“What the fuck, Harper?What just happened?”
“I can’t do this, Trent.You want too much from me.”Tears, refusing to be constrained, were rolling down her cheeks.
“I wantyouto want too much from yourself.You’re not that girl hiding behind an apron using five percent of her brain to make minimum wage.You are more than that.Stop trying to convince yourself that you’re okay with this.”
“I don’t want the spotlight on us, Trent.I want to stay hidden.I know you think I’m crazy, but I really believe he’s out to get us.And I can’t take the chance the added attention the show will bring won’t lead him right to us, to you, that it won’t send him over the edge.”Her whole body shook.She needed to kick her heels off before she fell down.
“You want me to quit the show?Okay.I won’t do it.I’ll find a way out of it.Heck, I’ll even pack up and leave with you.But if it’s not the show, it will be something else.Are younevergoing to marry me because you don’t want to register the license?And if we have a baby, are you going to put a fake name on his or her birth certificate?Are younevergoing to drive those kids to baseball because you don’t have a driver’s license?Are younevergoing to travel anywhere because you don’t want to renew your passport?I can walk away from the show, Harper, I can even walk away from Miami, but what happens the next time?Because our future has got to add up to more than that.”
“I’m sorry, Trent.I know how good this opportunity is for you, but you made a life-changing decision.Without me.I get that our relationship was pretty new, and I don’t really deserve any kind of say.It’s great for you.I know why you did it, but I can’t be a part of it.”
“You seriously can’t give me any kind of grief for not talking to you about something important, Harper.You’re all out of currency on that one.”His sarcasm cut like a knife.
“That’s not fair and you know it,” Harper said quietly.“I’ve told you everything.”
“Eventually.Maybe.”Trent was shouting now.
“Maybe?You think I am keeping shit from you?Well, I’m glad to know what you really think of me.Screw you,” she cried and rushed into the taxi.
***
“FUCK!”Trent shouted and punched the streetlight.The pain of concrete decimating his knuckles cut through the overwhelming sense of frustration and grief at Harper having left him standing impotent by the side of the road.
Maybe.Of all the dumb fucking things to say.The moment the word had tumbled angrily out of his mouth, he’d wished he could scoop it up and put it back again.Of course she’d told him everything.Heknewshe had.
“Sir?”
“What?”he yelled as he turned.The maître d’ from the hotel was standing behind him, cowering, holding the bill for the meal.
Trent quickly went inside, paid, and got a napkin filled with ice for his knuckles.Flagging down a taxi, he headed to her condo while calling her phone.It went straight to voice mail, a sure sign that she’d turned it off.
He’d thought through every possible outcome.She’d be crazy excited.Maybe mad because he hadn’t told her, but the good would outweigh the bad.Never had he considered that she’d dump him on the side of the road for finally becoming someone.He could give her everything Yasmin had accused him of not being able to provide, and yet it had somehow ended up not being enough.
Part of him wondered whether he should have pushed her like that.But it was killing him to see her settling into a life of low expectations.
Jumping out of the cab, he ran up the path to her building and let himself in.To think they had only exchanged keys days ago.
“Harper… Harp, you back here?”
He slammed on lights as he went from room to room, calling out her name.
Think.Think.She wouldn’t have gone back to his place.That he knew for sure.
Drea.He looked down at his watch.It was past eleven, so José’s would definitely be closed by now.Shit, he didn’t even know where Drea lived, but he had her cell phone number from when he’d organized the party.
He cradled the phone under his ear as he paced the length of the living room so he could check out his knuckles.Removing the napkin ice pack, he flexed them slowly.
What good was a tattoo artist with broken fingers?And what kind of impression would it create for the TV show?Fuck.
“Hey, this is Drea.Sorry I can’t take your call…” Where the hell was she?
He redialed and got the exact same thing.She was his only chance of finding Harper.He dialed a third time.
“What the hell did you do?”
Trent breathed a sigh of relief.Harper must be with her if she already knew.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what the fuck just happened, but I need to talk to her.I need to apologize.Where is she?”Christ, he needed some pain relief for his hand.He walked to the kitchen and started to look through her drawers to find something he could take.
