She swallowed roughly, her eyes filling with tears.
Damien squeezed her hand, recognizing that she wasn’t entirely sure about what she wanted to share.“My friend’s little brother… the one I told you about.His name was Anthony.When the gunshots… We hit the ground.Jackson, my friend, we both just dropped.We didn’t realize Anthony had been hit until after the piece of shit who shot him was gone.We got up, checked each other, then noticed Anthony.Jackson grabbed him, dragged his brother onto his lap.”
Harmony exhaled a painful breath and shook her head.Tears slid down her cheeks.
“Anthony asked Jackson what happened.He didn’t know.Anthony couldn’t move.He tried to sit up, but the bullets severed his spinal column.He was paralyzed, which was almost a blessing because it meant he didn’t feel the pain either.”
“Oh my God,”
Damien closed his eyes, replaying the scene in his mind.Years of therapy would never erase those moments.“Jackson told Anthony he was going to be fine.He held him in his arms and talked to him about what his life would be like.About playing sports in high school and kissing girls in college, about their mom and dad.About riding his bike all summer and ice skating in the winter, buying a boat and teaching him to waterski.Anthony was almost laughing as the ambulance screamed up the street, just before he took his last breath.”
“Oh, Damien,” Harmony whispered.
“Jackson’s parents asked him to do the eulogy at Anthony’s funeral.They were buddies.Even though there were a dozen years between them, Anthony was his favorite person.Jackson planned to stay close to home for college because he didn’t want to go far from Anthony.”
“I had to do my dad’s eulogy.There was no one else, of course, and not a lot of people were there.A few old coworkers, some people from the hospital.It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Damien nodded.“Jackson couldn’t finish it.He asked me to help him write it, and when he couldn’t go on, I finished his words.”
“You’re a good friend.”
Damien smiled.“Thanks.It was hard.That week shaped pretty much everything for the rest of my life.It pushed me to go into the military, it encouraged me to do the right thing, to fight back against people who incite violence for no reason.I don’t deal well with anyone who uses their strength or anger to intimidate others.”
“That’s why you do what you do.”
“It is.”
Harmony was quiet for a long moment, then smiled at him with a look in her eyes that gave him hope.“Losing my dad was the same for me.I always wanted to study science and found pharmacology fascinating, but when my dad was dying, when he thought I was my mom, he told me how proud he was of me.How it was worth it for him to sacrifice all he had to know I was building a better future for myself.”
“I think a parent is always going to sacrifice for their children.”
“Yeah.But I wish he didn’t.I wish he’d let me know what was going on.”
“What would you have done?”Damien asked.
“I would have quit school!”
Damien chuckled.“Which is probably what he was trying to stop you from doing.”
“But I did it anyway.When he died, I had all his debt to pay off.He was putting all his treatments and his living expenses on credit cards.The doctors wouldn’t treat him unless he paid, and once you pay medical expenses with a credit card, it’s no longer considered medical debt, so I had no choice.”
“That’s not fair,” Damien snarled.
Harmony shrugged.“No one asked me if it was fair, just told me I was responsible.Thankfully, I had a little warning.It was one of the things he told me when he thought I was my mom.He said, ‘Darlin’, I wish I could have protected her more.I wish I could have left her an inheritance instead of a mountain of debt.’”
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t really know what to say.I told him it would be fine.It made him feel better.I think.”
“It still doesn’t seem fair that you had to handle all of that.And by yourself.”
“I’m used to being by myself,” Harmony said.
“You’re not by yourself anymore.”Damien took her hand.He brought it to his lips.
“Thank you.”
Damien held her gaze and turned her palm over.“I don’t know what this is between us, Harmony.I can’t make you any promises.I want to, but I won’t cheapen how I feel by saying anything beyond what I’ve already said, but I don’t want this to be over when you’re safe.”
