“That’s none of your damn business.”
“Doll, come on. Don’t leave like this.”
Harper strides to her car and throws her bag in the back seat before stopping and turning back to me, those deadly tears bringing me to my fucking knees.
“You know what?” she says, her voice breaking. “This has been going on for almost six weeks. This man stabbed me to the point where I nearly bled out, he texted me threats, hid in the back seat of my car and knocked me out, he followed me home, left a rose on our doorstep, and now today, he physically held me down and put his fingers inside me. Yet, despite all of that, there hasn’t been a single time where I have felt that I could open up to you about any of it because I knew the exact words that would come out of your mouth.”
Everything aches, and as she grips the car door and goes to dip down into the seat, she pauses once again. “The very first time he appeared in the parking garage, he told me that he could do whatever he wanted to me, and it wouldn’t matter because nobody was going to believe me, and he was right,” she says. “You’ve gutted me, Knight. You were the one person who was supposed to have my back, but I don’t see how we’re supposed to get past this when I can’t trust you to be what I need in my most trying times.”
And with that, Harper slips inside her car and drives away, leaving me on my fucking knees, my heart in pieces on the ground before me.
15
KNIGHT
Ifucked up.
I stand outside Izzy’s home, my fist banging against the heavy wooden door, begging for Harper to just hear me out. It’s been two days since she’s spoken to me, and while I deserve it, I’m also not going to let this go on without getting her the help she so obviously needs.
She’s sick, and while she’s been doing great on her road to recovery, there’s no harm in admitting that perhaps these meds aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I just can’t wrap my head around why the fuck she can’t bring herself to understand that.
I love this woman with everything that I am, and if she wants to give me the silent treatment for the rest of our fucking lives, then so be it. I’m more than okay with that. It’ll piss me off, and I’ll probably die of starvation from not getting to taste her everyfucking night, but I’d bear it with a fucking smile on my face if I had to. But what I won’t do is allow her to ignore this.
“Doll, I know you’re in there,” I bellow through the door. “Just hear me out. I just need to see that you’re okay and talk, and then you can go straight back to hating me.”
A loud groan comes from inside the house, and a moment later, the lock on the door clicks. A moment later, the door swings open, and Izzy appears in front of me. “For fuck’s sake, Knight. You’re gonna start annoying my neighbors.”
I scoff, recalling the moment the man from two doors down told me to fuck off. “A little too late for that.”
“Look, she doesn’t want to see you right now. You broke her heart,” she tells me as though I didn’t already know. “Just give her a few days to cool down and then she’ll be alright.”
“A few days? It’s already been two, and she hasn’t even pretended to open one of my texts,” I say. “Listen, Izzy, you’re a smart woman. You know all I want is for her to be healthy and happy. I want what’s best for her, and I know you want that too. She needs help, the kind of help that you and I can’t offer her, and if you can’t make her understand that, then I need to try.”
“Come on, Knight. Just give her a few days. She’s safe with me. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
My face scrunches, and I shoot her an apologetic look. “Forgive me,” I say before reaching for her waist and physically removing Izzy from the doorway, switching our positions until I’m the one on the inside and she’s standing outside the door. “I just need a few minutes,” I tell her, before closing the door between us and flicking the lock.
I’m gonna have hell to pay for that, but where Harper is concerned, I don’t particularly give a fuck.
Turning on my heel, I make my way into Izzy’s home as I listen to the sweet sound of her banging on the door. “You big fucker,”Izzy screeches. “I’m gonna have your balls for this, you giant asshole.”
I tune her out as I make my way deeper into the house, following the unmistakable sound of what could only be Vikings playing from the main bedroom. I step straight over the threshold, welcoming myself into the bedroom to find Harper curled up in bed, looking sorry for herself.
“Is he gone?” she mutters.
“Nope.”
Harper’s head whips up, her eyes wide. “What the hell are you doing in here?” she demands before pausing a second and realizing something is off. “What the hell did you do with Izzy?”
“She’s fine,” I tell her. “You’re not answering my texts.”
“Because you’re a grouchy asshole who thinks I made up being sexually assaulted.”
“Come on, doll,” I say, striding right around the bed and sitting down beside her. “Don’t say it like that. You know how I feel about all of this. I know it’s real to you. The trauma, fear, and emotion is real, and you know that I’m right here to get you through that. It’s just . . . We’ve been through this before. I know the signs, and I want to help you. I fucking need to help you, doll.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she crawls out of bed and climbs onto my lap, and her arm hooks around the back of my neck. “You’re right,” she whispers. “We have been here before, which is why you should trust that I know the difference between what’s real and what’s not. How it feels to truly have someone plunging their fingers inside me, and how it feels when my mind distorts the truth. The fact that you don’t believe me, that you think I’m capable of making up something like that, or even stabbing myself to the point where I almost bled out all alone in a parking garage is insane to me. I love you, Knight, but you’re breaking my heart.”
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into me. “The last thing I want is to hurt you, doll.”
