﷽

Sometimes its good to let go, to cry it out because holding it all in hurts even more. So here I was walking down towards my apartment unleashing a foreign saltiness from my eyes. I was remembering, something I told myself I would never do. The tears slide down as the rain pours on me, making everything stick to me like a second skin. I didn't care, I didn't care about the cold that made my teeth chatter nor that I was ruining my favorite snickers. I just kept walking with my head down.

"You will be an amazing Diver Hales!"

I clench my hands into fists.

"You are an amazing swimmer, I guarantee you you'll be swimming in the Olympics in no time!"

I grit my teeth trying to stop the rhythm of my teeth.

"One day, you'll be the best!"

My head felt heavy, my legs felt numb but I kept dragging my feet along the street. Not wanting to continue but also craving for the comfort of my bed.

"You've got potential!"

And then I fall, my legs giving in not wanting to go any further.

"One of my best students! I don't know what Ill be if I ever lose you!"

I punch the hard surface beneath me, angry at everything around me.

"Why!? Why Me!? Why me Out of all People!" I whisper down at the ground looking at the small puddle of red coming from my knuckles.
But it didn't hurt, the pain all came from remembering. Why did I even want to remember?

Remember they said, it'll be nice they said.

There I was, a small girl in the middle of a storm, on the ground, staring at a small red puddle confused, lost in a jumble of thoughts. Even when two hands circled around me, pulling me up on my two feet I let them, never even once looking away from that puddle I made. A puddle mixed with blood, rain and tears.

"I created that," I whisper to the ground.

"Aren't you creative," I smile at it, enticed at how the blood swirled around in the rain water. The blood dissolving away as the rain water poured on my piece of art.

"You see that red?" I nod not raising my head to look at who ever had their arms wrapped around my body.

"Thats the bad in the world, and the rain water thats the good. Now you see how the rain water is washing away the blood, pushing it all away to create a puddle for itself?" I nod again, watching as the blood disappears.

"That means that no matter how much bad we have in our lives we can always replace it with good; good memories, laughter..." he pauses.

"New dreams," I whisper and raise my head up to look at him, meeting his enticing blue ones that were hid under a wet hoodie. I don't look away from him because I was having a troubled time reassembling my thoughts. I didn't know what to think of him being here, him being where I was again.

The wet droplets trickle down his face slowly, small droplets falling from his dark hair onto his red nose. He was real, he was here, hands wrapped tightly around me. He doesn't talk, neither do I, just staring into those blue eyes of his that somehow resembled the storm behind him. I didn't want to look anywhere else, my eyes glued on his face. Was he following me?

I unknowingly close my eyes when he trails his long pale finger over my cheek, moving the hair that was glued on my face away leaving a buzzing sensation behind as he did so and I breath in.
"Leave me alone," I open my eyes and look straight past him towards the dark sky.

"I'm sorry," I snap my eyes towards him and glare hard into his eyes that had some sort of concern in them. Sympathy.

Something soggy instantly touches my hand, I quickly look down towards it just to see a bright pink handkerchief gently being placed on my knuckles. I look back up at him and tilt my head slightly as I watch his concentrated face, tongue stuck out from the corner of his chapped lips.
"Are you stalking me Berry?"
He doesn't raise his head up still struggling with the handkerchief, "I knew where you are this time but believe me when I tell you that the supermarket and comic store was complete coincidence," he knew where I was? That was creepy, and how could he say it so confidently? Had he no morals?

"Why are you here?"

"Because of you," He raises his head up and smiles. I don't smile back and instead stare at his face slowly studying him.

"How did you know Im here?"

"Its not that hard to spot a lonely small girl on the ground in the middle of a storm."

"With One leg," he opens his mouth again to speak but I shake my head, stopping him from throwing sympathy my way because after all, I simply just duck it.

"Its cold," I hug myself tightly and start walking away from him staring at the pink handkerchief that was wrapped neatly around my bleeding knuckles.

Why?

A large hand instantly circle around my own hand and pulls me towards him. I wiggle it around to show my discomfort and he instantly lets it go. "Lets wait for the storm to settle then I will get you back home," I don't protest, just nod my head and let him walk me towards shelter. My nose starts to itch as a sneeze threatens to erupt, I cover my mouth and wait for it... one sneeze, two sneeze, three sneeze, four, super red nose, and finally a sniff to end it all.

"You are catching a cold Rudolf," I raise my head up to look at him and nod. He tilts his head and raises up an eyebrow as it was his turn to study my face,"I don't like this Hales, I like cute Hales, the one who smiles all the time, the one who is strong, the one who doesn't know how to curse," I just nod again. I couldn't feel anything, all my emotions buried again just like how they were supposed to.

"I am not inclined to act anyway to please anyone, especially not for a man," I move away from his judgmental self which thought they were validated to an opinion about how I was to act.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very social," He looks far into the distance already lost in his own thoughts. I stare at his side structure, his wet hair falling all over his eye reaching all the way to his sharp cheeks, his lips pale as small puffs of air escaped from the slightly parted lips. My own lips start moving as words tumble out of my mouth before I could even register them, "I thought I could be a Someone, I thought Hales Adams could change the world. But here I am, with one leg and dead dreams," he finally looks back down at me and shakes his head. I was confiding to this man because we didn't know each other. Confiding to someone I knew meant they would be worried for me, they would ask questions, they would show sympathy and I was already past that phase with all the close people in my life. Things were back to normal and I did not want to unbury any unwanted sadness with them. Confiding with this man was how I was to unleash without receiving much sympathy and without it being awkward after, for we did not know each others past nor were we even friends.

"Hales..." I inhale deeply when he leans in to talk. So close that his long hair was tickling my cheeks. It was as if he didn't want anyone else to hear our conversation even though there was no one for miles. He wanted it to remain our little secret as did I.

"Having One leg, doesn't mean it is the end of dreaming. It just means that your dreams will be seen from a tougher perspective then the rest of the world. Your dreams are worth fighting for," He gently takes my palm in his and looks down at the pink handkerchief now slightly dotted with blood.
"You are amazing just the way you are," I look up at his blue eyes which were smiling down at me, a story of his own hidden behind those dark orbs.

I nod letting his advice go into one ear and out the next.

He nods.

✨☀️

Its rare to see Hales Adams break down, even my own parents see me as this strong, bubbly girl who doesn't give a care about what the world thinks. But after today I realized I did give a care.
Lillian's questions and the determination and hope she had in her eyes made me remember stuff I had locked in, made me break down in the middle of the street begging for sympathy.

I disgust myself.

"Do you want me to order Pizza," I look over at Barry and shake my head. He was still in his soaking clothes and dripping water all over my clean floor, leaving a wet trail behind as he paced around the room.

"Is something bothering you?" He smiles, hiding away the worried expression that was morphing his features a while ago.

"Nothing, just thinking," I nod and rise from the couch instantly pulling the blanket closer to me when a cold breeze swooshes by making a shudder ran through my body.

"Sit Barry, let me make hot soup for you," he has done something for me today and all I can do is at least keep him warm.

"No... you don't have t-"

"Shut up and place your tall self on that couch young man!" Taking my rude interruption and sharp glare as a warning, he quickly jumps on the couch and sucks his large thumb while giving me the puppy eyes.

"Yes Mom," I chuckle when he tries but miserably fails at faking an adorable voice.

"Do you need to change from those soaking clothes?" He was now wetting my couch but that wasn't the only reason as to why I was asking, he might get sick and it'll be all my fault.

"Nah, I'm good," he reaches behind the coach to fetch the remote and switches on the TV already accustoming his wet self on my comfy couch.

"Oh yeah make yourself at home," I roll my eyes and walk towards the kitchen to prepare him some soup, unwanted questions lurking in my mind the whole time.

Why was he here?
Why did I let a stranger in?

I let a stranger see a broken Hales, let him meet a vulnerable side I hid from the rest of the world. He was there, on my couch, in the dark, the only light coming from the tv in front of him.
Ive always pushed people away from me because I know all they have to offer is sympathy, something that I will never accept. Yet there he was, an attractive stranger whom I didn't know the name of but still trusted him enough to let him see a side of me only my parents, Sam and Miss Tatu knew of.

I pour all the ingredients into the cooking pan busying myself with stirring, trying my best to block out my thoughts. I peek at Barry who was busy slouching on my couch the televisions light illuminating his silhouette.

He has never inquired about my lack of two legs.

I pour the soup into one of my Flash bowls and slowly walk over to him, careful not to alarm him of my approaching presence. But he turns around, and smiles at me, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the dark. "Need some help?" He stretches his arms over his head, the muscles under his wet hoodie slightly flexing.

"Nah, Im good, the Flash is here to save me!" His eyes move over to the flash pictures adorned on the red bowl with the hot soup in it, and he laughs, "Where did you buy that hideous bowl from?"

"The kid sections! And for your information this is not hideous! Its one of my favorite bowls and you Mister are down right Lucky for me to offer you soup in this Royal Bowl," I gently place the soup on the coffee table in front of him and stand up to beam down at him proud that I didn't spill any soup.

"Thanks Hales," I nod my head and sit next to him on the couch watching as he slowly sipped the hot soup, quietly praying that he burns his tongue for some evil unknown reasons. And my prayers get answered, "You've got some great cooking- Bloody Hell!" I erupt into fits of laughter when the soup spills on his jeans and he abruptly jolts from the couch and jumps all over my apartment yelling incoherent curses.

"Help me Hales Adams! My skin is gonna peel off!" I miserably fall down on the floor, rolling around as I laugh off. It wasn't that it was very funny but I figured at that moment I enjoyed his frantic cursing and yelling, so here I was on the floor clutching my stomach as I fought for air.

"Laugh all you want blondie!" he turns his back towards me and sassily stomps to what he thought was the bathroom but was actually my bedroom.

"Thats my bedroom Smartass!" He stomps out again from the bedroom and finally stomps to the right place making sure to glare at my body which was shamefully lying down on the cold floor.

Mr. Im-so-mad-I-stomp-around-peoples-clean-apartments.

I sigh and smile up to the ceiling, which looked plain and needed serious decorations. I close my eyes at the realization at how long today had been for me, from breaking down on the streets to laughing at a stranger in my apartment. For some reason there was not much awkwardness between our new acquainting. I wanted to think about Uni, but all my mind could register was stormy blue eyes and long black hair that hid them away from view. I wanted to know him so bad, wanted to know why he hid under a hoodie and loomed around in the dark, maybe then I wont call him a stranger. He didn't give me serial killer vibes anymore but there was a part of me that was telling me that he was a pretty fudged up guy.

I don't even know his name.

He stands in front of me, a large smile on his face, his eyes crinkling by the edges and he talks, his lips moving but no words coming out as my mind was occupied with thoughts that were too jumbled to understand. And then he laughs, the only sound that rang in my ear even though the television was loud and next to me. His hair falls on his face as he throws his head back, what he was laughing at? I had no idea. Just slept there on the floor and stupidly smiled up to what was certainly not a boring ceiling.

"Hales wake up, this is not la-la land woman!" I close my eyes and open them again just to be met with his face looming over my own. So it wasn't a dream?
I quickly push him away from me and stand up, my cheeks tinting pink. No wonder he was laughing, I was literally stuck frozen on the floor smiling, thinking he was part of a dream but he was actually real.

A question that was going to ruin the moment but nagged me popped in my head as I lay there staring at his smiling eyes.

"Why Berry?" his glinting eyes instantly falter when they see my serious expression.

"Why what?" He tries to laugh it off but I needed it to stop nagging me so I maintained my serious expression.

"Why have you never inquired about my lack of two legs?" He sighs, then pulls me up to my "feet" just to gently places me on the couch. Falling on his two knees in front of me he takes my small hand in his larger one and gently strokes it with his thumb.

"Hales Adams," and for some reason I liked how he whispered my name. The only thing echoing in the darkness around us, the tv a background noise.

"Barry," I whisper back. He raises his head up to look back at me and smiles. A small sweet genuine smile.

"No," I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, but the calm look on his face told me that no was enough to explain everything, but it wasn't.
"No what?"

"No I didn't help you because you have a disability," I never asked him that question but it was one that was always lurking in my mind. Can the stalker read Minds?

"Hales, listen carefully," I nod, "You think that your prosthesis is the first thing that people see when they first notice you?," I slowly nod again not getting where he was going with it, "You know what I first saw when I noticed you?" I shake my head curiously.
"What I saw was a beautiful smile and when I encountered you again, your golden heart was what I saw next," golden heart? But I did not offer him anything nor have I ever helped him before. I was about to interrupt but he continues.

"Someone showing concern for a stranger that scared her a few hours back? Now that's something you don't see everyday huh?" this time I smile. Maybe he was just lying to make me feel better but it was definitely working.

"And no Im not lying," I stare at him wide eyed, how does he know what Im thinking!? But all he does is simply smile back at me.

"No one shows concern for you huh?" That was why he thought I had this golden heart because people around him must be neglecting him and his health. They must not be caring for him and thats why the slightest inquiry I made about his pale skin seemed like the most nicest thing someone had done for him. That is why I supposedly had this heart of gold because he didn't have someone to be concerned for him.

I wait for him to reply but he doesn't, "Well, I am concerned for your health so please eat more vitamins."

-------

Hope You Liked it! Will try to update a new chapter tomorrow since I didn't update last week :(
But It was because I was On an island and I was always busy discovering The place :)

Please tell me if you liked it Please!❤️

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~Shey❤️