This was apart of her normal routine, guilt flowing through her veins, fear rushing into her head.  Harper turned in her bed, and felt her pillow wet with tears. Harper hadn’t realized she was crying, but she wasn't surprised. This was her only time to put away her act, and act like the weak person she was. Harper fell asleep to the muffled sounds of too loud country music that was playing in the cheap bar just next door.
Inside the bar the shouts were too loud. She couldn’t sleep with all the noise, she usually fell asleep fine, but tonight everyone was just too loud. Then, all at once, it quieted down to the bars normal muffling. Then, sobs, loud sobs, not from the bar, but outside her door.
Harper got up to tell the person to shut up, and that she couldn't sleep with them crying.
She walked through her small apartment, trying to get to the door. She found the door, and reached for the golden handle.
Outside, the sobbing was louder than inside. She looked to find the source, she looked down and saw, a boy. A tall, lanky shadow whose body was racking with sobs.
“Um, could you, please, like, um, how do I say this nicely?” Harper asked, her voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, I know, SHUT UP! You are way too loud, no one can sleep!! I’m done with over sensitive people crying when they are drunk!” She finished, hoping her word would project a fake anger.
“I-I’m so, so sorry. I-it’s just, you see it’s the anniversary of my brother’s de-dea-death,” the excuse of a man started sobbing harder, “and he was shot here in Nashville, and I thought if I came here it would finally be better, but as you can tell, it’s not much better.” he laughed, and Harper froze. It was the same laugh as the man, before she went “bang-bang” as her parents would have called it.
“Come inside” She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask questions. He started to get up and Harper started to regret her words.
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The boy looked shocked at the appearance of her apartment. Wallpaper, peeled back to show the drywall, brown water stains acting as the non-existent trim. The only furniture (the couch and the old card table in the “dining room”) were all peeling or had holes in them so you could see the fluff.
“Luke” He said, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.
“What?” Harper asked, even though she understood his statement completely.
“My name is Luke.” he answered, a blush forming on his cheeks . It was only now that Harper realized that Luke had a hint of an Australian accent. The same as him.
“You can sit.” Harper stated, as she sat the card table. “I know it looks nasty, but, it’s not that dirty.”
“Don't worry, back in Sydney, my brother’s apartment is much worse.” Luke laughed. Harper couldn't believe how quickly his emotions changed.
“So, may I ask why you were sobbing?” She asked politely, taking in his features.
Luke had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. His blond hair was pushed high above his forehead, defying gravity. He had the slightest of dimples that were only there when he smiled. He was wearing an AC-DC t-shirt and black skinny jeans. The way he dressed, you would not expect him to be crying in an alley outside of a bar that plays country music 24/7.
“Well, I had an older brother” he began, pulling Harper out of her train of thought. “He came here to Nashville to visit when I was ten, he took me with him, and he got shot trying to help a little girl who looked lost. I guess I was crying because I felt guilty.” Luke finished with a heavy sigh as if it were all coming back to him. Then he looked her straight in the eye. He had a look of something she felt every year on this night, guilt. But, Harper couldn't help but wonder what it was for. She looked into his eyes again, she hadn't realized that were the same eyes as his eyes. She couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to that night.
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Nine years earlier
Harper was playing with the naked, armless barbie she found on the alley right beside her house that night walking home, in her room. She drowned out her parents yelling. The house smelled like it always did, the plant stuff mom and dad smoked almost everyday, and burning hair, she never did get the burning hair part, but, none the less. Then, her door swung open. The nine year old clutched the barbie to close to her chest so they wouldn't take it away.
“Haley! No, um,” her mom stuttered forgetting  her own daughter’s name, “Harper! Yeah, that’s it! Mommy and Daddy need food. You need to go to the store and grab us some eggs-”
“And waffles!” her dad screamed from screamed the living room.
“And waffles.” her mom giggled. “I hope you get yourself a man like your father.” Even though she was nine, Harper knew that she would never want a man like her father.
She walked into the living room and made a beeline to the door.
“Wait, grab the gun, and if anyone talks to you, you-you shoot them! Bang-bang!” her dad made a gun with his fingers and pointed straight at her head.
“Oh, Ashton, don't do that! You’ll scare the ugly-thing!” her mom, once more, giggled.
“Bryanna, it’s fine. She needs to be tough for the real world.” her dad said before waving his hand as if to day “shoo, we need your disgusting butt out of our house and quick!!”  She grabbed the gun off of the small table by the door, and left the house.
As she was walking, a tall, nice looking man came up to her with a boy about her age.
“Do you need help? You look lost.” The man smiled at her. Then before she could process what she was doing, she pulled out the gun and went ”bang-bang” just like her dad said, and she ran. Ran into the house. Harper didn’t even close door her. She first turned to her dad and went “bang-bang”. For being a mean person. Then she turned to her mom who was frozen with shock and fear and Harper went “bang-bang” for being a bad mom and person. She ran, gun in hand,out of her house. She never looked back.
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Present Day
“I have a secret!” they both exclaimed at the same time. Harper was confused as to what his secret could be.
“You go first, and you can trust me I’m practically a stranger. I’ve got  no one to tell,” Luke reassured.
“Okay, well. I’m not a bad a bad person,” she said nervously. Then she started telling him her story. From beginning to end, leaving out no detail. Guilt pounded through her as words poured out. She could feel her face getting wet with tears. She felt weak, but in front of him, it was okay to be weak. Luke looked guilty, like she wasn't telling him that nine years ago, when she was nine, she killed a man and her parents.
“Wow,” he said when she was finished. “I’m so sorry.” Harper looked at him confused, why was he sorry?
“What?” She questioned.
“I was there, I was the little boy behind him. I was ten. He was the brother that got shot of mine. I’m so sorry you have had to live the guilt of killing an innocent man. I was just so convinced that if Jack, my brother, was dead, that I would be loved, even though I was loved already. Truth is, he literally dodged your bullet, but not mine. I also went “Bang-bang” as you said. I killed him, and left you to live with the guilt of it for nine whole years,” he said also crying. She was shocked, relieved, and thankful.
“Thank you.” she whispered after thirty minutes of silence. He looked at her confused. “Thank you for telling me. That was really, really brave.”
“I have to get going” Luke whispered.
“You can stay. I have room,” she offered hoping he would say yes.
“No, I need to leave. I can't be a burden,” he said firmly, but not in a rude manner.
“Okay.” she whispered. “I’ll walk you out.”
They took the eight steps to the door, and stepped out onto the alley.
“This has surprisingly been a great evening.” Luke laughed. Harper chuckled. He kissed her cheek before whispering, “Goodbye, Harper.” She hadn’t even told him her name.
He walked down the alley before pulling an object out of his pocket, a gun. Luke turned the corner, and she heard the sound she hated. She knew she would never see him again. The sound rang in her ears as she sobbed, “Bang-bang”.