Me, Myself, and I

Heather plopped on the queen sized bed next to Harper, folding her arms behind her head and giggling.

"Hey. Hey. Harper. Hey," she prodded, green eyes full of mischief.

The younger sister rolled over, facing away. "Leave me alone." She groaned.

Heather sighed. "...I've had my last drink for the night, so I'll be sober soon..." she bit her lip as she waited for a reply that never came. "I really do wanna get to know ya..."

"Go away! I'm trying to sleep!" Harper pulled her pillow over her head, frustration and anger radiating from her small frame.

Heather nodded a bit. "I get it. Your mom is a criminal, your birth parents are divorced, all you have left of your old life is your dad, and he's at work a lot. You live with a stranger and a drunk. I get it, I do, Harp. This sucks and it's scary and it's bound to get ya thinkin' the same thoughts I had as a teen." She sat up, dark hair sticking to her pale face. "But, hey, listen..."

There was no reply.

"It sucks, but it'll never get fixed if ya run away and make more problems..." Heather empathized. "This is what you have...people who suck but are trying to get better for you. Ya realize how special that makes you?" She smirked, scrunching up her nose.

"...how," Harper muttered from under the pillow, voice laced with aggression.

"So very special..." Heather sighed, guilt pulling painfully at her chest as she lay back down, closer to the pre-teen. "I'm sorry. I know I'm gross and I smell bad and I don't blame ya for keepin' your distance. I would too. I don' want ya feelin' pressured." She smiled sadly, pressure building up in her eyes. "I just want ya to know that I'm sorry I lost you. I'm sorry things turned out this way." She paused a moment, waiting to see if any response would come. None did. She nodded, pushing herself up off the bed. "Goodnight, Harper," she flicked the light off and stumbled away into her own bedroom, feeling like a failure.

Harper peaked out from under the pillow, scanning to see if the intoxicated woman had truly let her be. 

Harper was alone again. No alcoholics, no coddly strangers, no lying felons...

At peace, alone, with no one to bother her.

Just Harper. All I need is me, myself, and I. No one else. No one at all.