Chapter 139: HARPER

“Hey, mama.”

Tyler’s voice came from behind me. Before I could even turn, his hand slipped around my waist and in one smooth motion, he spun me toward him. The world tilted for half a second, before his lips came crashing down on mine.

I didn’t even think.

I just melted into it.

Instantly, everything else disappeared. The hallway noise, the movement of students, the weight that had been sitting quietly in my chest since morning I arrived at school. It all blurred into nothing as I kissed him back, my fingers curling lightly into his shirt.

A loud groan cut through the moment.

“See?” Kane’s voice echoed dramatically. “I knew it. You guys just are doing this on purpose now.”

I pulled back slightly, my cheeks warming as I turned my head toward the sound. The rest of the guys stood a few steps away, all of them watching with identical looks of exaggerated disgust.

Tyler laughed, not even slightly embarrassed. “You should be grateful she doesn’t like PDA,” he said casually, his arm still around me. “Otherwise, you’d be seeing a lot worse.”

“Don’t you dare,” Peter said immediately, pointing a warning finger at him.

Jax shook his head. “I’m already uncomfortable enough.”

Kane covered his eyes like he was shielding himself from something tragic. “I didn’t sign up for this emotional damage.”

Tyler just grinned, completely unbothered. “That sounds like a personal problem.”

“Let’s go,” Peter muttered, already turning away. “Before this gets any worse.”

One by one, they started leaving, throwing last comments over their shoulders as they went. Kane made one final gagging sound before disappearing down the hallway, and Tyler laughed under his breath.

“Who knew?” he said, glancing down at me. “Being official definitely has its perks. I should’ve done this earlier.”

I gave him a small smile, but it didn’t fully reach where it should have. “Don’t you think you’re doing a bit too much?”

He blinked, like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Then his expression shifted slightly. “Too much?”

“A little,” I said, shrugging lightly. “Announcing it in class, now this…”

Tyler huffed out a quiet laugh. “I just like seeing them lose their minds. And maybe if I keep this up, they’ll finally consider getting into actual relationships.”

I raised a brow. “So now you’re their relationship coach?”

“Disciplinarian,” he corrected, mock serious.

I let out a soft laugh, but my mind wasn’t really there anymore.

The image of the guy in the hoodie flashed again.

The way he turned.

The way goosebumps had crawled up my skin.

Tyler noticed.

Of course he did.

His smile faded slightly as he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “Okay. What’s wrong?”

I exhaled slowly, looking away for a second before meeting his eyes again. “Things have been… good. Too good, actually.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” he said carefully.

“I know,” I replied. “But I think something’s off.”

His brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

I hesitated for a second before saying it. “I think Sam is stalking me.”

Tyler went still.

I expected him to say something but when I saw he wasn't planning to, I continued quietly. “I noticed it on Wednesday, when I left you at the lunch hall. At first, I thought I was imagining things. But then today… I saw someone again. And it felt like him.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was going to,” I said quickly. “I just… I didn’t want to ruin things. The past few days have been calm, and I wanted it to stay that way.”

Tyler’s expression softened a little, but there was tension underneath it. “I get that. But you should’ve told me.”

“I know.”

He studied me for a moment before speaking again. “Are you sure it’s not just… everything that happened? Racquel, the kidnapping… it’s a lot.”

I shook my head immediately, stepping past him slightly. “It’s not that. Racquel is already getting help far away from here. If I was going to be paranoid about anyone, it would be her.”

Tyler hesitated, then said quietly, “What about the guy with the knife?”

I froze.

Something about the way he said it made me turn back to him slowly. “What about him?”

He exhaled, his shoulders dropping a little. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”

My chest tightened. “Tyler.”

“The build didn’t match,” he said. “Racquel said it was her stepbrother, but the guy we saw… it didn’t add up.”

I stared at him, my heart picking up speed. “So what are you saying?”

“I’ve been looking into it,” he admitted. “Me and the guys. Quietly.”

“And?”

His gaze held mine. “We think it was Sam.”

The words didn’t shock me the way they should have. If anything, they settled something uneasy inside me, even as a colder fear began to take its place.

A short, disbelieving laugh slipped out of me. “You think?”

“We don’t have proof yet,” he added quickly. “But it lines up.”

I shook my head slightly, trying to process it. “So you had a feeling all along… and now you’re telling me I might be overthinking?”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said immediately. “I just didn’t want you to panic.”

“I’m already panicking,” I snapped, my voice rising slightly before I forced it back down. “Tyler, I already had a hunch that he's the one who held me captive that day. If it's really him—”

“It doesn’t change anything,” he cut in gently. “He’s not getting near you again. Not when I’m here.”

I searched his face, trying to find reassurance in his words.

“I’ll talk to my parents,” he continued. “We’ll handle it properly. You don’t have to bother yourself with this.”

My shoulders eased just a little. Not fully. But enough.

“Okay,” I said quietly, already wanting to move on from the topic, before I noticed movement behind him.

Megan.

She was heading toward the exit, her pace uneven, like she was trying to get out before anyone could stop her.

My chest tightened.

“Meg!” I called.

Tyler turned slightly, confused, but I was already moving.

“Harper—” he started, but I didn’t stop.

I caught up to her quickly, stepping in front of her before she could walk past me. “We need to talk.”

She didn’t even try to hide her annoyance. “Do we?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice coming out faster than I expected. “We can’t keep ignoring each other like this.”

Megan let out a dry laugh. “Seems to be working fine for me.”

“It’s not,” I insisted. “I get that you’re mad. I do. But Mark and I are okay now. So why can’t we be?”

Her expression hardened. “Because I’m not pretending like he is.”

“That’s not fair,” I said.

“No?” she shot back. “You don’t hear him at night, Harper. You don’t see how he walks around the house like he’s empty.”

Something tight pulled in my chest.

“He listens to those sad songs on repeat,” she continued, her voice sharper now. “And he still has that stupid scrapbook of you. I’ve caught him looking at it more than once.”

I swallowed hard. “Megan—”

“You might be happy,” she cut in. “But don’t act like everyone else is.”

Her words hit deeper than I expected.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” I said quietly.

“But you did,” she replied.

Silence fell between us for a second.

Then she shook her head. “And now you want things to go back to normal?”

“I just want my best friend back,” I said, my voice softer now.

Something flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly.

“I’m sorry,” she said flatly. “Until Mark moves on, I can’t.”

She brushed past me, her shoulder knocking into mine hard enough to make me stumble back slightly.

“Hey,” Tyler’s voice cut in, already moving toward us. “Megan.”

She stopped, turning slowly with a small laugh. “Let me guess. You’re here to defend her?”

“Actually,” Tyler said calmly, “I’m speaking for myself.”

She folded her arms, waiting.

“I never meant to hurt anyone,” he said. “And I know you’re protective of Mark. That’s valid. But would you rather she lied to him? Stayed in something she didn’t feel?”

Megan’s jaw tightened. “No. That’s the problem. She knew she didn’t like him and still got into it.”

Her gaze snapped back to me. “You hurt him, Harper. And I’m not going to pretend that’s okay.”

My throat felt tight.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, even though it sounded weak now.

She shook her head. “That’s enough. Feeling sorry don't just fix things.”

Then she turned and walked away. This time, I didn’t follow.

I didn’t even move.

I didn’t realize I was crying until Tyler stepped closer, his hand reaching for me. “Hey… it’s not your fault.”

I pulled away slightly, shaking my head. “It is.”

“Harper—”

“If I hadn’t been so desperate back then…” My voice broke a little. “If I hadn’t just wanted to feel like I mattered to someone….none of this would’ve happened.”

“That’s not true,” he said firmly.

I wiped at my face, even though the tears kept coming. “I just want to be alone right now.”

He hesitated. “At least let me drop you home. Especially with…everything going on.”

I nodded quietly, already understanding what he meant.

The drive was silent. Heavy in a way that made the car feel suffocating.

When we got to my house, I didn’t wait. I got out immediately, heading for the door before I could change my mind.

“Harper, wait—” Tyler called, following after me.

But I was already inside.

The door slammed shut behind me before he could reach it.

And the moment it did, everything I had been holding in broke loose.

I slid down against it, my chest tightening as the sobs came all at once, messy and uncontrollable.

Because no matter how good things looked on the surface…

I couldn’t ignore the damage underneath anymore.