Chapter 28 Call From The Titans
Harper's Pov,
I watched the trees blur into streaks of green and brown outside the window, and all I could think about was Diane's last three words on the phone.
"Just come. Please."
Maya drove like she was trying to outrun something, her hands gripped so tight on the steering wheel that her knuckles turned white. The speedometer climbed higher and I wanted to tell her to go faster, even faster, because something happened to Crew and I wasn't there to stop it.
"What do you think it is?" Maya asked, her voice tight.
"I don't know." My own voice sounded strangled, like someone was squeezing my throat. "She just said to come right now."
The facility was forty minutes outside Seattle but we were going to make it in half that time if Maya kept driving like this.
I couldn't sit still.
My legs literally bounced so hard it shook the whole seat and my hands wouldn't stop trembling.
When we finally pulled into the parking lot, I was out of the car before Maya even shifted into park. The main entrance was right there and I ran for it, yanking on the handle hard enough that pain shot through my shoulder, but the doors were locked.
Visiting hours had ended at six.
I pressed my face against the glass trying to see inside but the lobby was empty and dark and nobody sat at the front desk.
"Harper!"
I spun around and saw Diane standing next to a silver sedan about twenty feet away. She had her arms crossed and she looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept in days, but she wasn't crying. She wasn't even panicking. She just stood there staring at me with this sort of expression I couldn't read.
"WHERE IS HE?" The words exploded out of me before I could stop them. "What happened? Is Crew okay?"
"He's fine." Her voice came out flat and controlled, nothing like the shaking desperate tone she'd had on the phone.
"He didn't relapse."
The relief hit me so hard I actually had to grab the door handle to stay standing. My knees went weak and my vision got spotty for a second because I was so sure, I was absolutely convinced that something terrible had happened…
…And now she was telling me he was fine?
"Then why did you tell me to come right now?!!" I couldn't keep the anger out of my voice.
"You scared the shit out of me!"
"Because we need to talk." Diane walked toward me slowly, and now that she got closer I could see how tired she really looked. How worn down. "...And it couldn't wait."
Maya caught up to us, breathing hard from running across the parking lot. "Mrs. Lawson—"
"Diane." She didn't take her eyes off me. "And you must be Maya Park."
Maya nodded, clearly trying to read the situation.
"There's a coffee shop two blocks from here." Diane pulled her keys out of her pocket. "We're going to sit down and talk. Now."
….
Benson's Coffee gave a sharp stench of burnt espresso and old pastries.
We took a booth in the back corner, away from the couple studying near the window and the guy on his laptop who kept glancing over at us like he was trying to figure out if we were worth eavesdropping on.
Diane ordered black coffee and then just sat there staring at it without drinking. Her hands wrapped around the mug like she needed something to hold onto.
I sat across from her with Maya next to me, and I tried to figure out where to even start. But Diane beat me to it.
"The Seattle Titans called me today." She looked up at me and her expression was hard and guarded. "Three times."
My gut lurched.
"They wanted to know about you and Crew. About your relationship." She pulled a business card out of her purse and slid it across the table. "This man has called me three times today. David Morrison. VP of Player Personnel."
I stared at the card like it might bite me.
DAVID MORRISON
VP OF PLAYER PERSONNEL
SEATTLE TITANS
"What did they want to know?" Maya asked carefully.
"They asked how long Harper and Crew had been together. Whether I'd met her before… or had any concerns about the relationship." Diane's fingers drummed against her mug.
"Then they asked if I was aware of her legal situation. They wanted to know if I thought you were stable, Harper. If the relationship was healthy for Crew's recovery."
The word stabbed right through me. ‘Stable.’
"What did you tell them?" I asked.
"I told them I'd only spoken to Crew twice since he entered treatment and both times he seemed focused on getting better." She leaned forward. "Then I asked why they were calling me instead of talking to Crew directly. And Morrison said they didn't want to disturb his treatment but they needed to assess potential distractions."
There was that word again. Distraction.
"Harper." Diane's voice got sharper. "What's going on? Why are the Titans treating you like you're dangerous to my son?"
I looked at Maya, who gave me a slight nod. There was no point in hiding anything now.
"I'm being sued for assault," I said. "My ex-boyfriend's fiancée is claiming I attacked her at their engagement party. But that's not what happened. She cornered me outside the conference hall, slapped me first, and I pushed her away to defend myself. She fell, and now lawyers are trying to send me to prison for it."
Diane's expression didn't change but I saw something flicker in her eyes.
"There's more," I continued.
"The civil lawsuit escalated to criminal charges. Assault and battery with intent to cause fetal harm. She was pregnant. If I'm convicted, I'm looking at two to five years in prison."
"Jesus," Diane breathed.
"And my ex-boyfriend's agent, Richard Moss, he's the one orchestrating all of it." I pulled out my phone and showed her the threatening texts.
"He's been feeding information to the media, to the DA's office, and apparently to the Titans too. He wants me in prison and he wants Crew's career destroyed because we told the truth about Joel on national television."
Diane read through the messages and her jaw got tighter with each one.
"So let me get this straight…." She set my phone down. "You're facing prison time, you've got someone actively trying to destroy you, and you're still with my son?"
"Of course I am."
"Why?"
"Because I love him." The words came out raw and honest.
"I know how this looks. I know you have every reason to think I'm just using him or that I'm bringing him down with me. But I love him, Diane. And what we have is real, regardless of how it started."
"How did it start?" she asked.
I glanced at Maya, who looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.
"It started as a PR arrangement," I admitted. "Three months ago, Maya came to me with an offer. Crew needed to fix his image after that bar fight video went viral and I needed someone to take to my ex's wedding. It was supposed to be fake. Three months and we'd both move on."
"But it didn't stay fake," Diane said.
"No. It didn't." My voice cracked.
"Somewhere between all the staged photos and fake dates, I fell in love with him. For real. And he fell in love with me too."
Diane sat back in the booth and stared at me like she was trying to see through to my bones, trying to figure out if I was telling the truth or if I was just really good at lying.
"Crew told me about you," she finally said, and her voice softened just slightly. "During his last phone call before they cut off outside contact. He said you made him feel like he didn't have to be perfect. That you saw him at his worst and didn't run."
My throat got so tight I could barely breathe.
"He said he truly loved you." Diane's eyes got wet. "My son doesn't say things he doesn't mean."
"I know."
"So now the Titans are coming after you because they think you're bad for him." Diane wiped her eyes quickly. "Because Richard's been feeding them information to make you look unstable."
"That's what it looks like," Maya said.
While we were still talking, Diane's phone buzzed on the table, making all three of us jump.
She looked down at the screen and her face went completely pale.
"It's him again," she said quietly. "Morrison."
"Answer it," Maya said immediately. "Put it on speaker."
Diane's hand shook slightly as she hit accept.
"Mrs. Lawson." David Morrison's voice came through smooth and professional. "I apologize for calling again, but this matter is time-sensitive."
"What do you want?" Diane's voice was cold as ice.
"We need Ms. Sinclair to come in for a meeting. Tomorrow morning. Ten AM at our offices." He paused. "It's regarding her relationship with Crew and how we can best support his recovery during this difficult time."
"And what if she refuses to come?" Diane asked.
The silence stretched out for just a beat too long.
"Then we'll be forced to take appropriate action regarding Crew's future with the team," Morrison said. "We have a responsibility to protect our players, Mrs. Lawson. I'm sure you understand."
Well, that translated as: show up or we'll fire your son.
"I'll pass along your message," Diane said carefully.
"Excellent. We'll see her tomorrow at 10 AM.”
“And Mrs. Lawson? This conversation should remain confidential. We wouldn't want to unnecessarily worry Crew during his treatment."