"Harlan?" Mia's voice wavered down the ruined halls of the mansion. Paintings that lined the walls hung in tatters, ribbons of what was once no doubt priceless art.
Shards of glass littered the floor with streaks of blood peppering the scene. As if Harlan had strode through the mayhem barefoot without a care.
"What happened?" she muttered into the empty space. The air was taut with a tension she could feel pulling at her fingertips, telling her to turn back and leave.
But like most signs in her life, Mia promptly ignored it.
"Hello?" she called out again. She was careful to dodge the piles of glass on the floor. Mia caught herself on the marble banister before nearly tripping on blood.
She could still hear Harlan. It was a distant echoed of his voice, but it was there. He screamed. Roaring words she was too far away to make out. His screams were occasionally punctuated by the sound of crashing.
"Calm down! Talk to me, you jackass!" Tegan's voice was closer than Harlan's. Echoing footsteps trailed in his voice's wake.
"Oh, you're here," Tegan said while strolling into the front foyer. "That was fast."
Mia jumped when she saw the man's face. He was sporting a black eye, the bruises fresh. His shirt sleeve was torn and a bloody cut the size of Mia's finger ran down his upper lip.
Her hand flew up to cover her mouth with a gasp. "What..." She shook her head incredulously. "Are you okay?" she managed to rasp out.
Tegan shrugged casually, waving his hand in the air. As if he was oblivious that he looked like he'd just walked out of a Saw movie. "I'm good!" he assured. A little too loudly. She wondered if Harlan had burst the guy's eardrum with all his shouting.
"What's happening?" she asked.
BOOM!
The sound of glass meeting the marble tiled floor with a sickening crash echoed down the halls.
Mia flinched.
Tegan muttered a curse under his breath. "I wish I could tell you," he admitted. "Harlan still hasn't said anything to me. Maybe you can talk to him?" he suggested. He gingerly prodded the swelling skin around his eye. He cringed, as if it was the first time he was noticing it.
Mia crossed her arms. "I really don't know why you think I can help," she said over Harlan's distant shouting.
Tegan sighed. "Just try talking to him," he insisted.
Mia's eyes widened as another crash sounded from down the hall. "Okay, it really sounds like Harlan is past the point of talking," she said. "Whatever is going on; I highly doubt I'll be able to fix it." She uncrossed her arms only to cross them again. "I'm just his assistant."
Not a total lie. But not the whole truth either.
Tegan sighed. "That might be true," he agreed. "But you're here now, so you might as well give it a try."
Mia laughed incredulously. "You're as crazy as Harlan," she muttered.
Tegan smiled. "You don't even know the half of it," he said with a grin.
Mia set her purse down by the pile of glass at her feet. "Don't think I want to," she murmured while looking down the hall. "Where is he?" she asked.
"Down the hall, take a right. Can't miss him," he said. Tegan headed over to the kitchen no doubt in search of ice and Advil.
"Down the hall to the right," she repeated out loud. She started down the hall, carving her way through the minefield of broken glass and shattered furniture.
Jeez. It looked like a hurricane had swept through the mansion.
"Hurricane Harlan," Mia noted under her breath.
She'd just been with him less than twenty four hours ago. He'd seemed fine. More than fine. They laughed and smiled and kissed...
What could have possibly happened to make that Harlan turn into...whatever the hell was currently shouting profanities that even Mia hadn't heard before.
As per Tegan's directions, she reached the end of the hall and took a right. The yelling had stopped. Now the only thing that remained was a deafening silence.
Mia would have taken the raging screams over the sickening quiet anyday.
"Harlan?"
Mia entered what must have once been some kind of study. Until Harlan decided to do some redecorating.
The mahogany desk that was probably worth more than Mia herself had been cut in half with a chair. The study's windows were shattered. Books ripped from the broken shelves littered the study floor in shredded pages.
Harlan sat in the heart of the chaos. His grey sweats were spotted with blood and tiny granules of glass. His shirt was a button up, the black material ruined with rips running along the bottom seams.
She could have sworn it was the same shirt he'd worn last night on their date.
"Harlan?" she called out again.
He was breathing heavily. Deep exhales rattled down his spine like a grenade.
He whipped around, black eyes flared. He recoiled. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Deep circles of exhaustion hung under his eyes. God. It looked like he hadn't slept in days.
Mia flinched as if she'd been slapped. It felt like she was back in his kitchen all those nights ago when he had his party.
She felt painfully out of place.
Mia crossed her arms around her chest protectively. "Harlan, did you take something?" she asked softly. His pupils weren't dilated nor were his eyes bloodshot. But that didn't rule out a bad trip.
She'd seen it before.
When she was thirteen, Ruth had gotten high on mushrooms on their family camping trip and the night ended with Gigi and Mia tackling Ruth to the ground to stop her from walking into the fire.
Mia started mentally maping out the route to the nearest hospital.
Harlan laughed. It wasn't anything like the laugh she'd come to love. It was dark. A cruel sound that left her stunned. "I'm not high, Fray," he said with a frigid disinterest.
Mia narrowed her eyes. "Well then what are you, Harlan? What happened?" she asked. Mia tried to put up a defiant front. But she was hopeless.
Tegan's black eye bubbled up to the surface of her mind.
Mia stepped back slightly.
Harlan shot up to face her. His hair hung in midnight tresses. The deflated curls framed his tired face like shadows. He cocked his head to the side. "Did Tegan call you?"
Mia shook her head. "No," she lied. "I...I just wanted to come by."
Harlan smiled coldly. His dark stare took her in. Those unflinching eyes shifted down her body assessingly.
"You wanted to come by at three in the morning?" he countered.
Mia nodded. "Yeah." She crossed her arms behind her back. "I missed you," she added gently. She had missed him. Desperately.
But now? Taking in the carnage of Harlan's rage, she didn't know what to think.
"I think you're lying to me, Fray," he said. "How did Tegan get your number?"
Mia shook her head. "Harlan, just talk to me. I want to help, okay?" she said, deflecting his question entirely. "What happened."
Harlan smiled slowly. "What happened?" he echoed. His teeth gleamed white in the early morning sun, his canines catching the light like daggers. He looked like a demon with his torn shirt and slow smile.
He never answered. He just stared at her. Those eyes, endless and searching, drilled into her own. He stepped closer. And closer. Closer until Mia's shoulders hit the mahogany wrought walls of the study.
She wasn't afraid. Despite the blood and the chaos, Mia wasn't afraid of him. Maybe that meant she was insane. Because surely anyone in their right mind would have taken one glance at Harlan and gone screaming in the other direction.
But not Mia.
Her gut steadied as her heart beat began to slow. She wasn't afraid of Harlan.
He brought his hand up, the tapered fingers caked in his own blood. His knuckles were ruined. Specs of glass clung to the shredded flesh of his hands.
"Mia," he breathed as he rested his hand on her cheek. She peered up at him.
He looked broken. So broken.
She leaned into his touch as a fresh wave of tears stung her eyes. "Harlan, tell me what happend. I want to make things better," she pleaded softly. "But I can't do that unless you tell me what happened, okay?"
Harlan shook his head with a distorted grin. "You can't fix this, Fray."
Slowly, she reached to grasp the sides of his neck. With trembling fingers, Mia ran her hands through his sunken curls. "Tell me," she urged.
There was no more rage. No more earth cracking screams that made her skull rattle. There was only sadness now.
A heartache that sent a bitter taste in the back of her mouth.
"Tell me, Harlan," she said. "Please."
Without a word, Harlan stepped out of her grasp. He didn't even meet her stare as he said:
"Leave, Fray. Just go."
Mia's shoulder fell.
This time she didn't put up a fight.