I made us coffee and pancakes on one plate and with one fork that I used to feed us both.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked him.
“No idea. I usually just work.”
“Well, what do you like to do when you’renotworkin’?”
He thought about it for a while, then shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have hobbies?”
“I haven’t really tried anything.”
I nodded. “Wait here.” I grabbed a notebook and brought it back to the kitchen. “We’re goin’ to make a list of all the things you might like to try doin’ and then cross them off one at a time after we do them together.”
He was quiet but he nodded.
I hated his father. I hated that Harper lived his life like he was a part of the company and not like thecompanywas just one part ofhim. It took over all of him to the point that he didn’t know what hobbies he had, or what movies he liked, or what any of his interests were outside of that place. I might not have been able to do anything to the man, but I was going to help Harper find all the buried pieces of himself so I could love and support him in his entirety.
We filled out the list, and then I started a new page to write out all the movies and TV shows I was going to make him watch.
“I should just log into work for a bit and make sure nothing urgent happened,” he said after a while.
“Okay, baby. I’m goin’ to get started on lunch.”
I finished chopping most of the vegetables before realizing I’d somehow forgotten to buy an onion. This recipe really wouldn’t work without it. I’d have to go to the store quickly.
I also had no idea where Harper had gotten to. He wasn’t in the kitchen, or the dining room.
I found him in the hallway leading to the garage, his backpack in one hand as he looked at all the pictures on my wall. The one he was in front of now was of my dad and me when I was a kid. I smiled to myself. That had been a good day.
I planned to tell Harper about it, but as I reached out to run my fingers through his hair, he jolted, throwing himself back against the wall as he faced me with eyes wide and a pale face full of pure panic.
We just stared at each other for a moment, and I tried to process what had just happened.
Then he burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, baby. What did I do? Are you hurt?”
I didn’t understand where I’d gone wrong, but I’d clearly hurt or triggered him, and as much as I wanted to wrap my arms around him protectively, I was terrified that if I did, I’d just make it worse for him.
I didn’t have to worry for long, though, because his hand gripped a fistful of my T-shirt as he stepped closer and thumped his head against my chest.
I slowly wrapped my arms around him, and he trembled within them, my hands smoothing circles over his back until he calmed again.
“Want to go sit on the sofa?” I asked, and he nodded.
Once I had him sitting down, I wrapped a blanket around him and kissed his head. “Want some strawberry tea?” I asked, and he nodded again.
I made him a cup as quickly as I could and brought it back to him.
Harper cradled it in his hands, his eyes locked on the dark pink liquid. I had so many questions, but I waited for him to speak first.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a while.
I shook my head. “No. There’s nothin’ you need to apologize for. I just… you don’t have to tell me the details if you aren’t comfortable, butpleasejust tell me what not to do, so I don’t hurt you like that again.”
He nodded, quiet again for a while until he inhaled deeply, then looked up at me. “You should know… what happened.”
