Chapter 26: Sisters
"Haley, Please."
"I'm not talking to you."
Haley was scared. Who wouldn't be? A fight between two monsters that destroyed a large section of one of her favorite shopping centers just occurred. The amount of destruction they caused was crazy. The battle must've only lasted twenty minutes, but the sheer damage they caused made it seem like a small-scale war had just happened.
"Haley…"
"Not now, Alex."
Focusing on what she was doing, Haley continued to scan the crowd. There were dozens of police officers and ambulances. The firefighters were still putting out fires. Feeling a tug on her blouse, Haley looked down at her little cousin.
"What is it, Lily?"
"Are we going to find Harvey?"
Haley nodded and picked Lily up; holding her in her arms, Haley looked over to her uncle's. A paramedic looked over Mitchell while Uncle Cameron looked worriedly over the medic's shoulder. He was overall okay, just a sprained ankle. Thinking back to the flaming skull, she was still surprised it came over to help her uncle and several other people in the area.
For some reason, when she stared into its eye sockets, Haley felt like she somehow knew it. It's like a familiar feeling you get when you see something from long ago, but you can't place it. Deciding to forget about it for now, Haley continued to look around.
"Where is he?"
"Haley, stay nearby." Mitchell said as he limped over. "We have to stay together until we're cleared to go."
"I already called your parents. They're on their way to meet us here." Cameron said as they walked over. "I can't believe what happened, and I was there."
"I still can't find Harvey! What if he's hurt and no one knows!" Haley said as she continued to scan the crowds.
"Haley. Harvey is fine. I'm sure he'll show up soon." Alex said as she walked in front of her.
"You can't know that! Ugh! I told you I wasn't talking to you!"
Haley exclaimed as she walked around her sister. She still couldn't believe how heartless Alex was earlier. She just left Harvey behind! The guy she was supposedly in love with! It was heartless, and Haley couldn't understand how Alex could have done that.
"I know that Harvey is a dependable guy and that he's pretty strong. But someone has to worry about him." Haley said as she looked at her sister. "I thought that person was supposed to be you, Alex! What were you thinking?"
"Haley… no, I was… I was just." Alex said in a weak voice.
"She was just doing what I asked her to do."
A voice spoke from behind them all. Haley turned around and saw Harvey limp in their direction. Haley smiled and set Lily down, running up to Harvey; Haley wrapped her arms around him and held him for a minute. Sighing in relief, she let him go and smacked his shoulder.
"Where were you!" Haley said with tears in her eyes. "I looked for you, and I couldn't find you! You were behind us one second, and then you weren't!"
"Haley. It's okay, alright? I'm fine." Harvey said he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll explain everything. Let's walk over to everyone first, okay?"
Haley nodded and walked next to Harvey as they headed over to her family, or in Harvey's case, limped over.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Harvey asked her.
"Oh! No, I'm fine!"
"That's good, I'm glad."
Haley smiled at Harvey. She was touched when he asked her how she was doing despite his injury. Reaching her family, she saw Alex look up and smile at Harvey. Lily called his name out from Cameron's arms, gaining the attention of both her uncles.
"Harvey! You're okay!" Cameron said.
Harvey nodded and made his way over to Alex. He hugged her as soon as he was close, causing her sister to smile and hug him back. A dull feeling of envy appeared in Haley's heart, causing her to frown. Harvey then approached her uncles and Lily and asked them if they were okay.
"Are WE okay? What about you?! Where did you go?" Cameron spoke loudly.
"Cam, calm down. Harvey looks fine, just a small limp. I'm sure he found a safe space to hide in." Mitchell said. "Right?"
Harvey looked over to Alex and nodded. Taking a deep breath, Harvey looked back at the wreckage. "I'm sorry about disappearing on you all."
"When that… monster threw that car into the fountain. I twisted my ankle while pushing everyone towards the coffee shop." Harvey said. "I knew if we tried to run away, I would just slow everybody down. So I had Alex promise me she would get you all to safety."
"She didn't want to do it. I had to convince her to go ahead. Because on my own, I know how to take care of myself. But if something happened to you all because I was slowing the group down… I don't know what I'd do."
"So please, don't be mad at Alex. It wasn't her fault. It was completely mine. Be mad at me."
Harvey finished his story by wrapping an arm around Alex. Haley looked over to her sister and saw her nod. So that's what happened. Haley felt shame crawl up, she was so quick to pin Alex as an uncaring person toward Harvey. She didn't stop to think that there must've been a reason for it. Alex loved Harvey, so she wouldn't have been okay with leaving him behind. So why was she… oh.
"Oh no." Haley whispered.
"Well, Harvey. What you did was irresponsible, and it could have ended much worse than it did." Mitchell said. "But after hearing your reasoning, I can see why you did it."
"Harvey, it's sweet you were looking out for us. But we're the adults here. That's our job." Cameron said as he walked over to Harvey to hold his shoulder. Harvey smiled and nodded at the two men.
"You're right. I should have thought my plan through."
"We're just glad you're okay, Harvey." Alex said as she stood next to him. "As long as we're all safe, that's all that matters."
"Yeah. You're right." Harvey smiled and rubbed the top of Alex's head. Causing Alex to smack his hand away with a small smile on her face.
Haley watched as Harvey picked up Lily and promised to get her a new toy for leaving her behind. Harvey looked over to Mitchell and saw his ankle wrapped up; he then cracked a joke that they were twinning injuries. Haley smiled at that, suddenly feeling her cheeks tingle. She lifted her hand to touch them and realized she was blushing. Closing her eyes, Haley finally admitted to herself what she's been denying this whole time.
'I… have a crush on Harvey.'
"… I'm the worst."
•••
"Alex."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For having my back."
Alex looked over at Harvey. They were currently leaning against the balcony railing of her back porch. Smiling at him, she nodded and slid over until they were shoulder to shoulder.
"Of course. We're a team."
It's been a few hours since the incident at the mall. After they were questioned about what they saw, the police let them go, and her parents were waiting for them all impatiently. Her mother and father hugged her and her sister when they saw them. Luke then asked her if she was alright, which she said she was. Nodding, she saw him walk up to Haley and ask her the same question; Haley hesitated for some reason but stated she was okay.
Luke looked at her oddly but was satisfied. He then went and talked to Harvey about the situation and the fight. Due to the location, Harvey promised Luke to tell him what happened later. Her mother checked on Lily, uncle Mitchell, and Cameron. She freaked out over his ankle wrappings but was convinced it was a minor injury.
After being satisfied with her family's overall health, her parents drove them home and brought Harvey along. He said he was fine taking a bus, but her mother didn't listen; no matter what he said, she would drive them all home. Her uncles and Lily headed to their own home but promised they would call if anything happened. When they arrived, her father insisted Harvey stayed for dinner. Alex laughed; at this point, they might as well always set a plate for him at the table.
"A team?" Harvey chuckled. "Is Luke my comic relief sidekick and you my guy in the chair?"
"Guy in the chair? More like the brilliant young woman in your ear." Alex said, bumping into him. "Then again, your burning skull doesn't have ears."
"That it doesn't."
"You know you've gone viral."
"I guess I did." Harvey said absentmindedly. "It's probably not a good thing."
"It's not?" Alex asked.
"I'm not sure. I wonder how people will react to me. How they'll react to the fact that there are beings with power greater than any human weapon they can create."
Alex had to agree with that. Humans feared the unknown. And there's nothing more unknown than two powerful beings popping out of nowhere and carving up a shopping center with ease. This could cause unrest in the eyes of the government. Not to mention the already slowly growing worshipers of the Ghost Rider on the internet. They were hailing him as a righteous angel. Some were even calling for Harvey's head.
Alex reached out and held Harvey's hand unconsciously. The thought that people would now target her friend because he's different didn't sit right with her. It made her angry. There had to be something she could do!
"I'm going to help. I'm not sure how, but I'll think of it." Alex said with a fiery gaze. "I won't let you take on everything alone."
Harvey stared at her in shock; in a second, he started chuckling. "You don't have to worry about me. Just keep studying and doing well in school; after all, I'm looking forward to the day I see 'Dunphy Industries' on a huge building."
Alex blushed and nodded. She was disappointed that she couldn't offer much help. What could she honestly do in a fight between two supernatural monsters?
"Am… I interrupting?"
Alex let Harvey's hand go and turned around to see Haley. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest—a sad and ashamed expression on her face.
"No, do you need something?" Alex said.
"Alex… I'm sorry. About today." Haley said as she looked down. "I was… wrong about what I said to you."
Alex looked at her sister in surprise. Haley rarely apologizes! From the corner of her eye, Alex saw Harvey get up and start walking back inside.
"I'm gonna let you two talk between each other." Harvey said as he opened the door and walked inside.
"Haley." Alex began. "It's okay. I can see how it might have seemed to you."
"It's not okay. You were just doing what Harvey told you." Haley spoke. "And I lashed out because I thought you abandoned him. Even after I promised to be a better older sister."
"I messed up. I'm so sorry, Alex."
Alex smiled as she walked over to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Haley and hugged her. Soon enough, Haley hugged her back; they stayed like that for a minute and separated. Haley smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"You forgive me?"
"Of course, that's what sisters are for."
"…yeah. Your right."
Alex heard Haley whisper as she looked inside. Harvey was playing a video game with her dad; Luke was behind them and yelling at something on the screen. Laughing slightly, she looked at her sister.
"I'm gonna go catch up on some homework."
"Oh, go on ahead. I'm gonna stay out here for a little bit more."
Alex nodded and opened the door; as she was closing the door, she missed what Haley said next.
"I need to... push down these feelings."