Chapter 109 HARPER
Mark arrived ten minutes later.
I saw his car pull up outside Miller Bar through the front window and suddenly wished I had chosen somewhere else to meet. The bar looked different in the daylight. The neon signs were off, the music low, and only a few scattered people still sat around nursing late breakfasts and early drinks. It felt too quiet for a conversation like this.
My hands were wrapped around a glass of water I hadn’t touched.
When Mark stepped inside, his eyes found me almost immediately. For a moment he just stood there near the door, like he was bracing himself.
Then he walked over.
He stopped on the other side of the small table and studied me.
“I wasn't expecting you to want to meet here. You okay?” he asked.
His voice was careful. Not cold. Not angry. Just… cautious.
I let out a quiet breath.
“I feel like I’m supposed to be asking you that.”
He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down slowly.
“That’s actually why I wanted to meet,” he said. His fingers rested on the table, tapping once before going still. “I don’t know how to deal with this.”
The honesty in his voice made my chest tighten.
For a second neither of us spoke.
“I keep thinking about that moment,” he continued quietly. “When I walked in and saw you and Tyler.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“That scene just keeps replaying in my head.”
I looked down at the table.
“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that.”
The words felt small compared to what had happened.
Mark shook his head slowly.
“It’s funny,” he said, letting out a dry breath. “Nobody ever means to hurt someone. But somehow it still happens.”
I swallowed hard.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know.”
He leaned back in the chair, staring somewhere past my shoulder like he was trying to organize his thoughts.
“That’s the problem,” he added after a moment. “I know you didn’t plan it. I know you’re not that kind of person.”
His eyes returned to mine.
“But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
A knot formed in my throat.
Mark rubbed a hand over his face.
“I just keep thinking… maybe if I had been around more…”
My head snapped up.
“What?”
“If I’d been there more often,” he said slowly, choosing each word. “Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“That’s not true.”
“I mean it,” he continued. “You said you and Tyler bonded. You got close while working with him. If I had spent more time with you ... maybe if I'd come to visit instead of getting mad…”
His voice trailed off.
“Maybe you would’ve thought about me more.”
The sadness in that sentence made my chest ache.
“Mark,” I said softly. “None of this is your fault.”
He looked unconvinced.
“I’m serious,” I insisted. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He stared at the table for a long moment.
“Then explain it to me,” he said quietly.
I hesitated.
“Why did it happen?”
The question hung between us.
I folded my hands together, trying to find the right words.
“It wasn’t planned,” I said.
“That’s what you both said.”
“I know.”
I took a slow breath.
“It just… happened.”
Mark waited.
So I kept going.
“I liked Tyler before we started dating,” I admitted.
His eyes flickered, but he didn’t interrupt.
“Not in a serious way,” I added quickly. “At least I didn’t think it was. I just… liked being around him. We worked together a lot, and I started understanding him. What he’d been through. The way he thought about things.”
I paused.
“At some point it turned into something more.”
Mark’s jaw tightened again, but he stayed silent.
“When we started dating,” I continued, “I tried to keep my distance from Tyler.”
“You tried?”
“Yes.”
I met his gaze.
“I really did.”
Mark exhaled slowly through his nose.
“Then what changed?”
“Sam came back.”
His eyebrows pulled together slightly.
“My cousin…the one I told you not to worry about.”
His eyes widened for a second, then narrowed slightly, like he was trying to put the pieces together.
“That whole situation wrecked everything,” I said quietly. “Sam…Sam abused me domestically. He hit me for no reason. He hurt you just to spite me. I was afraid that if I came to see you, he'll only do worse. My life felt like it was falling apart. I didn’t know who to trust or what to do.”
I stared down at the table again.
“And Tyler was the one who helped me.”
Mark’s fingers curled slightly against the table.
“He saved me, Mark,” I said.
The words came out softer than I expected.
“He was there when nobody else could be. And during all of that… we realized we felt the same way.”
Mark’s shoulders sank a little.
“He didn’t even want to act on it,” I added quickly. “Tyler said he wouldn’t do anything until I broke up with you.”
Mark let out a quiet laugh that didn’t sound amused.
“Well,” he said, “that didn’t exactly happen.”
“No,” I whispered.
My face burned with embarrassment and guilt.
“We just… got carried away.”
The memory made my stomach twist.
Mark studied my face carefully.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Okay.”
His voice was quieter now.
“Did things ever go further than that?”
I blinked.
“What?”
“With Tyler,” he clarified. “Before I found out.”
I understood what he was asking.
“No.”
He watched me closely.
“Not even once?”
“No,” I repeated. “We never… went that far.”
For a second Mark didn’t react.
Then he leaned back in his chair and let out a short chuckle.
“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
So I just sat there, staring at him.
The silence stretched between us.
Finally Mark rubbed the back of his neck.
“I think part of me just wanted to understand,” he admitted. “You know? To figure out what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said again.
He gave me a faint, tired smile.
“Maybe not.”
Another quiet moment passed.
“You know,” he said, breaking the silence. “I kept thinking maybe if we talked like this, things would feel different.”
“Do they?”
“A little.” He gave a small shrug. “Closure, I guess.”
The word made my chest ache.
For a moment it almost felt normal sitting there with him. Like we were just two friends talking. The way we used to.
A small hopeful thought crept into my mind.
“Maybe… we could still be friends,” I said carefully.
Mark didn’t answer right away.
Instead he looked out the window toward the street.
When he finally turned back, his eyes were softer but sadder.
“I wish it were that easy.”
My stomach sank.
“I mean it,” he continued gently. “I care about you, Harper. I probably always will.”
The sincerity in his voice made my throat tighten.
“But right now,” he added quietly, “seeing you just reminds me that you’re not mine anymore.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
He stood up slowly.
“I should probably get going.”
I stood too.
“Do you want a ride?” he asked. “I can drop you off.”
“I’m staying at my dad’s place,” I said. “It’s not far from here.”
“That’s fine,” he replied. “I’ll drive you.”
I hesitated for a second before nodding.
“Okay.”
The drive was quiet.
Mark kept both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes focused on the road ahead.
Neither of us spoke.
When we pulled up in front of my dad’s building, he parked the car and walked me to the front door.
I reached for the door handle.
“Harper.”
I paused and looked back at him.
He gave me that same small, tired smile.
“Thanks for being honest with me.”
Even though it hurt, I knew he meant it.
“Even if it was a little late.”
“I’m really sorry—” I started.
He lifted a hand gently. “It’s okay.”
But his voice sounded rough.
I could see the emotion building in his eyes.
“Just… don’t hold yourself back because of me,” he added quietly. “If you and Tyler want to be together, then be together.”
I opened my mouth to respond.
“I’ll see you at school on Monday,” he continued.
He forced a small smile.
“I guess we’ll go back to just saying hi and waving at each other in the hallway.”
“Mark…”
But he was already turning away.
I caught a glimpse of a tear sliding down his cheek. He quickly brushed it off with his shoulder as he turned back, gave me one last wave, and got into his car before driving off.
I didn’t bother going inside. Instead, I sat down on the porch, letting the biting cold sting me, hoping it could somehow atone for the hurt I’d caused him.