The Hero of Harper's
She' d never slept less in a night. Abby was absolutely sure that she hadn't closed her eyes for a second, instead reliving the whole, nightmarish week with open eyes. Her consciousness had paid special attention to her father's death (only natural), Jimmy's (very understandable), and oddly Mr. Wellington's (the drama effect, she thought). JD kept cropping up too, with Henry standing above her, crying with bloody hands. And at last, the terror in the church. So, she wasn't surprised by her lack of sleep at all.
Hunger was the last thing on her mind, but she really needed a strong cup of coffee or three to face the day – and the police. To get her coffee, she went down to breakfast at the hotel. That was probably the stupidest thing she'd ever done – the media was swarming the place.
«Ms. Mills, Ms. Mills – how did you survive the Horror at Harper's? How do you cope with the tragic experience of having both your father and mother being hanged by the same man? How do you feel by the fact that your lover Jimmy Mance was brutally murdered in front of you? What do you need to give us your story exclusively? What can you tell us about the other survivors?»
She squinted into the cameras, the flashing lights blinding her, and a serious-looking, well-dressed tv-reporter took hold of her arm, and said: «Directly in, I'm standing here with a survivor of the horror of Harper's – Abby Mills, who have met with such tragedy yet again during her brief stay at the Island. Now, Abby, tell the viewers how you survived!»
Abby stammered, completely flustered and unprepared for the situation. «I, I, I guess, I, I was just... lucky, that... Wakefield didn't get...me..too. That was thanks to...Henry...» The reporter latched on immediately, and shouted excitedly: «Yes, Mr. Henry Dunn, the tragic hero of Harper's – the groom! Tell us, you two have been friends since childhood. Will he be able to go on without his lovely bride, or do you think he'll face the same mental problems as his younger brother JD did?» Abby gaped at the reporter, and tried to wrench her arm free, only to be grabbed by another journalist pushing her towards a photographer. «What can you tell us about the Hero of Harper's? How did the two of you survive?» the journalist shouted in her ear. Frantic, she pulled loose and ran. She ran straight to Henry's room, banging at the door wildly. He opened, took a quick look at her and ushered her inside.
Xxx
Abby's face was tear streaked, she was panting and in a right state of panic, as far as he could tell. He grabbed hold of her arms, trying to look in her eyes, but she threw herself into his chest and clung to him. Only, she stepped back after a few seconds when she registered that he was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. «I'm sorry,» she gasped and tried to turn away, «I can come back later».
«No, no, no need – I've finished my shower» he said worriedly, keeping his hold on her arms, «what's wrong, Abby?» Oh, but it felt good to have her so close to his bare skin. Then again, maybe much too good for the current state of him not being dressed.
She told him about the media attacking her, and he had a hard time holding his face still when he heard himself being dubbed the «Hero of Harper's».
«Abby, it's going to be like this for the next weeks, maybe months», he said patiently, «but it will wear out. I guess Shea has a media spokesman for her and Madison managing their side. Maybe you should get one too?»
«A spokesman? Like a publicist?», Abby said uncertainly. «I don't think I can afford that, Henry, it sounds very expensive.»
«So they are,» he said, wanting to pull her closer again, but contending himself by stroking her arms.
«But», he paused as if the idea just struck him, «if you don't mind, you could use mine? I'm going to use one from my company, he's good. No costs, of course – and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable about that!»
With the immense relief showing on her face, he knew what her answer was. For the next few days, his main objective was to arrange and manage every practical little detail for her, making sure she knew he'd take care of everything for her.
Haha, the hero of Harper's – he didn't care what the media called him, as long as it wasn't the truth - «the junior killer», «the apprentice murderer» or something like that. But he really wanted to be the hero in her eyes.
Xxx
The police asked her endless questions again, again and again. She truly hated it, even though she knew they had to. As if her not being able to sleep wasn't enough - how long since she last slept on the island? she just couldn't remember - , she had to relive her own, personal hell with the officers over and over.
In the evening she locked herself into the hotel room, sitting listlessly on the bed watching TV. She avoided the news channels, knowing that the survivors and the murders were the main news. After an hour or so, someone knocked on the door. Sighing , she walked over and checked who it was through the spyhole.
Opening the door, she let Henry inside. He had a bag of chips with him, and said: «I figured you'd be in here. So I brought chips. You haven't eaten anything, have you?»
«No», she admitted, «I didn't feel like it.»
He walked over to the bed and sat down, opening the bag. «Here», he said, offering her the chips.
Abby sat down beside him, seeing that he'd brought her favorite brand and taste. She couldn't resist, and ate a few. Suddenly realizing her hunger, she munched the chips ravenously. He smiled, watching her eat the whole bag.
After a while, she told him: «I can't sleep. I'm so tired, but I just can't sleep. I don't feel safe at all.»
«Oh Abby, that's no wonder after all you've been through», he said, putting his arm around her shoulder. «It would have been weird if you slept like a baby!»
She leaned into him, relaxing a little.
Xxx
After a while, he saw that she had fallen asleep. A smile played on his lips, as he watched her. He liked to think that it was his presence that made her feel safe enough to sleep.
As for himself, he didn't sleep to well either. He kept waking up, dreaming that he had killed his Dad, and then the boarding knife fell from Wakefield's hands, piercing Abby's heart. This dream had woken him up several times during the night. He also woke when he dreamt of JD – remembering the shocked expression in his eyes when Henry had pulled out the knife and stabbed him. He'd never forget the faint question of «Why?» leaving JD's lips, the bubbles of blood following after. He'd felt compelled to answer, whispering «It's all about Abby. You know I love her» to his brother. The whole situation had been a nightmare, because JD was supposed to be transported safely to the mainland by the police, not being killed.
But now, he felt content and happy with everything he had done – including killing JD - as he gazed down on Abby sleeping in his lap. He switched channels, zapping through all the news stories about Harper's. Most of them included some reference to him being the hero, saving Abby and himself from Wakefield. Henry watched with fascination, almost not believing that he had done all this, albeit with help from his Dad. The Hero Harper's indeed.
Xxx
«How long did I sleep?», Abby said, blinking a bit owlishly at the light. She stretched herself, feeling more rested than she had in days.
«Four hours or so», he said, smiling down at her.
«Mmm, a luxury, then. But you look tired yourself. Do you sleep at night, Henry?»
«No, not very well», he admitted.
«Hmm, you should have slept yourself, not watching... Why are you watching that? Please turn it off, I don't want to see it!» She looked accusingly at him, averting her eyes from the TV.
He switched it off with a guilty look on his face. «I wanted to know what they're saying. About us, you know.»
«Well, I don't», she huffed. «It's enough having to think about it all the time by myself, I couldn't care less what all the others think!»
«Yeah, I know. I'm a little curious, though,» he said, stroking her hair. He rose from the bed, saying: «It's about time I try to sleep too, it's late.» Leaning down to her, he gave her a hug, whispering «Good night».
She got the distinct impression that he really didn't want to leave, but she couldn't point out to herself just what he did that made her think so. As he left her room, she realized that she didn't want him to leave either. The shadows in the corners seemed to grow, and all her fears and the loneliness came crashing back.
Xxx
Shea's clothes were mismatched and crumpled. In a way Abby had always imagined Shea to be one of those people who woke up with perfect makeup and clean clothes. But she had clearly taken a turn for the worse after the island.
«Oh, how are you? And Madison?», she said, hugging her. Shea clung to her, tears in her eyes, saying nothing. Abby released her, and Shea turned to fall sobbing into Henry's arms. He patted her back, holding her to him, but Abby saw that he was slightly uncomfortable. They'd never been that close, she thought.
«I'm sorry, I don't cry all the time,» Shea sniffled, «I must be strong for Madison, you know, but seeing the two of you... And think about next week, what the police wants us to do! I don't think I can cope with that, I don't want to go back.»
«I know», Henry said with a serious look, «It'll be hard. But we have to do it. It's all so confusing to me, so there's no wonder that the police wants to go over the place with us. Timelines and events, you know, where it actually happened. With the media focus and everything, they can't be seen doing sloppy work.»
«It's going to take more time than you think, and it's my fault». Shea's eyes was downcast, avoiding to look at them.
«Why? More time?» Abby said, feeling worried. «I don't want to spend another minute there more than I have too!»
«It's because of Madison. I won't let them take her back, and I don't want to leave her alone, at least not in the night. So me going there and back every day will cut the reconstruction short by several hours every day. I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be. The police accepted it after some pressure from my lawyers.»
No. No. She'd have to spend at least another week on Harper's Island. Oh, bloody hell!
A/N: This one's for Master Jasper's Servant, who was very, very close to guessing the title of this chapter! :D