TWENTY-THREE | 2/4/16

"A-ARDEN," IS THE first thing I hear before Harrison presses the palms of his hands against his eyes, preventing tears from flowing down his face.

I don't immediately process the situation, but I still gather my boyfriend in my arms and hold him close as an automatic response. I mean, in the amount of time that I've known Harrison Gage, he's never cried in front of me once. Sure, I've experienced the times of depression and happiness and anger and passion, but this is all new to me. Here he is, shaking in my arms, completely unable to stop for the time being, and I have to help him the best I can.

"Harrison," I softly say, placing my hands on his damp cheeks in order to get a better look of him, but he shamefully turns away, "Harrison, please look at me."

After much coaxing, he connects his watery blue eyes with mine, and I feel completely helpless at how broken he looks. This can't be Harrison; he's supposed to made of sarcastic comments and pranks and fun. I don't understand what went wrong at what time, but it never seems to get better. The situation just sits and festers and grows and becomes more problematic.

"Fuck everything!"

In mere seconds, Harrison's phone is smashed to pieces on my apartment floor, and I stare with wide eyes. He pulls away from my loose grip and angrily paces around the living room, fists clenched at his sides and hot tears trailing down his face.

"Harrison," I repeat, trying to calm him down yet demanding for some answers, "Harrison, what happened?"

He immediately stops, harshly wiping at his face, and grits out, "I know who framed me."

I had nearly forgotten the situation on Christmas Eve, where Harrison was put in a holding cell for an unknown reason. I had nearly forgotten that someone set him up. I had nearly forgotten his inner turmoil, especially since my boyfriend hides it so well.

"What?" I manage to spit out, watching the broken mess that is also known as Harrison Gage, "Who was it?"

"Lucas."

My body freezes and my blood pounds through my veins at hearing that single name, "You're joking, right? It can't be your younger brother."

He squeezes his eyes shut in pain, a whole other whirlwind of negative emotions sweeping through his body. I don't know how to help fix this mess. Every time the situation seems to get better, it just gets worst, laughing at how stupid we could possibly be for being so hopeful.

This is honestly a real curveball in Harrison's life. Lucas? It's unimaginable, especially since Harrison and Lucas are -- were -- so close. All those times that he's been nice and helpful and lovable were just lies, and that's terrifying to think about.

You know, the saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.

Those very same words that Harrison had said to me a month ago now violently ring in my ears. I stare at my boyfriend and soon understand the degree of hurt and betrayal he's feeling.

"How did you find out?"

"He's been recently acting weird, especially after my arrest," he shrugs, eyebrows furrowed into a thoughtful expression, "And I don't know; I had this gut feeling that something was wrong. So, I skipped my classes and drove up to Cherryhill a few hours ago. I begged your dad to tell me who made the call, and he told me."

"Why would Lucas do that, though?" I ask, searching for the answers I still don't know the answer to.

"I guess he's a jealous little bastard," Harrison growls out, blue eyes dangerously flashing, no signs of weariness left, "Lucas probably thinks that I take away all the attention when in reality, my parents couldn't give a single damn about me anymore. He just made everything even more terrible than before."

"What are you planning to do?" I gently ask, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it.

"The best thing that I can do right now is try to talk to my parents and set things straight -- if they'll listen," he sighs, the last of his emotions fading away, "Arden?"

"Yeah?" I reply, slowly running my fingers through his hair, knowing that it'll keep him calm.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Harrison," I say, pulling him into my arms once again and trying to keep all the broken pieces together, "Blood means that you're related, but loyalty is what makes you a family. I will always be your family, okay?"

"I've told you this before, but I'm forever grateful to have someone like you, Arden," he manages to give me a small smile, "Who knows what would've happened if you weren't by my side?"

"Complete and utter chaos," I jokingly say, doing my best to make the mood less tense, "Now, babe, you have to help me clean up your little mess over there."

Harrison winches, "Sorry for the mess and yelling and crying and yeah."

My smile softens, "Don't be. I'm glad you can come to me when things turn sour."

"I've been doing that since the beginning, yeah?"

"Yeah," I agree, standing up and stretching, "you have, and don't you ever stop."

•••

I TAKE A glance at Harrison, who is peacefully sleeping next to me. The rise and fall of his body reassures me, telling me that everything will turn out okay. As long as we live and breathe and fight on, everything will be okay for both Harrison and me. This is only just a setback in our lives, but it'll make us stronger than ever.

"Go to sleep," Harrison mumbles under his breath, "I can hear you thinking."

"Oh, shut up," I lightly say, wrapping my arm around his waist and pressing a light kiss to his chest.

__________________________

This has to be the hardest chapters I've ever written. It's just. Idk, man. I feel terrible for putting Harrison through all this crap.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

I'll be wrapping Thursday Nights up soon -- maybe a couple more chapters and an epilogue!

I love you guys!

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--thyselves