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Chapter 8
Harlow
“Harlow,I’mworriedabout you.”
My exhausted, darkened eyes looked at Thomas in disbelief.
“I’m fine. Nothing a little coffee or vodka won’t fix.”
Truth be told, I was fucking tired.
After waking up on my bedroom floor after passing out, I spent the entire night awake, terrified that my stalker was nearby. And when the sun came up, I decided it was time for a change.
Thomas sighed. “Harlow, you don’t have to be like this. There are more effective ways to manage your anxiety and trauma responses.”
I shook my head, forcing a smile at him. “It’s not you, it’s me. I just think it’s time to live my life.” My eyes glanced around the room, focusing on the armrest of his chair. “By the way, I really hate these fucking chairs. And you need to fix the crack in the ceiling.”
Thomas sighed, putting his notepad down. His eyes narrowed in on my face and I knew without a doubt he was testing me, waiting to read my facial expression.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”
I tapped my fingers against my own armrest. “You don’t believe me and I’m going to be dead soon anyways. With the lack of mental health support in this town, it’s better I free up your diary so you can help other people who actually have a fighting chance.”
For the first time, I saw an emotion cross his face that broke the professional stance I was so used to.
“What do you mean you’ll be dead soon?”
I laughed, causing him to raise an eyebrow. Well, if my notes didn’t say I was insane before, I bet they do now.
“My stalker is getting close. And there’s only so much I can do when I can’t even get the damn police to come help me. At least I won’t have to worry about my debt – see, optimism.”
Thomas leaned back in his chair, pondering my words. He looked stumped, almost defeated. Over 6 months of therapy and this is where we ended up. It’s not his fault though. I’m just that fucked up.
“Harlow, have you considered, possibly thought about, spending some time in a mental health facility as an inpatient?”
Laughter broke out of me again and I shook my head. “Tommy, there’s a stalker whether you or anyone believes me. And frankly, I’ll be better off anyways. So will everyone else.”
Standing up, I saluted him before walking out the door. He protested behind me but I closed the door, hurrying off down the hallway towards the street entrance before he could stop me.
The walk back to the office was quick, the lunch time crowd starting to head back to their places of employment. I was glad that I was able to change my appointment time. The thought of being out when it was starting to get dark didn’t sit well with me.
It might have been Friday but as soon as the rest of the working day was over, I planned to hole up in my room.
I checked the time on my phone, noticing I had a few minutes until my lunch break was over. As I strode into the lobby, I spotted Bryson waiting at the elevators, a sandwich in his hand. He looked at me as I approached to stand next to him.
“Hey Harlow. Are you excited for the weekend?”
“No,” I admitted, watching the numbers on the elevator panel decrease as it slowly made its way back down to us. “Didn’t you get to eat your lunch?”
Bryson looked at the food in his hand, letting out a half-laugh. “No, unfortunately. Been caught up in boring meetings and helping team members.”
I tilted one side of my lips up in a sympathetic face. “Sorry to hear that. At least you got the promotion you wanted.”
The elevator dinged and I moved aside to let people off. Bryson swung his arm out to trigger the sensor to keep the door open as he motioned for me to go in.
“Thanks,” I responded, hitting our floor number on the buttons panel.
“Harlow,” he started, drawing my attention as I looked at him. Bryson’s index finger pushed his thick frames up the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry you didn’t get it. You deserved it.”
I laughed, my gaze finding the floor. “No, I didn’t and it’s okay. I don’t care about that anymore.”
“What do you care about then?”
I froze, my eyes stuck on the black metal ground. A few seconds passed before I shook my head, giving him a little smile. “I care about you.”
Bryson’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth partly open as he stared at me. The elevator dinged and I headed out when the doors opened, leaving a shocked Bryson in my wake.
