Glimpse Of Heaven

by: OhSillyStacy

The sound of the leaves ruffling outside the window door was like a sweet lullaby for Harlowe.
It was certain that the last few days were tiring, both physically and mentally.
No, they were exhausting.

Her eyes were starting to droop, but the sudden pounce on her bed, made her jump.
She put a hand on her heart, trying to catch her breath; while she patted the friendly beast's head.
"Hey there, Elvis. Whatcha up to buddy?"
Harlowe ruffled his hair, having him lay on her bed beside her, so she could tickle all his favorite spots.

Elvis always played a role in anyones life, if you still can't believe that; Nick's best therapy sessions were talking to his dog late at night, when he thought no one else would be awake, or that he would be a burden if he tried waking one of his brothers so he could tell them one of his problems; but with Elvis, it was just a simple act, and the dog would always look at him with the same love and admiration he had towards his owner, even if his owner told him his darkest secrets.

This time, Elvis' company was no different.
Harlowe felt the dog's warm body close to hers, and she couldn't help but feel protected.
"You always know when the right time to come in is huh?"
The dog just snuggled closer to her body, licking her arm.

With a sudden bark towards nowhere, the dog rushed outside, having the emptiness in Harlowe's body come back.

"I want you to give him time," Joe's voice reappeared from beside her, from the same spot Elvis' bark was directed to.

"Give whom time?" Harley asked, only to have her question ignored.

"I want you to stay here, even when he tells you otherwise. Be strong for him, even if you're falling. Be his rock, even when you're made of sand. Do not fall, when you see him falling. Just please put up your best face and most important... please understand him," Joe told her, standing in front of her with pleading eyes.

"Joe, what are you talking about?" Harlowe repeated, even when she had a hint of whom he was talking about.

"Nick. He won't be the same once he comes home. You'll see a side of him that you or anyone for that matter has seen. But I want you to promise me that you'll try to help him, that you just won't walk out of his life okay?"

"Yeah," Harlowe breathed, unsure of what she was getting herself into.

"Do you mind laying with me?" His voice whispered softly and it was intoxicating Harlowe's senses.

"Of course not," she gave the figure a weak smile, before laying on the soft bed, looking at the ceiling, afraid to look at him.

Silence filled the room, and it was killing her.
It wasn't before almost twenty minutes passed until Joe decided to talk.
"You smell nice."

Harlowe scrunched her nose and looked at him, confused and quite intrigued.
"You can smell? Better yet, you can breathe?"

Joe just smirked and leaned in, putting his mouth in an 'o' shape and blowing.
The surprising thing, she didn't feel the wind, but she felt herself shiver.
'It's just a coincidence,' she thought.
But then, he did it again, sending another shiver towards Harlowe's body.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Now stop doing that," she told him with a slight smile, making him chuckle. "I have a question."

"No, you have a million. But now is not the time for neither of them," he replied seriously.

"When do I know when the right time to ask them will be?"

"You never know when the right time for things are. You just have a feeling they are going to turn out well. People just give things a shot and if they work out, then it feels like if it were meant to be."

"What are you–" The front door slamming interrupted Harlowe's question. She quickly jumped up startled, looking at Joe, who didn't seem surprised.
Smashing of objects around the house were heard, along with desperate cries of frustration.

"What's happening Joe?" Harlowe asked him petrified about the situation.

"I already warned you." His voice was nonchalant.

"What do I do now?" She whispered to him, looking from the door to him, unsure of what the right thing to do was.

"Show him your support?" His statement was more of a question, but it wasn't out of doubt, but of fear she won't be taking that the right way.

"So, I walk downstairs?" She whispered, cringing when she heard more objects break.

"Don't worry. I'll walk down too."

With one last nod, both Harlowe and Joseph went downstairs.

The living room was partly destroyed.
Broken vases, plates, the coffee table and it's contents all around.
The house seemed like a storm hit it.
But it didn't look as bad was how Nick looked. Nick looked like all mother nature's disasters hit him at the same time.

"Nick?" Harley's soft voice said. Nick's head snapped towards her direction, glaring furiously, yet hurt at her.

"What?" He yelled harshly, sending Harlowe over the edge, trembling and crying at the sight of the broken boy in front of her.

"Please calm down," she eyed as he grabbed one of his guitars, slamming it against the wall. "Can we talk about this? Nick, you'll regret all of this later."

"I don't care! And no! I don't want to talk about this, much less to you!"
Harlowe looked at Joe, tears slipping from her eyes, questioning him.
Joe just looked at her back, strongly, like if his composure will bring back hers.
He mouthed a 'You can do it' towards her but it only left her more confused.

"Nicholas, please listen to me," the way she said his name made him stop. That was exactly the way Joe would talk to him and it only made his inside burn in pain.

"What?" Nick dropped all the things he was planning to destroy, just because he was hurt. Much more hurt than before.

"Stop hurting yourself," she yelped when she noticed some of the glass had cut around his arms. "Nick, we have to get you to the hospital!"

"No, Harlowe. I'm okay. I'll clean the wound up and I'll be fine," he mumbled, wiping some of the blood on his shirt.

"But with the diabe—"

"I know all this stuff alright? I don't need you to tell me anything! Heck, get the fuck out of my house too!"

Harlowe sucked in a breath, looking at Joe again, who was looking back at her nonchalantly.

"I'm not going anywhere Nick. You asked me yourself to stay and that's what I'm going to do. I will not let you do any of this. This is not the right thing to do."

Nick mumbled a couple of curse words under his breath, but eventually stopped. "Fine. Whatever. Do as you wish," he started to walk up the stairs, leaving the mess behind, but there was something invading Harlowe's mind.

"Nick?" she called at him. "What–"

"Now isn't the right time to ask that question," Joe's voice whispered in her ear. She dropped her head in defeat, nodding. She wanted to know the reason for his sudden outburst.

"Tell me if you need anything," she changed her statement and smiled weakly up to him. He looked back at her confused, knowing that wasn't what she was going to say. He wanted to ask her what was going through her head. What stopped her. What gave her strength.

But surprisingly. There was something inside Nick's head saying.
Right now isn't the right time to ask those questions.