Lone [MATURE HS]

Chapter 4.

I vaguely remember Argentina. My mom doesn't like to talk about it, and in turn, I don't like to ask. My curiosity towards my father's whereabouts faded vastly over the past five years ever since I learned that it just isn't worth it. Ever since I convinced myself that a man who did not want me or my mother to begin with is a man who already lost. The questions I had were no longer necessary to ask.

And I only think about it now, very briefly, as I stand in an empty corridor because the thought of daily routines being easier with two parents crossed my mind. There was nothing I couldn't do with my mother alone, however, it just took more time and more patience. Two things I tended to run out of quickly.

I reach over to my bag, rummaging through the mess of uncapped pens and a gum wrapper here and there for my keys. My mom let me drive her car to school today considering she was being picked up by one of her colleagues for the senator's funeral. I asked if I could go along, expecting to see Harry there but it was too much to ask of my mother. She refused at the thought of me joining her in exchange to losing a day at school.

Harry wasn't in school today. I've looked into the library once or twice today, just filling up the unquestionable certainty in my mind that he's not here with more evidence. I hated that I was even curious enough about his whereabouts to look, to search.

I fish through my bag, coming up with nothing yet. Paranoia sets in briefly as I think I might have actually lost the keys -- dropped them in the hallways or in a classroom. In my search for the keys, standing in the middle of an empty hallway, I hear a classroom door shut loudly, startling noise echoing throughout. My head turns to look behind me, but the corridor is empty as I much expected. It was late and I only stayed behind to be able to do extra research for a paper.

When I finally grab my keys, I hear a faint shatter of glass. Where it came from is beyond me. I stand straighter and naturally my eyebrows lower, focusing in the direction where the sound originated. There is no other audible noises for a moment but the sound of my own breathing and the slight ticking noise that comes from the large mechanical clock in main office.

A second later, the classroom door that was slammed shut earlier creaks open. The noises are exaggerated by the emptiness and spacious aspect of the corridors. I turn around out of my own curiosity, my eyebrows lowered naturally with doubt and confusion. There is a second before my heart tightens, lungs bloated with too much air from the sudden intake of breath. I look at him, wearing a black suit. He wears it nicely, hair messily falling to his cheeks, gold cross necklace falling above the black button up. The black pants hug his firm thighs and legs accordingly, a snug fit. His attire makes me remember the funeral. Precisely his father's. And when he looks up to see me, he doesn't react. His green eyes watch me, narrowed and blank. Gradually his eyebrows begin to furrow.

"Harry?" I question lowly, turning around fully. I look down to his hand, the ring clad one tightened into a fist. I make the assumption that he's angry, but a liquid with a solid pigment of red begin to drip from his knuckles, I'm more than ready to make statements. "What...what are you doing?" My voice becomes softer, acknowledging the fact that based on the patterns Harry's exhibited so far, there is absolutely nothing I can anticipate about the outcomes of this situation.

Harry opens his hand and raises it. He clearly saw me looking at it. He's got a large gash across his palm, and he doesn't elaborate on the demonstration. It looks deep and painful. The apathetic, serene blue aura of his presence swiftly burns a deeper, alarming red.

A few moments pass. I don't say anything, figuring he might explain himself. However, he simply drops his hand again and does not say a word. It takes one drop of blood to hit the polished floors before I state, "That looks like it hurt. I think the nurse is still here. She could probably help you with that."