0: Prologue | Harriet
The sound of the front door slamming closed jostles Harriet awake from her sleep in the bedroom. Sleepily, she makes her way towards the living room to see Julian sat on the couch with his head in his left hand and a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his right.
Cautiously, she makes her way towards him and sits next to him. Gently she tries to pull his face up towards her, but he resists. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
He doesn’t reply, but he does finally raise his head, but only to take a swig of the alcohol before putting it back down into his hand again.
Putting her arm around him she tries to silently comfort him but he just shrugs her off and moves slightly away from her making a pang of hurt shoot through her. Harriet tries to reassure herself it’s because he’s drunk but it still hurts. Ignoring the pain she goes to move towards him again only for him to angrily stand up and snap at her.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” he roars, “Jesus Christ, you’re always invading my personal fucking space and it’s damn annoying! I can’t go anywhere without you clinging to me like some leech and I’m sick of it!”
Shocked Harriet momentarily just blinks at him before stuttering quietly, “I-I was just trying t-to see if you were alright.” She can feel the moisture gathering in her eyes as his words register and finally sink in. “I didn’t me-mean to bother you.” She look down to the ground as she fiddles with her hands and tries to hide the tears falling down her cheeks.
Julian seems to notice this though as he sighs in aggravation. “And now with the crying! Jesus, you’re so sensitive. Anytime someone tells you the truth you cry and it’s so annoying, just like you. Go cry to someone else would you because I’m done with it, done with you.”
Hastily wiping the tears from her face with her hands, she looks up at the guy she loves, who she thought loved her but as she stares at him through blurry eyes she realises he’s not the same boy she fell in love with nearly four years ago. Sadly she guesses that time doesn’t just change, people do too.
Taking a deep breath, she bites her lip to try to hold in the sobs desperately wanting to break out and nods her head.
Quickly grabbing her phone and pulling on a jacket Harriet forces herself to walk out the door. As the door closes behind her she lets out the sobs she’d been holding in as she realise they’re finished and that he’s not going to come running after her like they do in the movies.
Stumbling down the pavement she notices how cold it is and brings the jacket closer to her body only to get a whiff of Julian’s cologne. In her haste to leave she’d grabbed his jacket and smelling the cologne she got him last Christmas on it just makes her start crying all over again. Except this time it’s the gut-wrenching ones that leaves her gasping for air. It’s the only thing she has left of him now.
Harriet don’t know how long it’s been when she finally reaches her best friend’s house tired as hell with swollen, red puffy eyes but she can tell it’s been a few hours as the sun’s starting to rise.
Stumbling up the steps and to the door, she knocks on it and not long after it opens to reveal one of her only friends, Jennifer. She’s the last thing Harriet sees before everything begins to spin and she black out, collapsing into Jennifer’s arms.
