“Haven’t seen her the last two days. She’s been by the room; she dropped some things on her bed earlier, but I’m guessing she’s found a new boytoy to hook up with. Maybe she’s finally sleeping with him at his place!”
Sounds like good news for her. I hope it continues for both of us this evening.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, I have everything, including an extra change of clothes.” She shows me the duffel bag in her hand.
“What? You don’t need all that, Harper. It’s just dinner tonight.”
“You’re spending the weekend at your parents’. I figured since you’re my ride there, I would be too.”
Absolutely not.
“I’ll drive you back to campus after dinner.”
“That’s an extra two hours round trip,” Harper says. “If you really don’t want me to stay over, I’ll just take the bus.”
“I don’t know how long dinner will be, and there’s zero chance, if it’s the bus around midnight, that you’re getting on that one alone. I’ll drive you,” I insist.
While the bus system from Breckenridge down to Evergreen is relatively safe, I wouldn’t trust Harper to ride it alone past about ten o’clock at night. There are some sketchy guys in our town, and a woman alone? I absolutely won’t fathom it.
“Fine.” She drops her duffel beside her bed. “I suppose I don’t need my books then, either, if I’m not staying with you this weekend.” But she pauses before leaving her bag. “On second thought, just in case.”
“Just in case, what?” I ask. She’s refusing to relinquish her books. Is it because she’s struggling in economics again? One week without studying together, and she’s already looking a little stressed. Or maybe it’s tonight that has her worked up.
“You’re not going to need the books, Harper. Leave them here.”
She sighs and places the backpack on her bed. “I really need to study this weekend. We have a quiz next week, and I’m going to be so royally screwed.”
“What class?” I ask.
She glares at me. “Economics. Do you not pay attention anymore when we’re in class? Our professor said we have a quiz coming up, that it’ll be on last week’s lectures.”
I never really started paying attention in that class. The tension between us has gotten a little bit better over the last few days. While I had skipped economics earlier in the week, after our little chat in my bedroom, I relented and showed up in class later in the week.
Honestly, it’s not like I even need to show up. I could glance at the book or just remember everything I learned in high school. The concepts are all the same, nothing’s changed. I’m certainly not learning anything new.
At least it makes for an easy passing grade.
I haven’t spent any time alone with Harper, which means no study sessions as of late. I haven’t been in the mood to be overly helpful with her. After all, I’m already keeping her alive. Isn’t that enough?
But the look of concern on her face and the fact that she is becoming my problem, I need her to keep her grades up so that she can retain her scholarship.
“I can’t study this weekend, unless it’s Sunday night after I get back on campus. I’m not even sure what time I’ll be home.” I don’t want to stay the weekend, let alone learn anything about my father’s business.
He’s a murderer.
What’s there to know?
We head to the car and climb in. She buckles in and then glances at me. “How was your game last night?”
“Good.” It’s the one thing that brings a genuine smile to my face. “Kind of wish it was tonight so that we wouldn’t have to make the drive this weekend,” I admit.
Most of our hockey games are played on Fridays and Saturdays, which, during the season, saves me some time away from my father. Had we played on Thursday, I’d have been forced to spend Friday night through Sunday under my father’s roof.
At least playing Friday cuts one of those days off, and Saturday games make it so I don’t have to show up that weekend.
I couldn’t be that lucky today.
