40
Harlow
Harlow woke the next morning to the dull light of sunrise, Simon in his arms, and a foot on his shoulder. It nudged him repeatedly, pushing forward and pulling back, until he released Simon and rolled onto his back to see what the hell was going on. Evie, fully dressed, stood beside the air mattress. She set her foot down.
Harlow glowered. She put on her best smile. “Hey, Dad.”
“Evie?” Harlow asked.
“Yeah?”
“What the hell were you just doing?”
Evie snickered. “Well, since you were in bed withSiiimon,I didn’t want to touch you with my hands, you know? The bottom of my foot has seen some pretty gross things, so I figured it’d be okay to nudge you awake with it.”
“Thanks.” Sarcasm dripped thick from Harlow’s voice. “And is there a reason why you’re prodding me with your foot at…”
“Five in the morning.” Evie tucked her hands into her pockets and took a small step back. “Yeah. I had a really hard time staying asleep. There’s been… there’s been a lot on my mind, and I was wondering if we could talk about it. Maybe we could go get coffee, or—”
“Going out in public is a no-go.” Harlow eased himself up onto his elbows, then ran a hand through his hair and shook it out. He was still in his boxers, thankfully, but reached for his discarded shorts without lifting the blankets, anyway. “You want to go somewhere private?”
“Yeah.”
“We can head to the rooftop.” Harlow wormed into his pants, hoping the motion wouldn’t wake Simon, who was out cold. “While I was scoping the place out before I came inside to find you, I noticed there’s a roof access. We’ll be able to talk without interruption there.”
“That works.” Evie took another step back. “I’m… I’m gonna go wait by the door so you can get dressed, okay?”
“I’m not naked, kiddo.”
“I know. Just…” Evie glanced at Simon. “I feel kind of bad, intruding on your space.”
“We’re good.” Harlow shrugged on his shirt, then stood to tighten his belt. “Until yesterday, I didn’t even know you knew there was a space you had to intrude on.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Dad? Since you got here, you’ve been looking at Simon with these puppy-dog eyes. It really doesn’t surprise me, even if it’s kind of ick. I’m just glad he’s nice, that’s all. The last thing I need is a wicked stepfather.”
Puppy-dog eyes. Harlow snorted, but even as he did, he smiled. He spared Simon a glance, loving the way morning light turned his hair more red than brown, then finished with his belt and nodded in the direction of the front door. “I’m just about ready to go, anyway. You with me?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s roll.”
* * *
Aurora at dawnwas unlike the vista Harlow was used to seeing from his house in Venice Beach, where the Pacific stretched endlessly and glimmered beneath the rising sun. Here, clouds soaked up sunlight like sponges, the sky stained red, the grime of the city darkening one of the most beautiful times of the day. Wind swept by them, cutting deep with its chill. Evie shivered. She crossed the roof, her flats crunching loose gravel left from construction done maybe decades ago that was older than she was, forgotten by time.
Harlow watched her go. Up here, there were no people to worry about, no threats to keep an eye on. Isolated, Evie was safe.
But was she happy?
Harlow still couldn’t tell.
“I… well.” Evie sighed. She moved to stand near the edge of the building, looking down over the side at the street below. At five, traffic was light. Cars, black and white and silver, moved at leisurely rates and idled patiently at stoplights. So early in the morning, irritation hadn’t built, and urgency hadn’t set in. The road was easier at this hour—Harlow hoped that same, sleepy kind of peace would work its way into their conversation. “I did a lot of thinking last night. This morning, too. It’s why I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been doing my best to be honest with myself, you know? To figure out whatIwant, and what’s just the result of my stupid teenage hormone brain.”
“Your brain isn’t stupid, even if it’s hormonal,” Harlow said. He came to stand beside her and observed the flow of traffic below. One day, he might get to know these streets. What would it be like to work a nine-to-five? To wake up and head to work, just like everyone else. It had never been what Harlow wanted from life, but as a father, his priorities had changed. What he wanted now was what was best for Evie, and if that meant finding an office job while she did her best to distance herself from stardom, he would do it.
Heavy traffic, a long commute, weary bones… but then, Simon, who’d greet him at the door and smile in ways that made every second spent on the road worth it. Evie, whose laughter would brighten his day no matter what. If he gave in—if he became another five AM silver car idling at the stoplight—would that be his future?
“No, my brain’s pretty stupid sometimes.” Evie laughed. She wore the same army-green bomber jacket that she had on the day she’d disappeared. It whipped in the wind until she shoved her hands in its pockets and wrapped it around her frame. “I’m okay with it, and I actually think it’s important that I know it, because that means I can work on fixing it, right?”
