The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

34. It's a vague chance

A pair of black eyes staring right at me makes me almost jump out of bed. Harlow startles me because I don't expect someone to look at me while I am asleep.

"Are you alright?" Harlow asks and I nod.

"How are you?" I immediately touch her cheek to see if she's warm, but she seems better.

"I'm good," She says, clearing her throat as she gets out of the bed.

"Where is my shirt?" Harlow asks, searching around the room. She is dressed in her pants and her bra. I swallow hard at the view of her half-naked body.

"Arthur had to cut the shirt off you," I say, and a second later, she picks up her torn shirt.

"Right," She sighs and drops her shirt back on the floor in annoyance. I'm closing my eyes as she finds a new one in the wardrobe along with new trousers.

"I'm going to take a shower," Harlow tells me as she leaves the bedroom. I sigh loudly as I stare up at the ceiling. I can tell that the sickness in Harlow is starting to take a toll on her. She is pushing me and others away. Poor Harry has been trying to connect with her, but she is nearly present. I don't know how long she has now. A month, a few weeks, maybe?

Perhaps Harlow is right. It makes it easier for her to push us away. She doesn't want to hurt anybody since she's a ticking bomb. I don't want to stay away from her. I decide to get out of bed, change my outfit and enjoy a cup of coffee downstairs.

"Good morning," Arthur beams as the both of us have a taste of solid coffee.

"Hi," I smile faintly.

"How is she?" Arthur asks.

"She is better," I tell him.

"That's good," He responds, and I'm not sure whether I should ask him when the time comes for Harlow. It's better to ignore the facts sometimes; nevertheless, I need to know.

"How long?" I swallow hard as I look down at the floor.

"What?" He doesn't acknowledge what I'm asking for.

"How long until she is gone?" I attempt again and he exhales out loud as he reflects.

"Well," He says, unfortunately.

"What I can guarantee you is that all her veins are going to turn dark before she will," He inhales.

"Go, but she's getting worse," He places his hand on my shoulder, watching me with a sad expression.

"Could we help her? Somehow slow everything down?" I inquire.

"I don't know. Well, Mary and I have an idea of where to go and they might be able to offer some help," His words make me look him right in the eye. I feel some hope in my chest.

"Yet, don't expect too much, "He warns me.

"It's a vague chance,"

"Yeah, but it's a chance at least," I reply, and both of us glance through the kitchen door to Harlow, who heads out of the bathroom and sit down on the sofa in the lounge.

"Just be careful." He finds his way out of the kitchen to Harlow and not long after, I join them as well. Since everyone is gathered, Arthur wants to talk to us about their plan.

Harlow is seated on the sofa. She seems lost in her mind as she peers down at the floor. The black in her veins is now beginning to reach the cheek. She may not believe me, but she's absolutely breath-taking no matter what.

"Mary and I talked, and we thought there could be a location where we can hide and maybe even possibly support you, Harlow," said Arthur, mentioning her name, but she seems more confused than anything else.

"A friend asked me to join a couple of weeks ago, to help out, but I declined because of Noah's absence," He says sadly.

"If I had given an offer before that, I might have accepted for Noah; they could have the research that might benefit you," He smiles at Harlow, but she has no expression on her face, not even a slight twitch of her mouth.

"Harlow," Mary said, resting her hand on her shoulder, attempting to find a connection.

"This is a good thing for you," Mary says, staring straight into the black eyes of Harlow.

"Arthur said might," Harlow sounds agitated.

"This is a cancer, Mary. The possibility of someone else finding a cure for this is minimal," She sighs as she rises to her feet.

"It's better than nothing," said Arthur, but she looks uncomfortable as she marches a little back and forth.

"What is this place?" Harlow asks.

"It's fundamentally a resistant, and I don't know enough. I assume that they called for me because they need as much help they need, especially when it comes to doctors and such. They do have some promising services that might be of use to you," He answered.

"You believe, you don't know," Harlow rubs her forehead. Mary and Arthur are shifting to me as if I had the solution to turn her head around.

"This is a good thing, Harlow," Mary said.

"No," Harlow stated.

"Please, Harlow," I beg, her eyes meeting mine. She sighs rather loudly. Why can't she accept that this is a reasonable chance for her? Perhaps this could save her life.

"Alright," Harlow gives in and sits back down. She doesn't look enthusiastic or pleased.

"Where is this place?" Harlow questions.

"It's just outside of Liverpool," Arthur answers, which caught my attention.

"Really?" I say, stunned.

"Yeah, why?" Arthur wonders.

"My parents live in Birmingham; can we take them with us?" I ask, feeling the happiness taking over. I've missed my family; I haven't seen them for a while now.

"I suppose we could. The Jeep in the back has enough space for all of us," Arthur stares at Harlow as she covers her face in her palm. Her reaction has turned my excitement into sorrow.

"Okay, we're going to find a course and leave as quickly as possible," Arthur gets out of the couch and not long after, he comes back with a map. Harlow leaves the room to step outside.