It’s been three days, when the fuck is this nightmare going to end?!
Friday started off so well, my parents had finally come around to the idea that wrestling was my future, the trainers at Hero Academy had nothing but praise for how well I was doing as I prepared for my graduation match and my fellow students were excited to see another student graduate after it had been so long since Sarah graduated.
Then those two police officers arrived at the academy asking for me and my world came crashing down.
It’s been three days since my parents were murdered and it was still taking time to process, Keira wasn’t even allowing me to return to Hero Academy until the time was right but neither of us knew when that was going to be and, my graduation match had been put on hold indefinitely and Keira pretty much told me that it would happen the moment I was ready to return to Hero Academy, but at this rate? I’ll probably turn nineteen long before that happens.
I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch whilst watching TV last night because that was where I was when I woke up, not in the guest bedroom I had picked out but rather staring at the living room ceiling and with a blanket over me.
Said blanket was promptly thrown off when I sat up with a start, a look of panic on my face for a brief second as it sunk in.
“Hey, hey, easy there Harp.” Shane calmed me down when he saw me sit up abruptly I didn’t exactly need a mirror to know that my hair and clothes were a mess but Jessie’s husband still brought me a hot drink. “You’ve been through a lot, no one’s blaming you for crashing on the couch.”
”I get that, it’s just something I’ve never done in the past eighteen years I’ve been alive.” I responded before taking the hot drink from Shane and taking a sip. ”That hit the spot!”
“It’s my hot chocolate recipe, it always helped Jess whenever she lost a title, logic dictates it would help you in a far more serious situation.” Shae nodded in understanding before I took another sip. “And if nothing else, you got your first full eight hours since the incident.”
”Never taking those for granted again, that’s for sure.” I sighed as I glanced down at my cup and then set it down on the table. ”There’s still part of me that’s waiting for this fucking nightmare to end, but I know that’s wishful thinking.”
“It’s been tough on all of us Harp, you should’ve seen Jake’s face when we were told what happened, his heart broke for you kid.” Shane sighed in response as he sat down on the chair opposite the couch I had been sleeping on. “Though my and Jessie have been wondering if you were going to return to Hero Academy once all is said and done.”
”I’ve been thinking about that since I moved in, but I think it goes without saying that the impending funeral costs are at the forefront of my mind, but I will finish my training.” I sighed before I took another sip from the hot chocolate. ”It’s what my parents would want, the sad irony is that the last morning I saw them alive? They went out of their way to stress how proud they were of me for following my dreams, after months of being against it, they had finally turned around and were fully supportive of me following Jessie into wrestling.” I let out a sad sigh as a wiped away a tear from my eye. ”Now they’ll never get to see me wrestle my first ever match, and for what? Some thugs could try to score some drugs using whatever money my parents had in the house?!” I sobbed again as I lowered my head. ”It’s not fair! This shit is not fucking fair!”
”Trust me when I say this kid, it’s better to let it all out now than to keep it welled up inside.” Jessie’s voice rang out and we glanced up seeing Jessie come down the stairs. ”I know you want to be strong for the kids, but you’re just going to do yourself more damage in the long run..”
”You were listening to that whole rant, weren’t you Jess?” I asked in a low voice and Jessie nodded to confirm it before she joined us in the living room. ”First Kata breaks her leg and now this, I just know 2023 is going to be a shit year for me at this rate!”
”You don’t know that for certain, it’s up to you to turn this year around, remember that.” Jessie reminded me and I let out a deep breath as I realized that my second cousin was right. ”And even after you, the kids and the dogs move out? We’ll be here for you no matter what.”
”You have no idea how much I needed to hear that, thanks Jess.” I sighed before Jess passed me a hairbrush so I could at least fix my hair. ”I’d better go get changed into some fresh clothes.”
“Good idea.” Shane responded with a nod before a headed upstairs to get changed, though I did overhear them talking one last time beforehand. “Do you think she’s going to be okay once all is said and done?”
”Way too early to tell, that rant was a classic case of the “anger” stage of grief, not I fucking blame her.” Jessie responded as she shook her head before she retrieved the blanket that had inadvertently thrown onto the floor earlier. ”One of these days I’m going to ask you for that Hot Chocolate recipe.”
“And maybe I’ll give it.” Shane responded and for the first time in a couple of days, I managed a slight laugh before I headed into my guest bedroom to get changed.
