Be Your Everything

But it didn’t feel okay. Feeling shit really wasn’t okay at all. Alice was trying her best to keep all her feelings inside, both for her sake and for Harry’s. She knew he didn’t take it well when she fell into herself, so she tried not to. She did absolutely everything she could to push her mother from her mind – cooking, cleaning, and searching for jobs. The last option was the hardest; no one seemed to be looking. Then again, searching online wasn’t ever as helpful as asking in person. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave the house. Though the press were under the impression she was just a girl who lived in the building, she was still questioned every time she left; have you seen Harry? Do you know what he’s wearing today? How far away from him do you live? She never told Harry. She knew he would be worried about her if he knew.
He leant her his laptop to search for a job almost every day. She had been sorely tempted to type his name into Google, but had so far refrained. There was every chance it would make her feel worse than she did. Then again, it had only been a week wince that Saturday morning.
It was Sunday now, and Harry was watching her from the couch. He looked deep in thought and she suspected he didn’t know he was staring.
“Are you okay?” she asked finally, growing tired of his eyes on her.
He was visually pulled from his reverie and she watched as he realized what he had been doing. “Oh, sorry. Uh… well, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Alice frowned. He sounded like he was talking to a mental patient, like he was afraid that whatever he wanted to say was going to break her. Turning to face him properly, she asked, “What is it?”
“You remember when- well, you probably wouldn’t remember… I mean, the police are wondering where you are.” He finished lamely.
Her eyebrows shot up. “What for?!”
“They know you were living with your mum at… at the time, and now they think you’ve been kidnapped. I was just thinking that we should, y’know, probably tell them you’re alive and well.”
Alice almost laughed. He looked genuinely worried that she was going to get mad, or start crying, or god knows what else was going through his mind. “Alright then.”
“A-alright then?” he gaped. “I mean… good. Good, cool. I’ll call them now then.”
“Shouldn’t I do it?” she regretted it the second she said it. She didn’t want to call the police, she didn’t want to talk to anyone, but in the end she knew she was right. “They might think it’s a bit sus that a male is calling. Could be anyone. It should be me.”
“They might want us to come in to prove you’re alright.”
Taking a deep breath, Alice squared her shoulders. “Then we’ll go in if we have to.”

Well, they did want Alice and Harry to come in. They didn’t believe it was actually her, and that Harry was actually trying to help. When they got to the local police station Alice felt her stomach clench; she hadn’t been to a police station since her father had died, and that wasn’t exactly the best memory she possessed. As they neared the front desk her chest began to tighten. You can do this, she told herself, breathing deeply. There really wasn’t anything to worry about, she knew that, but watching the officers in uniform everywhere brought back horrible memories and she didn’t know how long she could stay there.
Harry checked them in and they were told to sit down on the blue plastic chairs lined up against the wall. Doing as told, Alice sat down shakily. Waiting meant more time in this hellhole. Glancing around the room, she realized she was shaking.
And then Harry placed his hand over hers, wrapping his long fingers through her slim ones. That was all it took for the panic to subside, for her to stop shaking, and for her to get her mind in working order. His hand was soft in hers as he squeezed. She turned her eyes to his and he smiled. That smile. It made her want to kiss him right then and there – and then she remembered that she could.
Leaning forward quickly, Alice pecked his lips. He beamed then bent forward to catch her lips with his again. “Thanks for that,” he breathed, and she could actually feel the blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Alice Michaelson?” a man in a flash looking suit called out for them. He had a buzz cut and made Alice feel uncomfortable.
The couple stood up hand-in-hand and followed the man. They passed at least 7 armed officers in the hallways and with each one Alice would grip Harry’s fingers tighter. It hadn’t taken him long to notice that something was wrong, but he wasn’t about to ask.
“You understand why you’re here?” the suited officer asked firmly as he sat on one side of the desk and gestured for the two teens to sit on the other.
Alice nodded mutely, too afraid to speak.
“Well, you match up to the picture,” he nodded in satisfaction, sifting through the small pile of papers he had in front of him. “But there’s another matter at hand.”
Alice’s throat tightened and she felt sick. Something else? What the hell else could there be?
“You’re aware that Ricardo Peters, you know him as your stepfather, was last seen at his place of residence and hasn’t been found since?”
She nodded.
“Then you must also be aware that you’re in danger?”
In danger. Of course she was. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? He would absolutely try to find her, whether to convince her to testify on his side, or to finish her off it didn’t matter. She was in danger.
Harry squeezed her hand again and she clung to him for dear life.
“Would you be open to having security around when you’re home alone? Just one man outside the door will do.”
Alice’s head was swimming. “I live with Harry. It’s up to him-“
“I’m totally fine with that,” Harry interrupted. There was no need to think about it for him; it was Alice’s safety they were talking about and he wasn’t about to compromise that.
“We’ll send a man over tomorrow. I say tomorrow because it’ll take a little setting up, but it’s no trouble.”
She wasn’t scared of this man anymore. He was putting effort into helping her and keeping her safe and that really meant a lot to her. She nodded again, though suspected it was more of a twitch.
“I think that’s everything,” the man smiled warmly and slid a piece of paper over the desk. “But would you mind filling this in and sending it back to us within a week? It’s just so we know you’re being looked after – your new home address, employment details, any classes you might be taking.”

On the way home Alice didn’t speak. She was trying to make it look like she was reading through the form she had been given, but Harry wasn’t buying it. Her eyes weren’t moving and her eyebrows were knitted together. She looked worried.
“Everything will be okay.”
She looked up at Harry’s voice with a tiny smile. “You don’t know that.”
He wasn’t really sure what to say to that. He didn’t know. He hoped everything would be alright, but he had no way of telling.
“You’re right,” he nodded, staring at the road in front of him. “But we’ve gotta believe it will.”