Jonah scoffs, and I can picture the way he’s probably rolling his eyes. “Watch it, Harper. Just because I live out of state doesn’t mean that I can’t still whoop your ass.”
“Wow,” I say, not afraid to go in for the low blow. “Threatening physical violence to the girl who has been both jumped and stabbed in the past few months. Way to lean into the trauma.”
There’s an awkward silence, and I hear the moment he sucks in a sharp breath. “Fuck. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I was just screwing around with you like we used to when we were kids. You know I would never—”
“I was fucking with you, Jonah. Chill out. But it’s good to know that even you have lines you won’t cross. I’ll keep that little piece of information tucked away for a rainy day.”
“Good to know,” he says. “So, were you going to tell me what the fuck this whole relationship thing is about with Knight?”
“I—” I cut myself off as another call from my mother comes through the line, and despite knowing that I’m not about to answer it, I can’t help the way my body responds. My palms grow sweaty and my heart starts to race, quickly jumping into survival mode. Hell, maybe it’s just anxiety over the thought of her wanting to have anything to do with me.
“Ugh. Mom’s calling again.”
“Just answer it,” Jonah says. “She’s just trying to check on you.”
“No. That specifically defeats the purpose of not talking to her,” I remind him, watching her name flash on my screen and getting a sick satisfaction out of ignoring her call. “But why would she be needing to check on me? She has no reason to, not unless some assface opened his giant mouth and went blabbing about the unfortunate parking garage stabbing incident.”
Jonah scoffs in disgust. “That’s what you’re calling it? An unfortunate incident? Could you at least pretend that it’s a big deal? You got stabbed and almost bled out,” he scolds. “And in my defense, I didn’t realize that you still hadn’t told her. I figured she would have known by now, so I didn’t think twice when she asked me how you were doing.”
“You realize she’s probably going to try and come see me now, only she’s not going to find me at my apartment, and that’s only going to bring up more questions.”
“Well, maybe you should have answered her call and she wouldn’t feel the need to come and check on . . . wait. Why wouldn’t she find you at your apartment? You don’t live there anymore?”
“I, uhhhh . . . Shit.”
“Harper,” he scolds. “What the fuck is going on, and don’t even think about hanging up on me this time.”
Well, fuck. I suppose this was bound to come out sooner or later.
“I kind of, ummm . . . moved in with Knight.”
“Moved in with him? What the actual fuck? You’re living together?” he questions. “Just how serious is this thing between you?”
“As serious as an NFL player trying to keep a gold digger from piercing the condom with a pushpin.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jonah mutters. “I really don’t understand how you turned out the way you did.”
“I believe it’s called masking one’s trauma with dark comic relief. You should try it sometime. It might really give that bland personality of yours a little pizzazz.”
“You know, sometimes you make me want to pour bleach directly into my ear holes.”
“Okay, well, next time you’re in the area, let me know, and we can give it a try.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“No problem.”
“So, were you actually going to tell me how you’re doing after your little stabbing incident?”
A stupid grin cuts across my face, knowing how painful that was for Jonah to refer to my near-death experience as a little incident. I lean back on the couch and kick my feet up onto the coffee table, getting comfortable. “I’m doing fine,” I tell him. “Going a little stir-crazy not being able to go back to work, but I should be cleared in the next few days. Knight isn’t exactly thrilled about me going back to work, especially because this asshole hasn’t been caught yet, but I need it. I feel so pathetic just sitting here doing nothing.”
Jonah laughs with exasperation. “Do you have any idea how much of that needs to be unpacked? Like first, what the hell do you mean you’re going back to work in a few days? You only just got stabbed. It should be months before you head back there. You need to heal properly. And second, Knight. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you just glossed right over your explanation earlier. Because what the hell do you mean you’re living together? How long have you two been involved?”
My face scrunches as I try to figure out a timeline. “Ummm, I don’t know. I suppose it all kinda started at that sham of ananniversary dinner Mom threw a few months ago. Knight drove me home after that, and it just kinda . . . grew.”
“Grew?”
“Yep. Grew.”
