Dante held onto my phone as I buried my face into his shoulder trying to stifle my sobs. As I was crying, I heard Harley sob “what do I do now mom? What do I do now?”
“You don’t have to do anything now sweetie. We can figure it all out later. All I need you to do is decide where you want to live and then grieve. Char and I will take care of the rest, okay sweetie?” we heard mom say. Holding out my hand for the phone, Dante handed it to me and taking a deep breath I said “yeah, like mom said we’ll take care of everything okay. I promise, everything will be fine just come home soon sweetie.”
“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll live with you guys” I heard him sob before mom took the phone back and said “the doctor says we should be able to come home tomorrow morning. He’s being released tonight but we’ll stay in the hotel for one more night and then get on the earliest flight in the morning. Can you make sure to do what I asked before we come home?”
“Yeah mom, we’ll take care of it today. I’ll even go grocery shopping and get some of his favorite comfort foods and things” then looking at Dante, I added “and we’ll set up the other room for him.” Nodding, Dante said loud enough for mom to hear “we’ll take care of everything.”
“Alright, thank you both. We’ll see you tomorrow. I love you both. Yes that includes you too Dante and give Annabelle a kiss for me and tell her mommy loves her too” mom said before hanging up. Locking my phone, Dante placed it on the dresser and had a weird look on his face making me chuckle before I asked “what’s wrong?”
“It’s just different having people outside my family who care about me. I’m just not used to it, I guess” he said hugging me tighter. Smiling, I said “get used to it darling because we aren’t going anywhere. Though, we will have to give Har some time before he fully comes back to us.”
“Yeah, I could tell he wasn’t himself. I’d be at the house waiting for him tomorrow but I don’t want to over load him with too many people” he said looking down at his lap.
“You may be right. I’ll call you when he’s safely at home but for today lets just worry about our list of things to do. We should probably start with gathering some of his things from his room” I said wrapping my arms around his torso again.
“Actually, we should probably start with breakfast and seeing if either Grace or mom can watch Annabelle while we take care of our list” he chuckled wrapping his arms around me as well.
“Yeah, we should probably do that first” I chuckled before saying “thanks for holding me last night. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the night without you.”
“You’re welcome love. Now let’s go get stuff done, okay” he chuckled back.
After we went down for breakfast, we filled in Grace and Katherine before asking if one of them could watch Belle while we ran some errands for my mom. They both said they’d stay and keep her company while Dante and I went to take care of the errands before we headed upstairs to get ready for the day. Heading back downstairs, I heard talking in the kitchen and headed in there to find Dante and Grace talking. Looking over at me, they paused their conversation and asked “is there anything Annabelle won’t eat?”
“Nope. Her favorite food is mac n cheese though and if you want to give her soda make sure its a clear or light colored liquid since mom doesn’t give her dark colored ones so she may not drink it” I answered with a shrug getting a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“You ready for this?” Dante asked moving to stand in front of me.
“Not really but do we have a choice” I said as my voice broke.
“No, but remember we’re doing it for the boy we both love” Dante said honestly pulling me into a hug before he added “and if you tell him that, I will deny it” making me laugh. Kissing the side of my head, he said “come on sweetie, let’s get this over with.”
“Yeah, let’s go. We’ll see you guys later, Grace” I said as Dante moved around me to the door. As I turned to follow, she said “see you guys later. Call us if you get an update, okay?”
“Will do” I said giving her a sad smile as we left to head over to Harleys’ parents house.
Pulling into his driveway a few minutes later, it hit me like a ton of bricks that Harley just lost his only family. As we walked towards his front door, I knew I had tears streaming down my face but Dante said nothing and just let me cry as I got the spare key. As I went to put it in the lock though, he stopped me gently taking the key from my hand and doing it himself without a word. Opening the door, we stepped inside and as Dante closed the door I said “his room is upstairs. It’s this way” before leading him through the silent house. Stopping outside his door, I said “this feels wrong.” Pulling my back to him and wrapping his arms around me, Dante gently said “remember, we’re doing this so that he won’t have to. It’s already going to be hard enough for him to come back here after the accident. We’re trying to make it as easy on him as we can, starting with packing up some of his things and moving them to your house.”
“Thanks for coming with me. I don’t think I would’ve been able to do this alone” I said as more tears streamed down my face.
“Anything you need, sweetie, I’m there. Same goes for Harley though I doubt we’ll talk much when he gets back. I’m going to give him his space to get through this however he needs to” he said letting me go as he took ahold of the handle of Harleys’ bedroom door. Turning the knob, he opened it to reveal the same neat and tidy room I was used to as we stepped inside I heard Dante chuckle.
“What? Oh, I forgot this is the first time you’ve been in here but why is that funny?” I asked still confused.
“I was laughing at how predictable he is. Though I suspect it had more to do with his dad than him, I’d always assumed his room would look pretty much like this” he shrugged.
“Yeah, that would be his dads’ doing but maybe when he’s himself again things will change. I just hope they change for the better and not get any worse for him” I said holding a framed photo of him and I from elementary school. Sitting it back down, I took a deep breath before moving into his closet for his suit cases. Bringing two back out and laying them open on his bed, I said “would you mind packing his stuff from that dresser there. Don’t worry about what it is, just pack it all please. I’ll take care of his closet.”
“What it is?” he asked moving to open the top drawer which revealed Harleys' medicine drawer making him make an “ahh” noise before silently doing as I asked. Moving back into the closet, I packed all of his clothes in each of the remaining three suit cases that were still in the closet. Taking one last look around, I brought all three bags out and lined them up by his bedroom door before asking “all done?”
“Yeah, though should we get him anything other than his clothes?” Dante asked making me think for a minute before I said “no, anything else he wants we can get him later. Come on, let’s go because we have other things to do today.” As we carried his bags out to Dantes’ car, my phone went off alerting me to a new message. Checking it, I was surprised to see it was from Harley.
[Har: Mom said you’re getting stuff from my house. Can you get the two shoe boxes from the back of my closet? One is filled with books and the other is photographs (don’t let Dante see inside this one).]
[Char: Why? You got some dirty pictures in there or something?]
[Har: If by “or something” you mean childhood pictures and some that may be considered stalking than yes.]
[Char: Oh damn Har, never took you for the stalker type. I’ll get them and make sure to hide them in your new room.]
[Har: Thanks sweetie and thank you both for dealing with that for me. I know there is no way I could go in there right now.]
[Char: You’re welcome sweetie. As Dante told me earlier we’re doing everything we can to make you coming back here easier since it’s already going to be difficult. He said he’s going to give you your space when you get back too. So, you can grieve without worrying about him too.]
“Hey, I’ve got to go get two more things for Har. You wanna just wait out here because I’ll only be a minute” I asked turning back towards the house.
“Yeah, I’ll wait for you” Dante said rearranging the stuff in the trunk. Looking back down at my phone, I read Harleys’ newest message.
[Har: That’s nice of him but it’s not going to stop me from worrying about him. I don’t know if I’d rather he stayed close or gave me space though. The one thing I do know for sure and I’ve known since before all this is that I love him, like really really LOVE him. I’m just not sure now is the right time to tell him.]
[Char: If I know one thing about Dante, it’s that he’ll wait as long as it takes to you to heal. I know you love him and I know he loves you, which he said “if you tell him, I will deny it” but I’m pretty sure it was a joke to make me laugh this morning. Anyway, my point is you worry about you right now and deal with mending your heart later.]
[Har: I was planning to tell him before all this and since when did you become so prophetic? I guess I should message Dante and tell him thanks now that I have my phone again, shouldn’t I?]
[Char: I can’t answer that. If it was a normal day, I’d say yes absolutely you should but I’m sure even talking to me is exhausting right now. So, maybe just wait until you are home to worry about that. Mom and I can play go between for now though I was wondering if you’d mind Dante and his family coming with us to meet you guys at the airport tomorrow morning?]
[Har: Nah, it should be fine for them to be there too. I don’t want you and AnnaBear to wait for us by yourselves.]
[Char: Okay. I’ll let them know. We’re planning on getting you all new bedding and bathroom stuff since your room has an attached bathroom. Any preferences?]
[Har: Make it fun, you know the kind of stuff I like. Hell, even if it’s just as a gag to make me laugh, anything is better than plain right?]
[Char: Alright, bright pink it is ;D Just kidding, I’ll make it fun though. I love you sweetie and Dante loves you even if he won’t say it for now.]
[Har: Thanks babe, I love you both too. Maybe don’t tell him that though. I’ll message tonight or maybe just call once we know what time our flight is but go ahead and tell them they can come to the airport too.]
[Char: Will do sweetie. I’ll send pictures of your room so it doesn’t surprise you when you see it.]
Pocketing my phone, I grabbed the boxes and headed back out of the house locking the door behind me but holding onto the spare key just in case. Walking to the trunk where Dante was waiting, I slipped the boxes inside and closed the lid before turning to look at him.
“Harley says to tell you thanks for doing all this and that he’d like you guys to come to the airport with us tomorrow to pick them up” I said taking his hand.
“I don’t know Char...” he said shaking his head before adding “let’s just worry about today and getting everything ready for them to come home tomorrow.”
“Okay sweetie” I said turning to get into the passenger seat of his maroon Nissan Altima.
The rest of the afternoon was spent getting decorations for Harleys’ new room and groceries before we headed back to my house. Carrying everything inside, I turned to Dante and said “wanna put the groceries away or decorate Harleys’ room?”
“Ummm... I think it would be better if you decorate his room. So, I'll just put the groceries away if that's okay” he said sounding a little sad.
“What's going through your mind right now, Dante?” I asked gently as I watch him pull food out of bags.
“I just... I know he said he wants me there but I don't want to cause him any more stress” he said pausing mid removal. Moving around behind him, I wrapped my arms around him and said “he may not know it but he loves you. You can't cause him any more stress. All you can do is be there to support him and make sure he knows you're there for him if he needs you. That's all you can do.” As I held him, I felt him start to silently shake before the first sob escaped his lips.
“I know this is hard on you too but I promise everything will work out for the best in the end” I told him hoping I could keep that promise. After a few more minutes of holding him while he cried, he said “come on, we should get this stuff done.”
“You’re right” I said letting go. As I reached the kitchen door, I paused and turned back and asked “will you be okay sweetie?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine hun. I’ll come join you when I’m done here” he said giving me a sad smile. Nodding silently, I headed upstairs to Harleys’ new room and began unpacking his things before putting up the new decorations we’d gotten for him.
Looking around at my handy work, I laughed when Dante said “I still can’t believe we went this childish with it” as he looked at the Yuri on Ice comforter we’d picked out for Harley. Turning to look at him, I said “you should go see the bathroom!” Laughing, he shook his head as he went to look at the Pokémon décor we’d decided on for the bathroom only to double over when he saw it.
“Oh my god, I really hope he likes it since he didn't chose it” he said when he'd managed to get his breathing under control again.
“Oh he's already seen the bathroom but I'm not sending him pictures the bedroom because I want to see his face when he sees his favorite show decorating his room” I smiled.
“That’s a good plan. I think it’ll make him happy and he deserves that” he said the smile dropping from his face as he spoke. Moving over to stand behind him, I wrapped him in a hug and said “Dante, talk to me sweetie. Tell me what you’re feeling right now.”
“I feel like I’m drowning and there won’t be a rescue. I know I need to give him time and space to deal with all this. I’m just scared he won’t come back to me when he’s back to himself. I know that sounds selfish but I love him, Char. I love him and he knows it but I don’t know if there is a future for us now. The only hope I had was that we’d go away to college together and be together there. But now... Now, I don’t even hold that hope and it’s scaring me” he sobbed covering his face with his hands as I held him there.
“I know what you mean and it’s not selfish sweetie. I’m scared that he won’t be himself when he’s done grieving either but all we can do for now is to just be there for him and support him as he deals with it all. I’m sure he’ll come around. It just might take some time for him to realize how he feels once the pain has subsided” I said as I squeezed him tighter. Hugging him for another few minutes, I said "come on sweetie, we should get back before your family and my sister start to worry about us."
"Okay" he sniffled wiping his eyes as I let go. Heading out of Harleys' room, we left my house and headed back to Dantes' for the night.
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