The words floated through Harper. She could understand their meaning, but she couldn’t feel them. She couldn’t feel much. Just pain. And if she tried hard enough, she could pretend she didn’t feel that either.
Thu moved suddenly, wrapping Harper in a strong hug, squeezing her tightly. Harper wasn’t sure what to do; her arms didn’t seem to be working. A sudden sense of exhaustion flooded her, and she felt her body soften under Thu’s embrace.
“I’m here to figure out what the fuck is going on. And then to help you fix it.”
“Thu, I—”
“Shut up. We aren’t talking right now.”
Thu dropped her arms and returned to the food. She picked up a container, grabbed two beers, and settled onto the couch. When Harper didn’t immediately follow, Thu fixed her with a no-nonsense glare. Harper reluctantly grabbed a carton of Thai food and sat next to Thu.
The food was from her favorite spot, the same place Dan always picked up takeout for her. The familiar smell of it made her stomach knot.
“Eat.”
“Thu, I appreciate all of this, but I’ve got to get back to—” Harper pointed toward her bedroom, but Thu cut her off before she could finish.
“Eat the goddamn food, or I’ll hurt you.”
Harper didn’t have the energy to fight.
She wrapped a small rice noodle around her fork and brought it to her lips. Glancing back at Thu, who still gave her the evil eye, Harper ate the noodle. It was delicious. She tried to remember the last time she ate, and when she came up blank, she began shoving bigger bites into her mouth.
“Now, drink.” Thu twisted off the caps of the bottles and thrust one at Harper. Harper opened her mouth to protest, but one look at Thu’s cocked head and challenging eyes forced her to accept it. She took a tiny sip and set it down, digging back into her food.
Seemingly satisfied with Harper’s steady consumption, Thu turned on the TV. And flipped to football.
Intentionally.
Thu intentionally put on sports.
Something was terribly wrong.
Harper waited for Thu to crack a joke or turn it into a ‘gotcha’ moment, but after several minutes without Thu’s eyes leaving the screen and even a loud “Oh!” at a tackle, Harper’s curiosity won out.
“So … what’s this?”
Thu took a swig of her beer. “It’s called football. Very popular with kids these days.”
“Huh…” Harper said, tapping her nail against her beer bottle. “Why are we watching it?”
“No reason we shouldn’t engage in America’s pastime like everyone else.”
“Baseball is America’s pastime, and we don’t like sports.”
“Semantics,” Thu said with a wave of her hand.
Harper gave it a few more minutes, periodically looking between her friend and the TV, trying to get the joke.
“But why football?”
Thu shrugged. “Alex likes football.”
“So?”
Thu turned to face Harper. “So, I like Alex. And that means I’m trying to like football. Because that’s what you do for the people you like—you accommodate them into your life.” She gave Harper a pointed look before turning back to the TV.
Harper blinked at her.
“You officially like Alex?”
Thu huffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I think so. But that’s not the point.”
“I know,” Harper whispered, picking at the sticker on her beer bottle.
“The point is,” Thu said, turning to Harper again, “you can’t keep doing this to yourself. Living like this.”
Harper gave her a weak smile. “I know that too. And I’m trying.”
“But what are you actually doing to work on it, Harper?”
Harper didn’t have an answer for that, not one that would satisfy Thu anyway. Harper wasn’t sure how to explain that slowly she was rebuilding every wall she’d let crumble. Getting back to protecting herself in fortified isolation.
Harper could see the concern behind Thu’s eyes. Tendrils of warmth spread from Harper’s heart, but they magnified the pain, and she rubbed at her aching chest. Thu put her arm around Harper’s shoulders and gave a brief squeeze before turning back to the game.
“Is Dr. Ren letting you make up the exam?” Thu asked a few minutes later.
Harper nodded. A pulsing mix of sadness and anxiety was starting to move through her system. “She gave me an alternative assignment. Fifteen-page systematic review on invasive intervention in oral cancer.”