Dead Flowers | H.S.

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Harry," it was the middle of the night whenever my voice roused Harry from a dreamless sleep.

"Yes, baby?"

"Will you take me to my mother tomorrow?"

He said nothing for a while. It was too dark for him to see me, but my eyes had become accustomed to the onyx after lying awake for hours after Harry fell asleep.

"If that's what you want."

"It is."

"Okay, then. Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

"Okay, sugar. Go to sleep now, okay?"

He carefully touched my shoulders to pull himself closer to me, kissed my forehead softly, breathed in my scent.

"I love you very much, Jane. More than you'll ever know."

"I know."

-

My house was the exact way I'd left it. Not a thing had been touched. The stairs were still stairs, the doorknobs were still doorknobs—the ones I'd licked to stay home from school. Not a thing had changed besides the lack of items in my bedroom. Dust had collected atop each surface. It was like only ghosts lived there.

"You look well," my mother whispered to Harry as she held her hand out to him. He shook her hand with a tight smile on his mouth, didn't move his hand from my back.

The house was dark despite the early hour of the morning. My mother, of course, had her hair slicked back and her makeup precise. My father waited behind her, back straight, eyes unmoving on my still figure.

"Hello, Jane." My mother didn't offer me her hand.

"Hi, mom."

They saw the purple bags beneath my eyes. They saw the cower in my stature. They saw past every dot of concealer Harry had pressed beneath my eyes, the shimmy of mascara on my lashes, the chapstick spread on my lips. They did not want to touch me-then they too would become infected with the strange disease that took their even stranger daughter.

"Why are you here?" My father's voice was flat, not soft, not loud.

Harry glanced at me, asked me with his eyes if I wanted him to answer. He was surprised to see the unintentional grin plastered to my lips as my eyes watered.

"Just came to say goodbye."

-

"What did you mean?"

"About what?"

"You said goodbye to your parents."

"I'm leaving."

Harry's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, dismay written all over his features.

"Without me?"

I pulled a chunk of my hair out of my head-stomped on it. Inhaled the dreamy scent of lavender. Spit into the sudden gust of wind that pushed me towards Harry.