68.0

68.0
HARPER

Skye just stands there, staring at me like I’ve just asked her to do the one thing she never could.
Lie.

Her lips part, then press together again. I can practically see the war happening inside her head... loyalty versus… whatever this is. Whatever I’ve become to her.

“You’re asking me to pretend I didn’t find you,” she says quietly.

“I’m asking you to let me live my life.”

Her laugh is soft, but there’s no humor in it. “By cutting everyone else out of it?”

“You don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand! Because from where I’m standing, Harper, it looks like you ran away and built a whole new life like the old one never mattered.”

“That’s not...” I stop myself, dragging a hand through my hair. “That’s not what happened.”

“Then what did happen?” she presses. "One moment I was with you and the next moment... you were just gone. You know my mom says your mom still leaves the..."

I shut my eyes and look away. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what? Tell you the truth?” Her voice softens again. “They didn’t stop loving you just because you left.”
“I didn’t leave because I stopped loving them,” I mutter.

"Whatever you tell me, I wouldn't understand why you thought you were so alone that you had to run away. I mean... Jamie was a jerk but you had your family, you had me."

“Why does it matter so much to you? You have your life. You said it yourself... you and Ethan...”

“Don’t,” she interrupts. “Don’t deflect.”

I go quiet.

She exhales shakily, running a hand over her face. “I came here and I found you."

“And now I find you,” she continues, her voice softer, “and you’re here. You have a child. A whole new life. And you won’t even let me be a part of it?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Then make it simple.”

Instead of answering her, I look up at her, meeting her eyes head-on.“ Please,” I say again, softer this time. “Don’t tell anyone you found me.”

Skye studies me for a long moment. “You’re asking me to choose,” she says finally.
My stomach drops. “Between what?”

“Between you… and everyone else who loves you.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Neither is this,” she shoots back, gesturing between us. “None of this is fair, Harper.”

She sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly. “I won’t tell them,” she says after a beat.
Relief crashes into me so fast it almost makes me dizzy.

“But...” she adds.

Of course there’s a but.

“I’m not leaving.”

My head snaps up. “What?”

“I’m not going back and pretending I didn’t find you,” she says, more firmly now. “If you want me to keep your secret, fine. But I’m staying. Here. With you.”

“Skye...”

“No,” she cuts in. “You don’t get to disappear again. Not from me.”