Prom

twenty six

"We found this out and we want to help you keep this secret", the man said," Did you bring the money mentioned in the email?"

"Of course", Harry said. Harry would have been dumb to not to bring the money. These people are clearly fucked up and who knows how they would have reacted if they didn't bring any of the money they asked for. The couple looked at each other in excitement over the money then back at us with the same happy expression.

"We would like for you to give us the money", the man said as if he was all of a sudden kind and polite," and we will not only keep your secret of murder and this all be between us. Someone will take the blame for you and we will all be happy."

It seemed like a perfect, full proof plan but I wanted to know who would be taking the blame. Why did someone even have to take the blame? I wished this could just be some big murder mystery the dies with Harry and I, something we take to the grave. I didn't want someone to have to live their life as a lie covering for our horrible decision.

"Who will be taking the blame?", Harry asked, he seemed worried but at the same time he seemed like he just wanted to leave.

"That is for us to know and for you to find out", the man said with a smug smile. It worried me that they wouldn't tell. How did we know that it wasn't someone we loved that we were setting up. It could have been anyone they were going to have take the blame and we had no say in it at all.

"Why can't you tell us", Harry began to say before letting out a sigh and looking down to the money," Never mind, just forget it."

He reached down and started grabbing the handfuls of cash and setting onto the table.

"Just take it all", he pushed the money over to the couple and they smiled. They grabbed the handfuls of cash and started counting it out. They looked at it as if it were their newborn child, with so much love and admiration.

"Thank you", the woman said before reaching down and putting a box onto the table, "Here is all the picture of you and Holden."

Harry grabbed the box and put it in his bag. The both of us stood up, said our goodbyes, and left. There was a silence between Harry and I though as we walked to the car and began to drive off. I wanted to talk to Harry about what just happened but I had no idea what to say. I had no idea how to react or how to even feel about what just happened. I wanted to see what was in the box she had given him. I wanted to know who the person was that they were going to have cover for our horrible crime. I wanted to ask so many questions and just talk to Harry to soothe my worrying mind but I couldn't. I knew that Harry was stressed out and I just wanted to let him think all this over. 

When we got to our house, it was the same as it was in the car. Harry went into the house, went into our bedroom, and slammed the door behind him. I decided to just lay on the couch and watch some TV. I could barely remember the last time I just sat and watched TV. I never had the time for it anymore and every time I tried I got distracted by something else. This was the first time in a long time where I could just sit down and watch TV, fully immersed in what was happening in the show.

Maybe I finally felt free of what happened. Maybe giving those people the money and knowing that I would be safe now made it easier for me to focus. This could have changed my life and maybe now I could finally move on from what happened at the school. I could finally push the memory of planning a murder into the back of my mind and it wouldn't be an issue anymore. I hoped that was the case but I didn't want to get ahead of myself. Pushing all that had happened into the back of my mind, repressing all the horrible things was going to be really hard.

Suddenly, I was broken out of my thought when I heard heavy sobbing coming from the bedroom. I walked over and listened in. It was just Harry crying, he was sobbing. Full on sobbing, something I had never heard or seen before. I decided to knock on the door and see if Harry wanted any comfort.

"Come in", he chocked out and there was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at picture of him and his son. I sat next to Harry and started looking at the pictures. Now, Harry had pretty long hair and now he obviously looked older but in these pictures it was almost as if he was a different person. He looked so much younger and had a more edgy, street style. He has short quiff up hair and in every picture he had the most bright and proud smile on his face. I had never seen Harry this youthful since I had known him. He had always been playful and flirty but he had been more reserved and professional as well. 

"You are the cutest, father in the world", I said and he smiled for a moment but the tears were still sliding down his cheeks.

"I should have fought for him, Lana. I should've fought the courts for him but she just took him away and I was young and I had no idea what to do or where to go with it. I tried to hunt them down. I went everywhere that I thought she would be, I asked all of her friends but no one would tell me anything. Even when I got the police involved they sided with her because she is the mother and I should've fought harder."

"This is all my fault you know that. It is all my fault that this is happening. You say I'm a good father and I good boyfriend but I'm not I ruined everything. I ruined everything in my son's life for not fighting for him, I ruined your life by trying to protect you. I fucked up and there is nothing I can do to take any of this back", he started sobbing again and all I did was rub his back and comfort him. I didn't want to ask to much, I just wanted to be there for him.

"Harry", I whispered, continuing to rub his back, "You did you're best and I know that you always had the best of intentions. You have such a good heart, I know this for a fact. I love you for that so much."

Harry just kept crying he didn't even say a word. He cried and cried and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

"It's him, Lana. It's him they are having cover for us. They are using my son as our cover up just to spite me. Just to make it hurt even more they are using Holden as our cover up."