When It's Time to Move On

Door 3 - Chapter 42 - All of Them

Harris staggered back into his apartment. It looked as unwelcoming as ever. He hadn't bothered to clean it in ages. But at that moment, cleaning was the farthest thing from his mind. He extracted a cup of ice cream from the freezer and fell on the couch, hoping the searing pain inside would be quelled by something cool. The first bite barely reached his lips when the power gave out, leaving the room in darkness.

"Of course," he groaned, somehow having expected that, setting the ice cream aside.

Harris sighed. In former times, being left in solitude in his apartment wouldn't have sounded too bad. But now, it just seemed like a cruel irony.

"Guess I came back full circle, huh?" he asked himself aloud.

He was too tired to be perturbed; heaving himself to the bedroom felt like too much work as well. Somewhere out there, his friends were dealing with their problems and moving past them, and he was glad for it. Still, he thought, it didn't change the fact that he was all alone with nothing but the pain to accompany him.

Sometime later he drifted off, and for once, there were no dreams with hidden meanings nor any burgeoning thoughts swirling in his head.

However, he couldn't be sure whether he was awake or asleep; everything was still dark yet he was certain he'd heard a sound. He opened his eyes and turned his head to find a beam of light shining at him. Harris was unsure of what to make of it; he hadn't walked out of any doors, yet the orb of light was here greeting him.

"Did you come for me?" he asked.

He then saw the light's source and realized there was a person behind it. Before he could make out who it was, the room burst into view as the power switched back on.

"Of course, we did, idiot." He heard Auden's voice. And then he saw the light, it had been his phone.

But there they were. All of them. His friends. Hank, Sylvia, Auden, Laarni, and finally Roslin. Huddled together.

"What're you guys doing here?" He asked in befuddlement.

"I called them." Roslin stepped forward. Harris realized what this must be about, and instantly attempted to cover up his condition.

"I'm fin- AH," he collapsed on the ground; the fatigue had set in his body, and now his legs refused to move.

Roslin calmly walked over and helped him up. One arm was around his shoulder while the other rested near his heart, a gentle look of affection directed towards him.

"It's okay, Harris. You can stop now," she said softly, not letting go of him.

"Yeah, drop the act because I'm already really close to kicking your ass," said Hank. In fact, they all had infuriated looks on them.

"I told them about your illness," Roslin informed him.

"Why?" he asked, crestfallen.

"Because I see now this is the only way I can convince you to do the right thing. To show you how much you mean to everyone."

"Honestly, you spend all your time trying to help me with my problem when you were sitting right on the biggest one," said Auden with a shake of his head. "Not cool, man. Ever thought how we would feel about it?"

"I didn't want to-"

"Worry or upset us?" Sylvia interrupted. "Hmm, wonder how we're feeling now?"

"Harris, why would you hide something such as this?" Laarni asked.

He felt nervous to speak further. However, a glance at Roslin, who simply nodded at him with her smile of understanding, provided him with confidence.

"I thought I'd end up being a burden," he confessed.