I wouldn’t forgive myself if I were in her shoes. I just disappeared and stopped talking to her. I’m a jerk.
“Your dad got killed. I understand you needed space.” She pauses and swings her legs back and forth. “I would have moved far away if I were you. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near this town.”
I glance over at her and give her a small smile. “Eventually, you just get numb. You force yourself to keep going … because if you don’t, you’ll get stuck.” I pause and let out a sad laugh. “I have thought about leaving, but I’m too broke. The only thing I could afford is a pack of ramen noodles,” I joke.
“I feel that on another level,” she agrees. “We wouldn’t want you living on the street. Your life wouldn’t be any better.”
I’m grateful that Harper’s trying to make the best out of the situation. Sometimes, I feel alone. I get too tired to do anything. I’ve let my mom down, and I’ve let myself down. Four years ago, I would have never thought my life would be this way. Where I don’t want to continue on with my days, how I want to disappear.
My one motivation in life now is to try to not let people down—well, the people that I have left in my life. That’s why the triplets are so refreshing. They don’t look at me with sympathy, which I hate. I feel normal when I’m around them.
Harper’s voice brings me back to reality. “You’re my best friend. I love you so much. Trinity, you’re the sister I never had. And seeing you like this”—her voice cracks as she places a hand on my knee—“it breaks me. I need you to be okay, so I can be okay.”
I nod, trying to avoid the tears in my eyes from escaping.
“You would have to do something really fucked up for me to not forgive you,” she reassures me. “Everyone misses you. Wyatt is really worried about you.”
I tune out after that.
Wyatt misses me?I feel bad for thinking this, but I’ve forgotten about him.
Wyatt was my boyfriend I met during my first year of high school. We broke up a couple of weeks after my dad’s passing. It was mutual and not messy. I liked him as much as a fourteen-year-old could, and I know he felt the same, but we grew apart. I started distancing myself. He would chase me, but I didn’t want him to.
I know our breakup was my fault, but he didn’t let me take the full blame.
So, why does my heart skip a beat when I find out he’s worried about me? Does that mean he still cares?
“What did he say?” I ask.
“I ran into him at the coffee shop. He asked if you would get mad if he dropped by to see you.”
I stare at her in shock. I haven’t talked to him in a while. I wonder why he’s suddenly concerned about my current state. Maybe he still has feelings for me, but I doubt it. We only dated for a couple of months, not to mention we were young when things ended.
“What did you say?” I ask her and listen intently.
She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a small smile. “I said that you’ve been dying to see him and that he’s in your dreams every night.”
Laughing, I push her shoulder and tell her to shut up.
We stay up in the tree house until the sun sets and the mosquitoes come out to play. And the best part of it all is, Harper and I pick up right where we left off.
EIGHT
LEO
Ididn’t know it was her tree house. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone up there. I could read her face any day. The clear look of distress was written all over her stunning facial features. Something within me had to push her buttons. I find myself snappy around her, like I can’t control what I’m about to say or do.
One minute, I want to insult her to get a reaction, and the next, I want to push her against the wall and make her feel good. She’s the only girl who hasn’t thrown herself at me, and somehow, I like that.
I like the chase. I like the game she’s playing.
“Leonidas, where have you been?” Mom asks as soon as I open the front door.
Is it too late to pretend I never came home?
“Out,” I answer, not in the mood to talk.
“Be more specific.”
