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Overneath the Path of Misinterpretation (Alvis Alendran&Malicious Lullaby)

"So who wants first stab at her?" Donnie asked. Everyone called out an affirmative. DOnnie paused, one hand still on Mallory, working on her. He'd never forced a woman before, but from the way this was feeling, he might just do it again. And again. As often as he could. "Well, can't be too picky then, can we? What do you boys say to going two at once?" he asked. He got an answering cheer. The man behind Mallory moved his free hand down to get a grip on her ass.
"Dibs on back here." He said right beside Mallory's ear, letting her know that he was going to be after her in moments.
"You got it big guy. I'll start up here!" Donnie announced, pulling the dress up a little higher, while starting to unboutton his pants. He rest the gun on Mallory's shoulder, letting her know it was still there.

The car pulled to a stop, mercifully untouched by police. Harriosn got out, and waited the moment it took to get Hrothgar to get out of the car. He looked at the building, and they approached the door. Hrothgar raised a hand, listening.
"There's trouble. I can hear shouting. Maybe screaming." He said gruffly.
"Party maybe?" Harrison suggested.
"Doubtful." Hrothgar looked at the glass on the door. "Permission?"
"I'll pay for it. Go." Hrothgar nodded, and put a huge fist through the glass of the door, opening it from the inside, and getting the open. As the two men went up the stairs, Hrothgar and harrison both pulled jackets off, getting their arms free, and Harrison was glad he'd gotten rid of his tie at home. The laughing, the shouting, and the sound of someone in a lot of trouble came to them both. They went to either side of the door. It was slightly open, the chair not keeping it closed fully.

"Six. One gun. Moves?" Hrothgar asked. Harrison switched places with him, and saw that there was no time to play this carefully. And he saw who had the gun. Donnie. Now it was going to be a lot more personal. he shook out his shoulders.
"I've got the gunman. Can you hold five off?" He asked quietly.
"Permission to use lethal force?"
"Only if needed. Go. Go!"

Hrothgar put a shoulder into the door, swinging it wide, and sending the chair sliding across the floor towards one of the men holding Esther. It hit hard enough to stagger him as the two men charged. Hrothgar roared, a warcry it sounded like, and it was loud enough to jar the senses of anyone on the wrong side of it. Harrison came around, he put a single punch to the head on the man holding Mallory, and clamped a hand on Donnie's wrist, twisting. The gun went off, the shot filling the apartment with the blast. And again, then a third time before Donnie screamed, his wrist breaking under the strain, and the gun dropping from nerveless fingers. Harrison let go, and grabbed the much smaller neck of Donnie, and put a finger through his backost belt loop, using the holds to half carry, half throw Donnie into the island. his head hit with a satisfying crunch, and he went limp in his hands.

Hroathgar didn't waste a second, a fist the size of most people's head colliding with a face, sending the young man flying a full three feet, nose and cheek broken. A backhanded sweep caught a bat that was just starting to arc towards him, and effortlessly plucked it from the hands of the man, before bringing his head down in a but that sent his foe to the floor, reeling and barely awake. Hrothgar stomped hard on a hand to make sure, and the pained scream came to fill the room. Three more lunged at him, ready to tackle him down, but Hrothgar leaned down, powering forward, hitting them all. One was knocked back, landing on his back, which was worse than anywhere else as Hrothgar kept moving, stomping down on two different occasions, breaking a femur, and most of his left ribs, while he carried the other two into a wall hard enough to deform the plaster around them. He stpped back, both men out of the fight. All that violence, so much fury, and it was done in less than twenty heartbeats.

Hrothgar took stock of the situation, and grabbed a blanket, tossing it to mallory, while Harrison made sure that Donnie wasn't dead, and then moved to do the same on the others. He turned to Mallory and Esther.
"Are you two okay?" He asked.
 
Absolute horror read through her eyes as it became clear. She knew what they were going to do but twice at a time? She was still a virgin back there and didn’t exactly approve of having a first experience like this one. No way. She struggled more, her eyes watering. Especially when it became the big guy behind her would take her ass and Donnie would be at her front. She swallowed hard, forcing herself not to let a tear fall, regardless of how wet her eyes were.

But then it all happened so fast. Starting with Esther who was dropped to the floor when both men eventually were suddenly ripped from holding her up. She didn’t fall on her front, just on her knees. She ignored the pain since the pain of her head was more than that. Such a waste. A beautiful glass of wine wasted just like that because of these boys. Her night ruined and what she did get? A migraine. But then Mallory came into her head and she sat up immediately, although suffering a pretty nauseating head rush.

There was fighting going all around. Mallory was free and she backed away, frantically pushing her dress down so she was once more covered again down there and her arms came to cover over her chest, to hide what had been so forcibly exposed. Then it stopped. Men lay in their apartment knocked out. She hoped none of them were dead because that would be bad. But she hoped they felt a great deal amount of pain as they deserved. A blanket was tossed on her and her eyes zeroed in on a man who looked like a giant in this place. She tried not to stare as she moved to Esther once she was wrapped in the blanket and she put her arm around her, helping her to stand and leading her to the couch, sitting her down.

“Yeah.” Mallory spoke but was distracted. Pulling the blanket tighter around her, she stepped over bodies in the kitchen as she grabbed a towel and put ice in it before coming back and handing it to a half-awake Esther who looked green. She sat down beside her and rubbed her leg, watching her put the iced towel to her head, a sigh of relief coming from her.

“I quit being a teacher.” She grumbled, a bit deadpan.
“Good, otherwise I’d kick your ass.” Mallory spoke but she wasn’t being serious, obvious. Both girls were pretty rattled. She looked up at the freakishly large man and then at Harrison. “You got my call then?” She had no idea her phone lay in smashed ruins on the kitchen floor. She’d been a bit preoccupied.
 
Harrison shook his head.
"No, it dropped. But it was enough to make me think I might want to hurry, just in case. Good thing too." Hrothgar was sliding the unconcious bodies into a row, lined out so he could keep track of them. One boy tried to sit up, but a blurringly fast jab to the forehead from the huge man sent him back to the floor, breathing, but very still. "Ladies, this is Hrothgar. I was bringing him by to help look after you for a few days." Hrothgar nodded.
"A pleasure ladies. So sorry to meet you under such circumstances. And about your wall." He shrugged his shoulders. "Police are coming. I sent them a page."
"When?" Hrothgar help up a cylinder made of steel with a red button on it. "Panic button?"
"It lets the neasrest precinct know I need a car on my location. Very helpful. So if we all just sit tight, they'll be here soon." Harrison looked at Mallory.
"You...might want to take the time to get changed." he said gently, his hand coming to hers to help her to her feet.
 
Esther could pass out on the couch this way. The coolness of the ice definitely helped a lot. At least it took away the threat of wanting to throw up. But more than anything else, as everyone talked, she didn’t hear a thing. Which was probably for a good reason otherwise voices would prove incredibly annoying. She leaned her head on Mallory’s shoulder, bringing her knees up to the side of her on the couch. Perhaps their friendship was salvaged, that through all this, they protected each other to their fullest capability.

Mallory rubbed Esther’s head gently and she nodded to Hrothgar, expressing her gratitude as much as she could with the look on her face. “Thank you.” She said softly, it directed to them both. She was glad she made the call. Even if it dropped. It sent a signal. Because Harrison should know Mallory would never purposely hang up on him before he got the chance to answer. No way.

At the mention of police, she nodded her head and stood up suddenly. Esther slid to the side, lying on her side now where Mallory stood and she groaned. Mallory turned back and frowned. “Sorry.” She whispered and Esther waved her away like the miserable girl she was right now.
Turning to Harrison, she bit her lower lip. “Could you come with me?” She’d ask Esther but she seemed to be in more pain than Mallory was, although she was technically still shaking.
 
The Gods hate me. It is that simple. Really now Harrison, figure out what you've done to piss them off, and remedy the situation, because it's becoming a problem. His mind had this thought as soon as Mallory opened her mouth to ask him to come with her. He needed to be breaking up with this woman, and now he'd charged in to teh rescue, playing the part of th White Knight with flawless skill. And it was entirely the wrong moment. But what could he say to a woman who was just very nearly raped? No, do it yourself? You're a big girl, you don't need me to hold your hand. Yeah, that seemed like a winning plan. With a mental sigh, he nodded.
"Okay. Let's go." He led her to her room, knowing the way. He kept a little distance between them Not, you know, a lot, since it was a small apartment, but enough that all it would take was a single step to be away from one another.
 
A small part of her got the feeling he didn’t want to. And that small part of her should just realize that this was nothing but sex to this man. That once he got his fill for good, that would be all he needed. Nothing more. Wanting nothing more. The small part of her realized this but the bigger part of her felt like it was more. He came quicker when he got the call. He agreed to help at all with protection. He actually let her sleep at his place last weekend. What guy would do that? Right?

Nodding, she went along with him to her room and once inside, she took the blanket off and placed it on her bed. She was silent but perhaps her comfort was coming from just knowing Harrison was in the room with her. And at least he’s seen her naked. So it made better sense to ask him than Hrothgar. She pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top. As well as panties. Her days of going commando were over.

One eye opened, squinted, as the light was blinding but what Esther saw, struck her odd. There was a really large man standing in her home. “You’re a freakishly large man, you realize that?” She murmured.

Once she was dressed, Mallory sat down at the foot of her bed. “Thank you for coming Harrison.” She said softly, looking up at him. “I’m really glad I called. Because if you hadn’t come when you did—“ She cut herself off and bit the inside of her cheek, hard, feeling like she just took a chunk of flesh off, the taste of irony blood on her tongue. She felt dirty. Really, really, dirty.
 
Harrison silently cursed himself as he came closer to her. There was a big difference between being ready to break things off with a woman, and being willing to let her lose control because you were too callous to offer her comfort when she needed it most. He rest a hand on her shoulder.
"Shush. It doesn't matter what might have happened if I hadn't come when i did. Because I did. And there is not a man in this apartment who will hurt you ever again. Okay? You are safe now." He said to her softly, looking her in the eye as he spoke.

Hrothgar looked down at the head-struck young woman. He fought the urge to laugh at her statement. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it. And he'd be surprised if it was the last. But he couldn't resist his favoured response to that statement.
"Or perhaps I am perfectly sized, and it is you who are instead freakishly tiny." he offered. His voice was a deep, bass rumble, but at the moment, it held no threat. Only amusment.
 
Mallory looked up at him as his hand came down on her shoulder and she swallowed hard. She nodded her head but couldn’t help that her eyes watered and she was sure that would just downright freak him out. Still, she stood up and her arms moved around his neck and her face buried into his shoulder. She held back on her crying and instead just found some comfort where she could.

His voice was booming. It made her think of the song ‘Bass Down Low’ by Dev. What were the opening lines? If you want to get with me, there’s some things you gotta know. I like my beats fast and my down low. And then there was some sick bass beat. He could pass for that bass beat. Esther snorted and managed to come up to a sitting position, lowering the iced towel and looked at him. “Touché.” She nodded.

Standing, she was a bit wobbly and then walked over to him, standing beside him. When she looked up at him, she felt like she was looking up at a tall skyscraper. “And tall too.” She honestly meant no insult by it at all. She just got hit really hard in the forehead. And then there’s this really tall and big man in her home. Yeah, she just might take notice. If she hadn’t been butt in the head by a gun, it might not be so funny.
 
What else could be done? Harrison put his arms around Mallory, and just held her there. It was the only thing a decent man could do, and could and should do it for any woman in a time of sorrow and need. And any man who didn't, without a damnably good reason, didn't deserve to call themselves a man. They were animals. Pure and simple. And nothing more.
"It's alright Mallory. It's okay. It's over now. You're safe." He rest a hand on the back of her head, keeping her on his shoulder.

Hrothgar looked at the woman who had managed to stand, despite the hit to the head she'd taken. He put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, noting the fact that his hand was large enough to cover her shoulder, and fingers came to nearly the bottom of her shoudler blade. It was about as steadied as a person could be made from a hand.
"We of the large size pray for height. Else we would truly look freakish to the world." he said calmly with a smile.
 
Her head nodded quickly, her eyes squeezed shut tightly but in doing so, some tears spilled from her eyes. Not a lot. She wasn’t in a full on sob mode but she was still rather rattled. Two guys against one girl with malicious intentions? And considering Mallory liked to think she was able to ward off any man who tried to mess with her, but this time she couldn’t, it lay quite the damper of an impact on her. Even if nothing happened. She still felt incredibly violated.

She sniffled, her breath a little bit shaky but she pushed it away. Now wasn’t the time. Slowly, she regained composure of herself and she looked up at Harrison as she pulled back, kissing his cheek in the process. “Thank you.” She nodded her head and then moved out of his arms altogether and went to the door, opening it and walking out of her room, waiting for him.

Esther almost jumped a little bit when his hand came down on her shoulder. It should have scared her. If anything, it just fascinated her, considering how big of a hand could cover her shoulder like that. Whoa. Still, she smiled a little sheepishly, a little tiredly and looked up at him, her eyes squinting just a tad, oblivious to the bit of swelling on her forehead. “This is very true. But your parents must have been skyscrapers. There’s no one else in this world that is your height or your bulk. At least not that I’ve seen.”
 
"You're welcome." He told her quietly. What else could he say? Nothing. Not a damned thing came to mind, so he just left it at that, and followed her out. The sound of feet pounding up the steps told Harrison that the police were nearly there. He made sure he was in the main room with Mallory and the others when they arrived.

"My father is nearly as tall as I and my brother. But my mother...she was not more than a few inches taller than you." Hrothgar admitted. He saw the end of a gun at the open door. "In here officers! The men are subdued!" he called. Three officers moved in, sweepig the area with weapon to make sure no one was in danger. They lowered the weapons fast.
"Damn it Hrothgar! You kill any of these punks?" One of them asked.
"No. Just...subdued."
"Yeah, that's a word for it. What was the situation?" Hrothgar pat Esther's shoulder, adn stepped away, moving close to teh officer, adn speaking in low tones, explaining. He didn't want to announce everything that had gone on, especially not with mallory back in the room. He highly doubted she needed to be reminded of it.
 
Esther’s eyes widened. “There’s another that is just like you?” And then she thought about his mother. She was either really happy to be swept away by a big man like that or terrible horrified, in which case she felt bad. She highly doubted it was the latter though. That’s some amazing strength though to push out two kids like Hrothgar.

Mallory walked out to the living room and she pulled Esther down to the couch. “Put the ice back on dummy.” She muttered, pushing it to her friend’s forehead, a little roughly. Esther winced and then groaned softly. “You’re such a witch.” She grumbled miserably, being reminded of the pain.
“I know. And you’re such a wuss.”
“Bite me.” She whined in a whisper and heard Mallory make the motion as she rest her head on her shoulder again. “My head is killing me.”
“I can get you some pain killers. They’re going to knock you out though.”
“After the police leave.” She nodded her head to them and Mallory nodded, both ladies sitting huddled on the couch together, being support for each other.

“You okay?” Esther whispered.
“Yeah.”
“You’re a really bad liar.”
“You’re a little drunk.”
“I never said I wasn’t.” Mallory smiled a little bit.
“I’ll be okay. I got you, don’t I?”
“True too, and you have Harrison.”
“I don’t think he’s one for the comforting. Besides, he’s distant.”
”No he’s not. He’s right there.” Esther even had embarrassing form to point so obviously at the man until Mallory pushed her arm down.
“Never point, Esther.” Mallory sounded exasperated. “I mean I don’t think that what’s been going on with us is of that kind of stature, where I can lean on him for comfort.”
“Why?”
“Because I felt stupid for doing so.”
“Oh Mal…I can kick his butt.”
Mallory laughed a little bit. “We should get you to bed at some point.”
“Not until the police leave and all these bodies are gone.”
 
Police were thorough, especially with someone like Harrison Trenton looking over their shoulders. They all knew his reputation for the law, and didn't want it being said that he was irritated with them. With no surprise, charges of the most serious nature were being levelled at all of the young men, and to the surprise of the police, Harrison offered to prosecute. They pointed out a potential conflict of interest, but he waved it away, quite sure that he could get it past the courts. The police were only to happy to have him on board.

The police finished up the interviews, getting all of the statements, and shipping the unconscious forms to the hospital first, some of them in rather rough shape. No one seemed inclined to be gentle about it. Once the apartment was empty, Harrison stood near the two women.
"Well, that's over with, thank Gods. So. Hrothgar, can you make this place safe?" He asked. The big man nodded slowly.
"Yes, inside an hour. But I am not sure either of them wish to stay here right now." Hrothgar rumbled. He hadly blamed them. The apartment would always house memories that would simply not be wanted, especially so soon after.
 
It was so long and Esther dozed off a couple of times. Only when she had to give her statement and when it came to say goodbye did Mallory wake her up. Now, her head was in Mallory’s lap, one hand keeping the now just really wet and cold towel to her head and Mallory absently stroked her head, just staring a little bit. Her attention fixed upon Harrison and Hrothgar immediately as they spoke and she nodded her head. Then she looked down at Esther and frowned.

Shaking her gently, Esther woke up calmly and she looked up at Mallory with tired squinty eyes. “What’s going on?”
“We have to leave the apartment for a little bit so Hrothgar can make it safe again.”
“How long?”
“Within an hour, I believe.”
“Where will we go?” Esther asked. Mallory stared at her and blinked her eyes. That was a really good question. Esther was teetering on the line of conscious and unconscious any time she put her head down and Mallory just wanted to go to bed.
“That’s…a really good question.”
 
Hrothgar shook his head, looking at Harrison, who nodded.
"No, you can stay here while he does it. You both just need to get some sleep. I'll stay here with Hrothgar until the place is safe for you two. I'll come by and check on you both in the morning. Hrothgar, is our contract good?" Harrison asked the huge man, who nodded.
"If they will have me, I will remain here after securing the apartment. I will ensure no harm comes to them for the next few days." He rumbled out. He was already picking out ponits that he could use to make sure things stayed secure. It wasn't going to be hard.
 
“Oh.” Both girls said in unison.
Mallory looked up at Harrison and then Hrothgar, nodding her head. “We both really appreciate this from both of you.” She said softly, looking at Harrison at the end of her sentence. Esther rolled up and off of Mallory’s lap and she stood up slowly. Mallory stood up beside her and put her arm around her, taking her to the kitchen. On the way, she kissed Harrison’s cheek, almost hesitantly or tentatively before getting some painkillers for Esther and then went into her loopy roommate’s room.

Once she made her take the painkillers, Mallory helped her at least get down to her panties, keeping her v-neck on but helped her take her bra off. It was like the locker rooms all over again. Lying her down, she opted to sleep with Esther tonight. It took a moment for the painkillers to kick in. Took more than a moment. Some time but Esther hadn’t fallen asleep yet. When she opened her eyes, she saw Mallory looking at her.
“You okay?”
Mallory looked at her and shook her head.
”Come here.” She opened her arms and Mallory wrapped her arms around her best friend and closed her eyes. There, she finally cried in the comfort and safety of her best friend who wouldn’t push her away. Who’d hold her and comfort her the way she needed. But it wasn’t just this that was making her cry. It was guilt. Major guilt. Over the years.

Both girls fell asleep this way. Together.
 
Hrothgar moved around, setting things up in case he needed to repel another attack. It wasn't too hard. He handed Harrison a tube of gel, and directed him to making a patch for the door frame. It hardened quickly, making a block that could let the door shut properly, and not just swing freely. It was the biggest step. Hrothgar simply laid out a locking bar on the door, making it almost impossible to kick in, so long as someone was within the apartment to secure the bar. harrison helped move some of the furniture around, adn clean up the mess left behind. He madea call, making sure that mallory would have a new phone, and with some luck they might be able to migrate all of the previous information over to the new one. He met his contact downstairs, making sure the work would be done in the morning. The apartment was as safe as it could be, so harrison took the time to go home. he'd need to sleep himself.

Hrothgar prowled around the apartment. He was shockingly light on his feet for a man that big. Being able to move quietly was often helpful as a guard. And it had helped more than once. He checked everythig he could, making sure every possible lock was engaged. In the end, he found the safest place for him to guard from was actually rthe balcony. Anyone looking inside wouldn't see him, but he could be inside on on the intruder in an instant. He settled his bulk onto the chair outside, and checked his alarm box, a counter unit set up at the door. If it opened without his disengaging it first, it would sound loud and sudden. He let himself drift off to sleep, the unit beside his head. He was a light sleeper normally. Nothing would harm these women while he was here.
 
Mallory lay still and sleeping, comfortably in Esther’s arms at the morning came. Esther was lying on her back and she had just a tiny bruise on her forehead, considering she iced it for a good period of time. When she woke up, her head wasn’t pounding anymore. That was a good sign. Even as she moved, Mallory didn’t wake. She looked at her friend who spent a good little fraction of the night crying her eyes out. She wanted to do something for her.

Slowly, she pulled herself from the bed. Her head was just slightly woozy but she probably just needed to get some food in her. Finding her plaid night shorts, she slid them on and ran her hand through her hair as she walked out of her room, careful not to wake Mallory. She was on a mission. A mission to make breakfast. It also clicked back into her head of the friendly giant in their home. But he was nowhere to be seen. However, she caught a glimpse of a bulky man outside on the balcony from the window. Time to cook breakfast.

Esther decided on pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage and toast. After everything that had happened, it seemed a good hearty breakfast was needed and considering there was also a big man to feed, it wouldn’t hurt to cook extra. She assumed he ate heartily.
Within thirty minutes, the scent of breakfast wafted through the house. A pot of coffee was put on and when it was done, she poured two mugs. She took one mug and went into her room and found Mallory waking up. “Hey Sleeping Beauty, rise and shine.” She went to her and kissed her forehead, setting the mug of coffee down on the night stand. “Come on, I’m making breakfast. It’s almost ready.”

Mallory was up not to long later and coming out into the kitchen as Esther took the other mug of coffee and she brought it to the balcony doors, opening one to give to Hrothgar. She didn’t have to open the door at all because he was already standing and she blinked her eyes. A soft gasp came from her since last she saw, he was definitely not standing but here he was. Wow, sober, he seemed not as big as he was to her last night but he was still pretty massive. Massively impressive.
“Morning. I brought you some coffee. And breakfast is almost ready so you should come inside now.” Speaking of which, “Did you spend all night out on the balcony? Were you comfortable? You could have taken the couch. It’s a lot more comfortable.”
 
Hrothgar shook his head slightly, running a hand along his short hair. He accepted the mug of coffee from her, his hand dwarfing it, making it seem like a child's play set. He sipped it anyway.
"Yes, I've been out here all night. And it was the best point. The couch isn't as secure. If something were to come from the balcony, I would not be able to respond as quickly." he explained. he also realized that he sounded either paranoid, or little silly. He smiled. "And old habits die hard." He looked at one of the stools at the breakfast bar dubiously, but very gently eased himself onto one. The wooden construct groaned under the weight, clearly not overly happy about it. He let out a breath, nodding. It looked like it would stay stable.

Harrison was up early, on the move from the moment he got the call that Mallory's phone was working. Food, and enough to keep him going. Clothes, though more relaxed than normal, no tie for one, and only slacks, a button shirt and a servicable jacket. He was out the door, and on the move. He'd worked with Hrothgar in the past, and knew exactly how much that man could eat, so stopped at a shop to pick it up. The amount of food was staggering, but he knew that the big man would appreciate the gesture. He began to make his way to the apartment.
 
Even Esther worried that the mug might break in his hands, something she hadn’t thought about. Or the fact that the stool might shatter beneath him since he made it look like a part of a child’s furniture set from Toys R Us. But Esther just smiled and she put a plate out for him. “Whatever suits you. But please let me know if there’s anything either of us can do to make you even more comfortable, okay?” That was just Esther being Esther. Wanting to make sure everyone was more than comfortable. It wasn’t babying, coddling or mothering. No, just the good host in her.

Mallory sat down on a stool next to him and accepted a plate. She was still quiet, had bags under her eyes and it had been clear of all the crying that went down last night with Esther. Esther fixed herself a plate as well and then sat down next to Mallory on the third stool. She was drinking milk instead of coffee. Not much of a coffee gal and she was out of tea. “Bon appetit, everyone.” She smiled and she dug in, syrup dawning over practically everything, the pancakes—of course—eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. Yes, she was one of those syrup crazies.

“Everyone help themselves to seconds. There’s plenty.” Esther announced. Mallory nodded her head but picked at her food. Esther leaned over to her and kissed her temple, stroking her hair. “Come on, eat up. You need your strength.”
“For what?”
“I was thinking maybe I could take you to go see my old therapist, after my parents died.”
”I don’t need a shrink Esther. That’s stupid of you to think.” Mallory snapped and Esther pulled back immediately, nodding her head.
“Okay.” She shut down. She just ate her breakfast in peace.
“Esther—“
”It’s fine Mal, you’re upset.” She said so quietly. “Just eat your breakfast.”
 
Awkward. It was essentially the word of the morning it seemed. Hrothgar put his fork down to get another bite, only ot hear the tell-tale clink of a metal form hitting an empty plate. Damnation. But he had been encouraged to eat more. Surely he could get a little...? He carefulyl helped himself to anoth helping, keeping the food spread out. It looked like he'd filled it. But he was making sure he didn't sinply consume every morsel fo food in the apartment. He was quite certain he could. Fighting always left him ravenous. Being as large as he was, and possessing a naturally high metabolism he was more than capabel of eating anywhere between four and six times a day, and usually an enormous amount. He'd joking worked for food on one job. It would have been cheaper for his employer to have done a normal rate. The discomfort in the room was a palpable thing, almost able to be touched. He took a cleansing breath, found the center of his calm, and breathed out, leaving only stillness and serenity. It was a handy trick. He nodded to himself.

Harrison pulled up to the curb, and put the lincoln in park. Driving hismelf had been a good thought. It let him have a bit more control over thigns, and right now, he desperately wanted control over whatever he could. This was not going to be a pleasant day for him. And he could only guess that it was going to be less pleasant for others. He saw a man staring at the broken glass fo the door, and then back at the buzz pad. Harrison went back to his Lincoln, and set th food sack in the car, as well as the repaired phone. He set his jacket inside, and approached the man, one fist clenched. He was ready to settle this if it was another one of Donnie's idiot friends. Harrison picked out the fact he seemed to be weighing pressing Esther's button.
"Something I can do for you there chum?" Harrison asked. The man started.
"No! I mean, no, I wasn't-" He started, but Harrison was not about to let him ramble endlessly.
"Answer this. Why are you after Esther Martin?"
"I'm not after her! I just...I just need to talk to her, okay? She and I used to date, adn I was kind of a fuck up, and I really just wanted to apologise to her." Harrison stared at him, weighing the options, weighing whether this man could actually be telling the truth. He was either very nervous, or strung out on something.
"And why are you trying to come ot her home, uninvited?"
"Look, I'm not really sure how much she wants to see me, but...well, my therapist thigns this is a good move, so I'm trying okay?"

Harrison sighed, and opened his hand. Well that put a different spin on things. Harrison handed him a business card.
"What's this?" The man asked.
"A phone number. I'm Miss Martin's lawyer. I'll ask her if she's willing to see you, and potentially set up a meeting for you. Call me in six hours. If I don't answer the call, she's not interested, and you will very quickly fuck off and leave her be, or I swear I will move heaven and earth to make your life entirely miserable. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir! Mister..." He looked at the card. "...Trenton. Wait, the Harrison Trenton?" Harrison narrowed his eyes, and considered throwing him off the steps.
"Boy?"
"Um...it's Chad sir."
"Boy. Fuck off. Now." Chad scurried down the steps, and away from the building. Harrison opened the door, and went upstairs.
 
Even after breakfast, Mallory was trying to get on Esther’s good side again, as if she didn’t want to tamper with the really good friend moment she had last night, where she fell asleep in Esther’s arms. She liked that. The comfort it brought. The closeness of their friendship. Knowing that maybe, just maybe, nothing would ruin their friendship if and when the truth came out because they were such good friends otherwise. That counted, right?

But it was also annoying Esther who was just trying to clean up and not break a dish with Mallory shadowing her every step. She finally managed to finish cleaning up and put things away before she snapped, just a tiny bit. “I’m going to shower.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, Mallory, for the umpteenth time I don’t need help. But maybe you do, okay? I just want to take a shower and wind down. All this shit that happened and maybe I can’t keep strong all the time.”
“But—“
“No fucking buts, okay?”

That stunned Mallory into silence since no one, no one saw Esther mad or actually sticking up for herself. The girl was a pushover and even people like Mallory, after all these years, was capable of taking advantage of that. Esther was having enough. She went for a shower and let herself be a girl under the hot water. When she got frustrated, she cried. And she was really frustrated. So she cried.

Mallory walked to the couch and she sat down, staring at the wall. She had never seen Esther like that. And sure, she wasn’t doing the greatest. Snapping at her and refusing help when all she needed was help and if last night wasn’t any indicator of that, then she didn’t know what. But people do stupid things when they were upset. It seemed they were both upset. But what was Esther upset for? It’s not like she almost got raped last night. No she just got a bruise. Mallory almost lost a whole lot more that would have mattered.

But some people just couldn’t see what was right in front of them. Just like some wouldn’t comment on it, others couldn’t see.
 
Hrothgar walked to the edge of the apartment, looking around for the eighth time. Security...yes, it was all about doing his job. Nothing to do with the awkward tension in the air that one could cut with a knife. Damn it all, when was Harrison getting here? He could use some reinforcements. The knock on the door drew him to it swiftly, one hand waving mallory to sit down. He had this under control, and from a security standpoint, this made sense. He looked through the hole, adn saw Harrison. He sighed, and unlocked the door, as well as moved the security bar. He opened it.
"Harrison." The big man rumbled.
"Hrothgar. Here, I brought you breakfast." Harrison replied, handing him the large sack of food. hrothgar grinned, and opened it up as he shut the door. Nine breakfast burritos, each of them half again as large as the average. he pulled one out, and consumed it in a few bites. Harrison was always so good to him with food.

Harrison approached Mallory. He set her new phone on the couch beside her.
"How are you holding up?" He asked, knowing on some level it might not be the thing to ask, but it was the quesrtion he wanted answered. No, he needed to know how badly it was hitting her. Some people bounced back from things like this easier than others. Mallory put on a very brave and cocky front, but he suspected there was a certain fragility beneath it all. And he'd rather not add to the load if she was liable to break under the strain.
 
Mallory snapped out of her funk when she heard the knock at the door and she moved to stand to get it when Hrothgar waved for her to sit and stay sitting. She sunk back into the plush confines of the couch. Her mind was racing. Everything that happened last night, what almost happened, everything with Harrison and then things with Esther. Not to mention what really started all of her worries was when Esther told her about Chad. Everything was going to crumble. She could feel it. But what could she do?

Harrison walked in and she looked up to see him but her face seemed devoid of any expression or emotion. She didn’t even stand to greet him. No, men like him didn’t want clingy or needy women running to them about to burst into tears. So she stayed put and stared at the wall again. It’s not that she couldn’t speak. No, her mind was going chaotic. Soon, she’d probably go chaotic.
Only when she felt something be placed on the cushion beside her, did some life seem to return. Her head turned and she saw the new phone. All sparkly and shiny and looking exactly like her old one. In tip-top condition. “Thanks.” She said softly, her hand covering over it before grasping it and bringing it into her lap. It was so pretty.

Letting her chin lift up, her eyes leveled with his and she nodded. “Esther says I should go see a therapist. She said she’d take me to see the same one she saw after her parents died.” She snorted. “I don’t need a shrink.” She muttered. He asked!
 
Harrison sighed, and sat down at the edge of the couch, turning to face her.
"Maybe not Mallory. Maybe not. But you might find it helpful to talk to someone outside of the situation. Family. A friend. And if you don't want a full out shrink, there's a fully trained and qualified staff back at the company that we keep on hand for just this kind of thing. But if you say you're strong enough to just push through it on your own...I believe you Mallroy." He told her, nodding, and pat her on the shoulder. he looked up to see Hrothgar on his fifth burrito.

"My Gods man, do you even taste those things?" Harrison asked incredulously.
 
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