Chapter 23 HARPER
It felt like people were beating drums inside my skull. I groaned, pushing myself upright and pressing a hand to my head, as if that could make the ache stop.
The off-white sheets were the first giveaway that I wasn’t at home. I didn’t recognize the drapes or the poster on the wall—and my room definitely wasn’t this sparkling clean. The thought of being kidnapped flashed through my mind, and I shot to my feet, scanning for an exit—until the room tilted.
“Easy. You’re having a hangover,” Tyler said, stepping out of the bathroom. That’s when it hit me where I was.
“I—I’m in your room,” I muttered, trying to collect my thoughts.
“Yeah.” He moved to his window and pulled back the drapes, revealing the cloudy morning sky that lit up with each flash of lightning. “It’s about to rain. I don’t think we’ll be ready on time.”
“Ready for what?” I asked, sinking back into the bed, blinking furiously to adjust to the daylight.
“School. I’d decided we weren’t going since you were sleeping, but now that you’re awake, I doubt you’d want to spend the next nine hours stuck with me here before the scheduled time for our session.”
“How long have I been out? What the hell is the time?”
“Actually, you’ve been off and on—spilling your guts out all over my floor,” he said casually, like it was something he was used to.
I hid my shame behind the wall of my hair, lowering my eyes, too embarrassed to look at him.
“It’s 7:45 a.m, by the way. I guess it’s too late to start getting ready for school.”
As if backing him up, the clouds opened up, the thundering sound of rain hitting the ground and swallowing out the echoes of his voice.
“Tyler, darling,” Mrs. Mercer’s voice carried from downstairs. “Are you guys okay up there?”
“We’re fine, ma!”
I shrunk into my shoulders, burying my face in my hands. “You brought me here, drunk. Your mom, ugh..”
“Hey, relax. I promise you my mom’s not judgy.”
“Still...” I cried.
“I already explained—”
“Hope you know the rain means no school today,” his mom’s voice cut in, barging into the room.
I quickly straightened, trying my best not to look ashamed. The moment her eyes landed on me, she beelined in my direction.
“Oh, you’re away, sweetheart. I’m so sorry about yesterday. Hope you still had fun?” She pulled me into a hug, running a hand down my hair.
I gave Tyler a questioning look, but he kept his expression neutral giving me no hint about why his mom was apologetic. I tried for a general answer as we tore apart.
“It wasn’t so bad. I had Tyler with me.”
“And thank goodness for that. Who knows what their plan was after spiking your drink like that.”
My brows almost rose, but I fought to maintain my composure, plastering on a small smile. “Yeah. Thank goodness for that.”
“Does your head still hurt?”
“Only a little,” I admitted.
“Do you feel nauseous—?”
“Ma,” Tyler interjected, his face twisting into a frown. “Give the girl a break, will ya?”
She side-eyed him but rose to her feet. “I’ll make you a cup of coffee. Just lay down a bit so the headache won’t get worse.”
“That’s kind of you Mrs. Mer—I mean, Rose.”
“It’s no problem, sweetheart.” Reaching her son, she jabbed a finger at the towel around his waist, her voice dropping low. “You better keep the door open, young man.”
He rolled his eyes, shutting the door close immediately after she stepped out.
“Tyler!”
“She wants to take a shower, ma.”
“And I’m expecting you downstairs.”
“I know, jeez. Have some faith.”
I sat down quietly, feeling out of place in his bed, especially with their banter. A part of me prayed silently that Tyler’s mom wasn’t going to give my mom feedback about this, because contrary to most people’s opinion, my mom wasn’t as laid-back as everyone thought.
“Sorry about that,” Tyler said, breaking me out of my thoughts. He moved toward his closet, grabbing a change of clothes. “I don’t exactly have anything that might be your exact size, but I guess a hoodie and a pair of shorts should do the trick.”
He walked over and placed them gently on the bed. I reached for them, moving them on top of my criss-crossed legs.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah. I’ll change downstairs. Just holler if you need anything.”
“Tyler,” I called before he could leave the room.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything—yesterday and today.”
“I expect it in return by helping me heal,” he said, his expression unreadable.
I chuckled. “Of course you do. I’ll do my best.”
When he was gone, I got up off the bed, peeling off the hoodie he had given me at the festival. The gentle scent of musk, laced with the natural masculine scent of males, hit me, and I couldn’t resist the urge to hold it a bit longer to sniff in more of Tyler. Things were starting to look up. He was warming up to me.
Smiling for no reason in particular, I strutted into the bathroom, memories of last night dancing in my head. Who knew Tyler could be so sweet and protective?
In less than thirty minutes, I was done with my shower when it dawned on me that Tyler had forgotten to hand me a towel. I glanced around the bathroom, expecting to see one—none. Not a single one in the cupboard above the sink mirror, either.
“Guess we’ll have to do it old style,” I muttered, talking to myself in the mirror. “Dash in, dash out—hold up, I’m alone, ain’t I?”
I tiptoed (I have a flair for being dramatic) to the door, peeking my head out to scan the room. No sign of life other than me. But still, the door was unlocked—anyone could walk in at any time.
“Guess it’s door first,” I said aloud, pushing it wide open.
I raced for the door as fast as my body, dripping water all over the tiled floor, would let me. Just a foot away, the door swung open.
“Sorry, I forgot—”
He froze.
I froze.
The only thing that moved was the towel I didn’t have.