Chapter 133 TYLER
I stood in front of Harper’s house longer than I should have. Long enough for the quiet street to start feeling like it was watching me. Long enough for my confidence to drain out somewhere between the gate and the front door.
I had faced her parents before. I had faced the principal, Racquel’s father, even the threat he threw at me like it was nothing.
But this?
This felt worse.
Because this time, I didn’t have anything to argue. I had been wrong.
Not a little wrong. Not misunderstanding something small. I had picked a side, defended it, dragged my parents into it, and stood there like I knew exactly what I was doing.
And now I had to walk up to Harper and admit that she had seen through everything before I did.
I let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of my neck. “How do you even start that conversation?” I muttered.
Hey, you were right. I believed the wrong person. Sorry I made you feel like second place while I was busy saving someone who was playing me.
Yeah. That sounded terrible already.
I shook my head slightly and turned, half ready to just leave and figure it out later.
A car pulled up right in front of the house.
I paused.
The engine cut, and a woman stepped out, adjusting her bag before her gaze landed on me.
“Oh,” she said, a little surprised. “You’re leaving already?”
I frowned slightly. “Sorry?”
She walked closer, studying me with a small smile. “You’re Harper’s friend, right? The one Ethan mentioned.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “And you are?”
Her expression shifted immediately. “Oh, right. Sorry. That probably sounded strange.” She hesitated for a second before continuing. “I’m Claire.”
She paused again, like she was about to say something else, then stopped herself.
“Just Claire,” she repeated, a bit softer this time. “For now.”
It clicked.
“Oh,” I said, nodding slowly. “Right.”
Harper’s soon to be stepmother.
I rubbed the back of my neck again. “Sorry. Harper hasn’t exactly… mentioned you much.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I should have kept them.
Claire’s smile didn’t disappear, but it changed just enough to make it obvious I had hit something I wasn’t supposed to.
“Oh,” she said lightly. “That’s fine.”
It didn’t sound fine.
I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling awkward. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s okay,” she said quickly, waving it off. Then she gestured toward the house. “You should come in. Harper’s upstairs.”
I hesitated.
“She’d be glad to see you,” Claire added, softer now. “She doesn’t really have people coming over. She mostly stays in her room.”
Something in my chest sank.
Of course she did.
And where had I been?
Turning down her invites. Being too busy. Choosing something else.
I nodded once. “Yeah. Okay.”
Claire smiled again, this time more genuine, and led the way inside.
The house felt warm. Lived in. It smelled like something sweet, like someone had been baking earlier.
She stopped in front of a door and knocked lightly.
“Harper?” she called.
“Yeah?” Harper’s voice came from inside.
“You have a visitor.”
There was a pause.
Claire pushed the door open halfway.
And I forgot how to breathe.
Harper stood in the middle of her room, wearing shorts that barely reached mid-thigh and a fitted bra top, her hair tied up in a loose ponytail like she hadn’t expected to see anyone today.
For a second, my brain just… stopped working.
“Tyler?” she said, eyes widening. “Tyler,” she shrieked as if realization just hit and immediately she slammed the door close.
I blinked.
Claire winced slightly. “Oops.”
She glanced at me, then leaned closer, lowering her voice. “She definitely likes you.”
I let out a breath of relief.
Claire straightened, smiling again like nothing had happened. “I’ll be in the kitchen. I’ll leave some cookies out if you two want anything.”
Then she walked off, leaving me standing there like an idiot.
I swallowed, shifting my weight slightly as I stared at the door.
A few seconds passed.
Then a few more.
I ran a hand through my hair again, suddenly nervous.
Why was I nervous?
It was Harper.
Still.
My chest felt tight in a different way now.
The door finally opened.
She stood there in an oversized T-shirt, her hair now slightly neater, though a few strands still fell around her face.
And somehow, that was worse.
“Are you just going to stand there?” she asked, raising a brow.
I blinked. “What?”
She rolled her eyes, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me inside before shutting the door behind me.
“You’ve got five minutes,” she said, crossing her arms as she leaned back slightly. “Give me a good reason why you’re here unannounced after everything you’ve been doing with Racquel, or I’m kicking you out.”
Straight to the point.
Yeah. That sounded like Harper.
I exhaled, forcing myself to focus. “I came to apologize.”
She tilted her head slightly. “For what exactly?”
“For…” I hesitated, then shook my head. “For not listening to you. You were right.”
She didn’t respond immediately.
She walked over to her bed and sat down, watching me. “You’ll have to be more specific. I’m right a lot of times.”
Despite everything, a small huff of laughter escaped me. “Yeah. You are.”
I moved, sitting on the edge of her study table across from her.
“You were right about Racquel,” I clarified.
Her expression changed slightly.
“What about her?” she asked.
I looked at her properly then. “She lied. About everything.”
Silence settled between us for a second.
“What do you mean everything?” Harper asked.
I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. “She made me believe her stepbrother was… doing things to her. That her parents knew and didn’t care. That she had no one.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s why I got so involved. That’s why I pushed my parents into it. I thought I was helping.”
“She lied about something like that?” Harper said, her voice almost disbelieving. “Who does that?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I replied.
She stared at me for a moment longer before asking, “Who told you?”
I let out a breath. “I followed her home.”
Her brows lifted slightly. “You what?”
“I needed proof,” I said. “Something didn’t feel right. So I followed them. Got to their place, talked to the security guard.”
“And?”
“He told me she’s been making things up,” I said. “Trying to ruin her family’s name because they won’t let her come back to school.”
Harper sat back slightly, processing that.
“And he called her a sociopath,” I added.
The word hung there.
Harper shook her head slowly. “That’s insane.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “It is.”
Silence settled again, heavier this time.
“I can’t believe I fell for it,” I admitted. “I actually thought I was helping someone who needed it.”
Harper’s expression softened slightly.
“That’s not your fault,” she said.
I looked up at her. “It kind of is.”
“No,” she said firmly. “It’s not. She lied. She manipulated you. That’s on her.”
I didn’t respond immediately.
She continued, her voice quieter now. “People like that are the reason real victims don’t get believed.”
I nodded slowly. “I know.”
“And what are you going to do now?” she asked.
My jaw tightened slightly. “I don’t know yet.”
That wasn’t entirely true.
I had ideas.
None of them were calm.
“I just know I’m not letting it slide,” I added.
She watched me for a second, then nodded.
The tension in the room shifted slightly after that. Not gone. Just… different.
I stood up, moving over to sit beside her on the bed.
“Are you still mad at me?” I asked.
She glanced at me. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you’re still planning to ask me out,” she said.
I stared at her for a second, before a laugh escaped me.
A real one this time.
“You’re serious?”
She shrugged slightly. “Very.”
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. “You know asking you out is just a formality at this point, right?”
“Oh?” she said, raising a brow.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I already consider you my girlfriend.”
Her lips twitched slightly. “That’s bold.”
“It’s true,” I said. “But I’ll still ask you properly. I’ll make it count.”
She studied me for a second longer.
Then she leaned in.
That was all the invitation I needed.
I closed the distance, my hand coming up to her waist as I kissed her.
This time, there was no interruption.
No intercom.
No tension sitting between us.
Just her.
She kissed me back without hesitation, her hand gripping the front of my shirt as she leaned into me.
And for the first time all day, everything in my head went quiet.
No Racquel.
No threats.
No regrets.
Just this.
I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss slightly, and she let out a small breath against my lips that made something in my chest tighten in a completely different way.
Yeah.
This was what I should have been focusing on, not the chaos I let myself get dragged into.
A phone buzzed somewhere in the room.
Neither of us moved.
Then mine rang.
I groaned slightly against her lips before pulling back just enough to reach into my pocket.
Harper gave me a look. “Don’t you dare.”
“I’m not,” I said quickly.
I glanced at the screen.
Racquel.
Of course.
I stared at it for a second.
Then I ended the call without thinking twice and tossed my phone onto the bed.
Harper watched me carefully. “You sure about that?”
I met her gaze.
“Yeah,” I said simply.
Then I leaned in and kissed her again.
And this time, I didn’t let anything interrupt it.