“Soon.” I set the two plates down in front of them.
“Gigi always says soon is an excuse for people who don’t want to come over.”
Of course she did.
“I promise. Harper will see you soon.”
Dinner is a muted affair. There’s no happy chatter of how they spent their day. Nothing about how excited they are for the upcoming holiday.
“Do you maybe want to put up the tree tonight?”
Both girls shrug. Well, I’m not getting much more out of them tonight. Given that it’s winter break, I let the girls watch TV until bed, complete with snuggles. With a book before bed, they fall asleep quickly.
I collapse onto the couch, scrubbing my hands over my face. I don’t know how much longer I can take this silence from Harper.
She has ignored every single one of my calls and texts. It’s not like I can see her at school until classes resume. It’s been nothing but silence.
I hate it. I hate that she’s avoiding me for something that wasn’t her fault. It’s gutting me, and made exponentially worse because of the girls.
There’s a soft knock at the door. Sitting up, I walk down the hallway to see Harper standing on the front porch through the windows. Her hair is down and she’s wearing an oversized Knights sweatshirt and leggings. She spots me and gives me a sad smile.
I don’t hesitate in pulling the door open. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“What are you doing here?”
Grabbing her hand, I pull her into my arms, holding her there.
“I missed you.”
“You could have called, you know,” I tell her.
Harper starts crying, based on her shaking. “I’m sorry, Marcus. I’m so sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Yes, I did!” Harper exclaims, pulling back. Tears are streaming down her face. “I hurt them.”
I shake my head. “You only hurt them by leaving.”
More tears. “But your mom?—”
“C’mon.” I tuck Harper into my side, then lead us into the living room to reclaim my spot on the couch. This time, with Harper curled up by my side.
“I hate that I put the girls in that situation,” Harper whispers into my chest.
I squeeze her closer. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“But—”
“No. It wasn’t your fault. They hit you. Everyone is okay. That’s all that matters.”
“But your mom—” Harper starts.
I sigh. “Yeah. I don’t know what I’m going to do about that.”
Harper shifts, resting her chin on my chest to stare at me. “I don’t want to come between you and her.”
