Till Dawn (HS)

xv

Clara felt her heart burst and broke out into a grin; she thanked the man profusely while her mind raced. Everything was finally beginning to fall in place for her, she thought, and it was only a month into the new year- Harry was slowly but surely revealing his sweet soul to her, and now she had a job that she knew was going to be a million times more fulfilling than her last one. She waved goodbye to her new boss and thanked him one last time before she pushed through the doors of Blue Hill. The chilled air sunk its teeth into her exposed skin, turning her nose and cheeks a rosy pink, but she ignored it while sauntering to her car.

The smile didn't falter from her lips as she drove to Harry's house. He hadn't responded to her text message yet, so she was betting that he was still asleep; the thought of him snoring into the pillow as he slept well into the day only made her smile widen. A belated birthday breakfast would be the perfect way to share the news of her new job with him; hopefully, it would inspire him to pursue a new career of his own. It would be nice for him to have a job that didn't involve bruises and blood-smeared shirts and potential trips to the police station. Clara was so grateful for not having to worry about Harry's well being anymore, that she was almost urged to thank Jackson for it. Almost.

The windows weren't illuminated when she arrived, which meant Harry was definitely still asleep. Clara stepped onto the yard, the dead grass crackling beneath her feet as she padded to the door, taking a glance at one of the shrubs that she passed by. The yellow roses were only lifeless buds, resting during the cold temperatures, but she could still recognize them from when her mother had her help plant some in their garden one spring.

Clara rose her hand to the door and knocked. She waited a moment before knocking harder, hoping the sound would travel to his room and wake him up. It was already past noon, why was he sleeping so late? Clara huffed to herself and stepped back from the door, her eyes drifting down to her feet.

Under her black heels, was a dark stain in the concrete. Was that there before? Her eyebrows furrowed together and she felt her heart involuntarily begin to race. Beside the dark discoloring was a phone, Harry's phone, with a thick crack right down the screen.

"Are you looking for the young man that lives there?"

Clara's head lifted and snapped towards where a middle-aged man was standing beside the shrubs which acted as a barrier between Harry's house and the next one over. She placed her hand over her heart, startled by his voice, and nodded feebly. "Y-yes. Why?"

The man shook his head slowly and wiped his hands against his dirt-covered jeans. He seemed to have been picking at some of the weeds. "He's not there. He's at the hospital. Took him there last night myself."

"Sorry, what?" she sputtered. Clara blinked in confusion and glanced back at the burgundy stain on the ground. Her heart seemed to stop.

"Hospital," the man repeated solemnly. "He was just about bleeding out when I found him. Wrapped a towel around his leg and took him to the hospital. It wasn't easy getting him into my car- the kid is a lot heavier than he looks," he forced a quiet chuckle but she wasn't listening. Her ears were flooded with the loud pulsing of her blood through her veins as she stared at the stain again. Her mind raced to collect her thoughts and make sense of everything.

Hospital. Blood. Harry.

Her Harry. 

An audible gasp cut through her throat and she clamped her hand over her mouth. The man watched as her eyes widened, the understanding smacking into her so hard she nearly stumbled to the cold ground. Clara didn't waste another moment before clutching her purse in her trembling hand and practically sprinting to her car.