⎯⎯ 𝐟𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎

𝕯arlene stays rooted to her seat on the couch, her nervous gaze flickering around the room until it catches the movement of the clock signalling that he's an hour late.

Harry is never late, no matter what. He works on some kind of a strict punctuality schedule, the hours even minutes ticking by wasted is simply unacceptable to him.

He is never late, no matter what.

And so naturally, this is the time for her to descend into full blown panic. She'd texted him fifteen minutes ago - not wanting to disturb him in case something very important had come up and he'd been forced to stay for the meeting with his team for longer than intended - but her texts had gone unanswered.

It is so unlike him, if he had really needed to stay back late he would have made sure to inform her and apologise a million times too.

Her initial response when asked if it'd be okay for him to go in for an important meeting on Valentine's Day had been a skeptical narrowing of her stark blue eyes, her lips pursed as she analysed his regretful face.

She knew he wasn't the one who'd scheduled it but it still hurt to think that he was even considering it.

Then as if by some divine intervention, she shut her thoughts out.

No. Don't compare it to last time. He wasn't here last year, this year he is. He's here and it's not like it's a national holiday, it's his work - everything he's been working towards this past one year.

Hence, she had smiled quietly snuggling under the covers beside him and pecked his chin sighing as she parted her lips to reply.

"It's okay. I think I'll spend the day making sure Mia's party doesn't go to shit. We'll have dinner, hmm? I'll cook", she'd said resting her head on his shoulder feeling him relax under her touch.

"You sure?", he'd asked twiddling with her fingers under the layered blanket they were covered with.

"I'm sure", she had replied brushing her nose against the soft skin of his neck eliciting a small giggle from him since that's his tickle spot.

They're on good terms, really good terms which makes his tardiness even more worrying.

With her heart beating in her throat, Darlene calls him bringing her phone up to her ear.

The ring goes on for a minute, no reply coming back, before it goes straight to voice-mail.

"Shit", she hangs up wringing her hands out to calm herself down.

Deep breaths, in and out.

The weight of Ruby rubbing herself against her leg alleviates a small dose of her anxiety, but it comes rushing back when her mind refuses to settle.

She gets up on her feet and paces through the room, her shaky hands dialing Anne's phone number.

The sweet welcoming voice of Harry's mother fills her ears after a beat or two, "Darlene? Hi, honey".

She can practically hear the smile in the older woman's voice, which makes this even more difficult to say.

"Uhm, Anne. Hi. I'm so sorry for disturbing you this way but Harry-", she shuts her eyes, inhaling deeply despite the pounding of her heart, "Harry was supposed to come to my apartment an hour ago for dinner. I've texted and called him but there's no reply at all. I'm so-Fuck".

She rubs her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat threatening to unleash.

"Darlene, hey. Sweetie, I need to you to breathe for me, okay? Breathe, alright? Inhale, exhale. Slowly, c'mon".

She breathes in and out following Anne's instructions, all the while her anxious overthinking brain runs laps around the city.

"There you go, good girl. You said he's not responding?".

"No", she clears her throat.

"I'm going to call him too, do you know who he was with?".

"Jeff, I think. And Kid, probably. Mitch too".

"Can you call them?".

Darlene exhales, "Yes, I can call them".

"Okay, so you do that and find out where he is and what he's doing. If it doesn't help then we'll call the police, got it?".

The mention of 'the police' sends a new wave of panic jolting through her body, she tries to rein it in.

"Of course, yeah. Thank you".

"Don't worry, alright? We'll find him".

She hums hanging up the call and immediately dialing up Mitch.

It rings continuously, every single ring heightening her senses and bearing down on her, her heart beating at a rapid pace.

She doesn't even have the chance to wait for a few more seconds before the doorbell rings instantly startling her.

She blinks hanging up the call and carefully approaching the door as if a bomb rests on the other side.

Darlene cautiously unlocks it, pulling it open only for her eyes to go wide when they meet his.

He looks shaken, to say the least. His hair appears messy - a result of his fingers constantly running through it - the green in his eyes is dimmed, his alert glance flicking all over her shocked face.

Wordlessly, she throws her arms around his neck.

His arms come up to wrap around her waist, tightly holding onto her, his face hiding in the crook of her neck as she sighs in relief.

He leans further down to envelop her into a much needed hug, his cold fingertips brushing against the exposed skin of her back when her sweater tugs up.

She breaks the hug to lean back and cup his face, his arms remaining firm around her body.

"What happened?", she whispers guiding them inside and closing the door with her leg, all while he stays latched onto her as if the moment he lets go she'll vanish.

Harry shakes his head, his mouth opening a few times only to close right after.

"Harry, hey. You okay?", Darlene holds his face up finding his alarmed eyes.

"I was walking over here after the meeting. I thought-", he inhales a shaky breath, "I thought it'd be a nice walk. Halfway through, these-these men they-", he screws his eyes shut in pain in an attempt to forget the memory.

"You're alright. You're safe", she kisses his forehead encouraging him.

"I-they just . . . they came out of nowhere. And they surrounded me. They wanted my wallet. I was about to scream when one of them-", his voice cracks, "one of them pulled out a gun. I thought of throwing my phone and wallet in the fountain behind them but then I saw an opening and I ran like hell".

Her heart aches, eyes blinking rapidly to get rid of the blur of the tears lining up on her eyelids.

"I went to the police right after. It took a while there. That is why I'm late", he returns his gaze to hers.

She pulls him in for a hug, kissing his head when he gulps loudly mumbling something incoherent in her hair.

"I love you, so much".

He releases a shaky breath safely tucking her right against him.

***
i went a little too close to reality for this one 😭