My phone buzzed in my pocket before I could make it to the door. Of course, it was Jase not honoring my request for space. I looked at his name for a long time before answering the call. I put my phone to my ear but didn’t say anything at first.
“She’s safe, Bro. I made sure he was gone.”
“Did you leave her alone?”
The line was quiet for a second before he responded. “I’m still here.”
I took a shuddered breath, grateful that she wasn’t alone. Harper had dealt with this alone long enough. After another brief pause, he spoke again.
“I didn’t mean for it to come out like this, Bro. I asked her if he was yours, and she got defensive. I did the test just for my own sanity. I didn’t expect for him to be mine.”
“I love her,” I said. The truth felt heavy leaving my mouth but made me lighter. “I’m not walking away from them because of this, not from her and definitely not from Cameron.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“Good. Now can you respect the fact that I need space? I don’t want to bleed my hurt onto everybody. I made this bed just as much as the two of you.”
“I hear you. I’ll be here when you’re ready, Bro. Can you respect that, in the meantime, I’m not going to stop being in my son’s life? I don’t know how we will deal with it, but I’m not going anywhere either.”
“I get it.”
“Good. I just hope you didn’t run over there to snitch to Mom.”
“Wow, I really need to turn off my fucking location,” I said, ending the call.
As I entered the code to let myself into my mom’s house, the truth started to set in in bits and pieces. Harper didn’t betray me by leaving or even by keeping Cameron from us. She’d thought she was doing what was best to protect her child.
It pained me that when she felt like she was drowning, I wasn’t there to save her. I promised to always be there for her, and I wasn’t. Harper deserved love, not punishment. I was confident in the fact that this was far from over. I would never be done. I just needed time to breathe.
My big brother was a whiz. He reset my hand perfectly and guaranteed me that I would be back to normal in no time. I knew that it would be hard to go months without doing surgeries, but it would give me time to rest and focus on important things like family. I wasn’t surprised to see Jase’s big head when I woke up. I swear I didn’t see how people couldn’t tell us apart. His head was humungous. Silence lingered between us as he eyed me for along time. My eyes shifted to the chair where Harper had been. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but she wasn’t there.
“Is this enough space?” Jase asked, leaning on the wall at the foot of the bed.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess.”
“Bro, you can’t be mad with me forever.”
“I can’t, and I’m not. We knew what kind of risk we were taking from the beginning. That was part of the thrill. I’m not mad that you are his father. I’m hurt that you thought you couldn’t tell me.”
“I know how you feel about her. I see how you are with him. I knew that it would be a hard conversation, and you were finally so happy. I didn’t want to ruin that. It’s not that I didn’t think you could handle it; I didn’t want to take away your happily ever after. It should have been you.” “But it’s not, and he’s just as lucky for it to be you. No more secrets, Bro. This can’t work with secrets.”
“You’re right.”
“Where is she?”
“She went home to shower and change and check on her son,ourson. You’ve been out for a while.”
“How does it feel to be a dad?” I asked, finally cracking a smile.
That seemed to lighten the mood. My brother shook his head as he pushed off the wall. “I don’t even know yet. I’m still processing.”
“I’m asking them to move in again when I get out of the hospital. I already brought it up, but I want her to know that it’s still on the table. I think it’s even more important now.”
“I’m with you when you’re right. I want them closer.”
“She felt like she couldn’t trust us to protect her anymore, Jase. That’s why she ran. That’s why she kept him from us. We accepted that duty when we chose her. We gotta protect them.We made that promise back then, and we have to honor it. We can’t let anyone tear them down. Whatever we come up with has to protect them.”
“They will live with you, and I’ll be around. People don’t have to know what’s what, but Cameron has to know that I’m his dad. I would never use him against you or her, but I want him to know who I am.”
