Chapter 15 – Edge of Seventeen II
While Donna was talking to Sue, Nelly felt the world blink in and out of existence. She thought she saw Jax and Tara pass by, arguing. Jax had a purple bruise squeezing his eye shut and Tara was completely dishevelled.
"What are you doing here?" Snippets of Tara's voice travelled to Nelly through the fog.
"Harry convinced me to come. And good thing he did. What the hell were you doing with the Rednecks?"
"Oh, you mean as if I had a choice?" Tara yelled in anger, "They ruffied our drinks and then you saw what happened."
"I let you out of my sight for one minute and you get into massive trouble." Spat Jax, but then he seemed to notice her uneven gait. "Are you drunk, Tara?"
"I just told you, it wasn't on purpose!" She replied defiantly, a bit unsteady on her feet. "Besides, this is all your fault."
"So, this is my fault now? My fault, Harry and I got our asses kicked? My fault, we'll be getting suspended by Monday? You should have stayed home!"
"You can't order me around, Jackson Teller, I'm not your old lady!"
"God help me if I ever get saddled with you for an old lady!" He huffed impatiently, and then his voice changed, was laced with pleading, "For god's sake, Tara, why are you being so reckless? Just to get my attention? I'm crazy about you as it is, don't you see that?"
"If you are so crazy about me, then why didn't you take me to this dance?" Tara pushed open the front door of the school and they disappeared, still arguing.
While Nelly's attention was consumed by that little circus, she failed to register Harry coming to stand right next to her. She turned her head and there he was, bruised and bloody. She let out a startled little squeak. It seemed as if everything around them was being swallowed up by a black hole, until it was just she and Harry, looking into each other's eyes. She felt completely disconnected, free-floating in space, so she grounded herself by reaching out her hand to his battered face and touching it gently. "Oh, Harry... What happened to you?"
+0+
Harry took in the state of Nelly: her glossy, unfocused eyes; the stooped posture that made her look like a wilting flower; the desperate confusion. He laid his hand over Nelly's, hoping to plug her back into reality. "It was the Rednecks, Nelly. Don't you remember?" His lovely friend just gave him a bewildered look.
Donna's voice brought him back. "I've got to get outside, my mom told me to wait in front of the school." The petite girl seemed to be in shock, genuinely terrified.
"I'm Harry, Nelly's friend. You must be Donna." The girl only nodded in reply. Having a parent involved at this point in time would get both girls in a load of trouble, so he continued, "Listen, there's no need for your mom to come. Nelly and I can take you home."
"She's already on her way. Besides, I'm not in the habit of getting rides with strangers." Donna's eyes filled with tears, as her body started to shiver.
Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to hug her or shake her. He could only imagine the shitstorm that was coming. Yet, the only reasonable, responsible thing to do would be to dutifully wait with Donna for her mother. So he settled the girl he just met on the school's front steps, Nelly between them, and waited. They could hear the echo of music blasting from the gym, kids brushing past them, cars coming and going. Donna was completely still and quiet, while Nelly leaned on his arm and seemed to be falling asleep.
Soon a wood-panelled station waggon pulled up swiftly to the curb. Donna got up and run to the woman who came out of it, she started to cry as they hugged. The mother deposited her child in the back seat and then walked up to Nelly and Harry, still sitting on the steps. Her eyes were angry, her mouth in a grim line, arms crossed tightly around her middle.
"Oh, Nelly..." She whispered. There were equal parts of concern and disappointment in her voice. "I trusted you."
Nelly lifted her head with difficulty, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry, Sue. Mrs. Parker..."
"It wasn't their fault, Mrs. Parker, their drinks got spiked."
Sue's eyes turned to Harry in dismay, "And who are you?"
"I'm Harry Winston, Nelly's friend."
"With friends like these, who needs enemies." Sue said bitterly.
"You're being unfair." Nel managed to stand, by pushing herself up on Harry's knee. "He didn't get us in trouble."
"Nelly, it's ok." Harry touched her hand briefly with his – she was in no state to reason or explain.
"It's not ok!" Sue Parker exploded, "She brought my daughter here, she is responsible!" Then she turned to the girl, "You don't know what's best for you right now, Nelly. You're coming with us." Sue took her by the arm and pulled her towards the car.
"No! I'm staying right here." Nelly raised her voice, yanking her arm out of Sue's grip. She took a couple of steps back. "I trust Harry, I'm safe with him."
It was the first outburst Harry ever witnessed from Nelly, who was always so soft-spoken and mild-mannered. Even in a drugged daze, she took his side and made him feel so grateful. She either had feelings for him, or it was just the result of whatever was in that drink.
"Fine, have it your way." Sue's face darkened as she turned to go.
"I'm sorry, Sue. I didn't mean for this to happen." Nelly called after her, tears streaming down her face, but she wasn't sober enough to plead her case. She collapses on the step with a sob. This exaggerated emotional response had to be caused by the drugs, because she was far from a drama queen. All Harry could do is sit next to her, quiet and still.
"I just wanted her to meet my friends." Says Nelly tearfully, her face in her hands. It broke his heart to see her this ways, so he shifted closer, literally offered his shoulder to lean on. She accepted it without hesitation.
He tried to cheer her up, "It seems bad now, but it'll be ok."
"I think I just lost my oldest and best friend." She looked at him with hurt eyes, brimming with tears. "I don't think it'll ever be OK again."
"She's not your only friend, Nelly."
Even in her aggrieved state, Nelly seemed to understand what he really meant, because she smiled at him through the tears, and whispered, "Thank you, Harry."
There was no point in sitting here any longer. "Come on, Nel, I'll take you home."
That made her cry again. "I don't know where home is, Harry. I've got nowhere to go."
It was a heartbreaking admission. This rootlessness was something she was so good at hiding every day. Nelly rested her head on her knees as she cried, her thin frame folded into a trembling ball. Propelled by the same protective instinct he felt on the Ferris Wheel, Harry put his arm around her and huddled over her, as if he could shelter her from all the misery with the broad curve of his back. He didn't know what to do or say, so he just held her in silence and she seemed to settle down. She sat up and curled into his side, her words slow and slurred, "You are so sweet, Harry..." She looked up at him, her eyes soft and unfocused, reached up and touched his lips with the tips of her fingers, planted a soft kiss where her fingers just were. And then promptly passed out.
The warmth of Nelly's lips still lingered on his when Tara and Jax showed up, their argument apparently forgotten.
"What's wrong with Nelly?" Asked Tara anxiously.
"I think she passed out." Harry felt like he was stating the obvious, but then realized that maybe there was something wrong with her after all. "Do you think she overdosed? Maybe we should take her to the ER?"
Tara leaned over the sleeping girl swiftly and pressed fingers to the side of her neck. "Her pulse is pretty steady and strong. I think she's just out."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, while Jax stared thoughtfully at Nelly, "What are we going to do with her?"
"We can't drop her off in this state at her old man's or her aunt's." Tara frowned, thinking of alternatives.
"She said she had nowhere to go..." Harry said quietly, using his free hand to brush hair from Nelly's face. She looked so fragile and peaceful while asleep, he didn't want to move and disturb her.
"Let's take her to my house." offered Tara, "My mom can check Nel out, make sure she's ok. Then sleeping beauty can crash in my room for the night."
"Good idea." Harry agreed quickly, while Jax helped him hoist Nelly off the ground. As soon as he was on his feet, Harry easily scooped up Nelly in his arms and carried her to his pick-up. In that moment he understood that he would do anything for this girl for as long as he breathed.
+0+
Nelly woke up heavy-headed and disoriented. She did not recognize the place or the bed, and cold panic gripped her while she struggled to lift her head from a soft pillow. As soon as she sat up, Nel was overwhelmed by a wave of nausea and a sledge-hammer pounding in her head. It was lucky Tara walked in just then.
"Hey, you finally decided to grace us with your presence."
"Where am I?" Nelly asked, swallowing hard.
"My room, my folks' house, in Charming, California, United States of America..."
"OK, OK..." Nelly shut her up with a wave of a hand. "What happened last night?"
"What do you remember?" Asked Tara, her eyebrows knotted in concern.
Nelly thought hard. Disconnected images, scared with strong and unpleasant emotions, flashed through her brain: Donna's fear, Harry's battered face, Sue's anger. Nelly hid her face in her hands, willing to make it stop.
"Just bits and pieces. I think I had a fight with Donna and Sue. Oh my god, what have I done?"
"You've done nothing wrong, Nel."
"Did Harry get into a fight?" Nelly felt her stomach clench, thinking of blood on his face. Tara nodded and confirmed her fears.
"But why?"
"Oh, you know, the old ruffies in our drinks kind of trouble. Jax and Harry gallantly showed up just in time to save our pretty little asses."
"You mean the date-rape drug?" Nelly couldn't believe her luck. Then again, luck had nothing to do with it.
"Yes, generously provided by the Rednecks."
Nelly took a few deep breaths, fighting the gagging reflex and a headache that wouldn't go away, her body instantly covered in cold sweat. She felt weak, like she had run a marathon without breakfast. "I feel like crap."
"And you will for the next couple of days, so my mom says." Tara smiled at her sympathetically as she handed Nelly a glass of water. Then she filled Nel in on all the gory details of last night. At the end, her friend added thoughtfully, "Maybe you should stay here for the time being."
"I've got to call my aunt..."
"Taken care of." Tara interrupted, soothingly.
"And Harry."
"That, you'll have to do yourself." Tara smiled, "He called a couple of times already, asking about you."
"Where's the phone?" Asked Nelly and called to appeased her aunt. She was too weak to deal with the fall out of Donna and Sue. Then she took a deep breath and dialled Harry's number. After a few rings, his voice announced, "Winston's."
+0+
"Harry, it's Nelly." He heard a breathless voice on the other end of the wire and felt overwhelmed with relief. For some reason now that he knew she was alive and well, all he could think about was that brief, drunken kiss.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. Not great, but OK." She took a big breath before she continued, "Tara's mom said I'll feel like I've got a flu for the next couple of days. Actually, it feels a lot worse."
"I'm sorry, Nel."
There was a prolonged silence, while he listened to her short, clipped breaths. Then Nelly continued, "I don't remember much from yesterday, but I do remember that you were hurt. Are you OK?"
It thrilled him to no end that she cared enough to ask. "Yeah, fine, nothing that won't heal in a few days."
"I'm sorry, I feel like it was my fault."
"Not your fault we've got Rednecks in our school."
"It seems I always get you in trouble, and you get me out of it."
"It's no trouble." He shrugged, knowing he'd gladly do it all again.
"Thanks for taking care of me, Harry." Nel said softly. She sounded like she was running out of steam, literally. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I feel exhausted."
"Nel..." He hesitated, not sure how to ask, so he gave up, "Feel better."
Harry could hear her smile when she replied, "I'll try. I owe you, Harry. Again." And then hanged up.
It seemed she didn't remember after all.