Chapter 10 HARPER
I’d never felt so embarrassed in my entire life.
It was just concern, just a touch, yet my body had reacted on instinct—and I’d panicked. I didn’t know how I was going to face Tyler tomorrow, but for now, I was glad to be out of his house.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way I’d felt the moment his thumb connected with my lip.
My pulse raced, butterflies danced in my stomach, and my body froze, heat swelling in my cheeks—you’d think something more intimate happened, but no. I guess I was just easy like that.
Groaning, I crouched in front of a half-empty coffee shop, my mind replaying how I’d run out on him. He must have understood, only boosting his ego to think his guess about me was right. I sighed. It could’ve been worse.
“Yeah,” I said aloud, trying to regain my self-respect. “There’s nothing wrong with walking out if you feel uncomfortable. He should be the one ashamed of inviting his therapist to his room.”
Just then my phone rang. I opened it to see Megan’s name flash across the screen. I didn’t wait for her to speak, just started rapping the second I clicked accept.
‘Oh my God, Megan. I totally embarrassed myself today. Tyler must think I’m actually one of those boys-obsessed girls in our school. I feel so ashamed. I swear I’m not going back there tomorrow.”
Her laugh carried through the phone. “Okay, take a deep breath. I called because it’s past seven and still hadn’t heard a word from you. I thought you two had been all loved up and you’d forgotten to call lost in a daydream.”
“I wish,” I muttered.
“Now I’m more than interested in knowing everything.” I started to speak, but she cut me off. “When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING, Harps.”
“Fine.”
I spent the next ten minutes narrating my ordeal to her as I found my way home. Megan giggled at every detail like I was gisting her about a rom-com. I almost regretted why I’d told her, until I finished my story and she went into mama bear mode.
“The fuck, Harper. Is that why you’re embarrassed?” I nodded like she could see me. “If I were you I wouldn’t think too much about it. Tyler’s probably the one feeling shame with the way you backed away when he came too close. He’d think the thought of anything intimate physically happening between both of you disgusted you so much that you left in a hurry to get away from him.”
I bit on my lip. “You really think so?”
“Hell, yeah. I know so. Trust me, he’d be the one avoiding you at school, not the other way round.”
“He normally avoids me at school. So...”
“Why does this sound like a complaint, hmm?”
I heard the amusement in her voice, her mind already putting two and two together to solve an equation that wasn’t there.
“It’s not. I’m just saying him avoiding me tomorrow doesn’t mean anything because that’s what he does on a regular.” I shrugged, balancing my phone between my ear and shoulder as I reached for the house keys. “But yeah, you’re right. I’m the one probably overthinking things.”
“Of course, you are,” she teased, laughing softly.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the door handle, only to find it open. Checking behind me to be sure none of my parents had returned, I slowly stepped in.
“I’ll call you back, Megan. Just got home. Need to freshen up.”
“Sure. Don’t forget this time around.”
“Okay,” I answered absentmindedly, hanging up the phone. Taking two more cautious steps into the living room, my eyes darted, observing for anything out of place. Everything was intact.
Mustering up courage, I tip-toed to check the kitchen. No one was there. Just as I turned, I stumbled into someone.
“Dad!” I shrieked, pressing a hand to my chest. “Can y’all stop doing that?”
“Hey, honey. Sorry. Was on the phone when you came in. How was school today?”
“Fine.” I let my bag fall to the ground and turned back to the kitchen. “Any baked goods for me?”
My dad followed me, hands tucked into his jeans pocket. “Nah. I just got here. Been waiting for you.”
“Awww,” I made a sad, puppy face.
He gripped his chest in mock pity, then clapped his hands with a smile. “I still got time. Let’s see what we can come up with, shall we?”
“Yes!” I pumped my fist in the air before pulling it back to my side. “Father-daughter bakery open for business.”
A short laugh escaped him, but it was quickly replaced with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. My mood deflated.
“She’s not coming back for the next two months, you can stay, you know.”
He paused the mixing he was doing, and took a deep breath. “Harper—”
“You don’t have to pretend,” I said quickly, buttering the baking pan. “I’m not blind. You’re only home when she’s not. She changes the topic when I bring you up. Anyone a mile away can tell something is going on between you two.”
“You’ve always been good at observing.” He forced a sound that landed somewhere between a snort and a sigh. “Yeah, me and your mom have been at each other’s throat lately. It’s nothing we can’t work out though.”
“Yeah?”
I shot him a skeptical look as he let silence dance around us for a while. I didn’t know what happened between my mom and dad—people I used to look up to as my role model couple—but something inside me prayed they’d finally work it out. Choosing between whom I loved most and would prefer to live with was something I never wanted to experience. Not when I could have both.
“Yeah,” he said finally, moving to the oven to place the batter he’d mixed. The sweet scent of vanilla filled the kitchen, but even that comfort couldn’t disguise the sadness lingering in his eyes. “So how was your therapy session with the Mercer boy?”
Changing topic—strike one.
“Ugh, he’s so impossible,” I grumbled. “Can we not talk about him right now?”
Dad laughed, this time more genuine. “Patience. That’s the key, darling. No matter how ‘impossible’ things get, you just have to learn to see things from the other person’s perspective. It’s easier that way.”
I watched him clean up. Somehow, I knew that advice came straight from his experience with Mom—strike two.
“I get it. I’ll try to be considerate.”
“That’s the spirit.” He dried his hands and ran them down my hair, pulling me into a hug—strike three.
My throat tightened.
It wasn’t that he’d never hugged me—my dad was a hugger. It was the closeness at which he held me. The shaky breath he exhaled as he let go. He glanced around the kitchen, uncertainly, and smiled.
“I think you’ve got everything you need. I have to run to the office now for an emergency meeting. I’ll call to check up on you soon. You’d be alright, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I forced a smile, knowing begging him to stay would only make things harder for him.
“I’m just a call away if you need anything.” He placed a kiss on my forehead, pulling me in for another hug, before heading out. “Lock the door as soon as I’m out. Don’t stay awake late. And be good, baby.”
I nodded, following him.
With every step he took, a piece of me shattered, silently praying he wouldn’t walk out the door. But the moment he did, I knew everything be
tween him and Mom would never be fine again. I might as well have said goodbye to the family I once knew.