn't know what the right thing to do is. "I'm sorry I woke you. I'm gonna let Frankie fill you in, I have some calls to make."

He wraps a large hand around the back of my head and presses his lips to my forehead while he squeezes his eyes shut.

He stands from the bed and hands me the phone before grabbing his own phone and stepping out of the room.

"Frankie? What the fuck is going on? What time is it?" I'm expecting some kind of drama about Tommy throwing drinks again or Nicki breaking all of Pete's shit during a fight. I'm not expecting the words that come through the phone...

"Santana broke into your apartment...and he set some stuff on fire." Frankie's voice is low and I can tell he doesn't want the words to come out of his mouth.

"He what?" I can hear how my voice sounds like I squeaked it out from a wheeze because I have no breath right now.

"Frankie I need you to tell me everything you know please," I beg quietly while a tear rolls down my cheek.

"I'm so sorry Jo. He was at the apartment and he said you were ignoring his calls and such and he kept getting angrier, he started throwing things in his room so I went to try to talk to him and I heard him on the phone so I assumed you had answered him, I thought he would settle down. He stopped throwing things and it was silent in there and then he burst through the door and went flying toward the front door so I yelled at him and I asked him what the fuck he was doing and he Uhm...he hit me. He didn't even flinch Jo, he hit me in the stomach and then just turned and stormed off down the stairs. I didn't follow him and I'm so so so sorry, I know I should have but I was so stunned that he would just hit me like that with no reaction-" I cut him off before he could continue.

"Are you okay?"

I hear him huff through the phone. "I just told you he set your shit on fire and you're gonna ask if I'm okay!? Yes, Jo, I'm fine. Anyway...apparently he was waiting outside in the parking lot and a few girls were outside. I guess he asked if they knew you and they said you were a friend of there's and that they had just been looking for you but you weren't in your apartment."

What is the actual FUCK!? Who the fuck was outside!? I don't have any fucking friends and certainly, none that would be in my apartment without me.