The fairy lights behind the curtains made the room glow like a dream. Soft and safe. It looked like her. Even like this.
She didn’t say anything, just turned and trudged back to the bed. Harper sat on the edge of it like she didn’t know what to do with herself anymore.
I stepped in without hesitation, closing the door gently behind me.
I sat next to her slowly, careful not to crowd her. Legs stretched out just a little in front of me, hands resting on my thighs, body angled toward her but not fully turned. She needed space, not pressure.
“When you’re ready,” I breathed.
That was all it took.
Her entire face crumpled, just as if she’d been holdingeverything back with tape and string, and I’d just snipped the last thread.
“I feel so broken,” she whispered between sobs. “I—I have had the worst fucking year of my life. My dad’s dead, and I never got closure. My house is fucked. My trust fund is basically gone. Now I’m living here, trying not to get in the way while I—” She sucked in a breath. “While I watch my best friend fall even more in love with my brother and eventually leave me behind.”
That part hit differently. She wiped her eyes again, but tears just kept falling.
“It sounds selfish. I’m not mad. I love them both and want them to be happy. But I feel like I’m losing her. And I don’t have anyone to talk to.”
I stayed silent. I just let her get it all out, the words tumbling over each other in waves. All the things she’d clearly been holding in for way too long. I could feel the weight of her words. I could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
“And honestly?” Her brown doe eyes met my icy blue ones. “You’re a fucking asshole. You led me to believe something more was going to happen between us, Cam. I’ve waited a fucking year for you, and you tell me it’s a mistake?” She dried her tears with her hoodie sleeve and continued. “Fuck you, dude. You did this shit when I was clearly not having a great day and honestly… You should go.”
I sighed. I wasn’t going to leave her in here alone to sort through her feelings. “It’s all valid, Harps,” I reassured. “All of it. You’re not selfish for feeling like this. You’re human. And you’ve been carrying way too much on your own.” I ran a hand through my hair, letting it land on the nape of my neck. “You’re right, I am an asshole. I said that shit because I am having a hard time with the whole wanting you thing.” Her eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Shit, no, that came out badly. Fuck. Well, when yourbrother and my sister got together, I didn’t give them an easy time, and I worry that if there was to be anus, a lot of shit would change.”
“So… you made me wait a year to say you’re a pussy? Am I missing something?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, basically. I’m sorry, Harper. I am sorry I wasted a year of your time. It wasn’t fair, and I should’ve spoken up sooner. The kiss wasn’t a mistake. I am so happy that you caved and did it before I took matters into my own hands.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “Could you ever forgive me?”
She looked up at me, eyes red and glassy, and said, “Can you just hold me for a minute? Let me consider forgiving you. I need some time.”
God.
“Yeah,” I said. My voice came out lower than I meant it to. I cleared my throat. “Of course.”
I scooted back on the bed, settled into the headboard, and pulled one of her pillows under my arm. Then I patted my chest. “C’mere, trouble.”
She didn’t hesitate. She crawled up to me and curled against me, face pressed into my chest, hand resting just above my ribs as if she belonged there.
I felt her fingers curl slightly into the fabric of my shirt. I didn’t move, but I wrapped my arm around her, anchoring her to me, hoping I could carry even a fraction of what she’d been holding alone. She cried, and I held her. And I didn’t say a single word. She didn’t need solutions right now. She just neededme.
6
HARPER
Idon’t know how long I stayed curled up in Cam’s arms—twenty minutes, maybe an hour. Time didn’t seem real when I was wrapped in his warmth, tucked against his chest like I actually belonged there.
Which was… weird, right? I mean, didn’t we kind of hate each other like two weeks ago? Wait, like a few minutes ago, right? Except… had we ever really hated each other? Because this—this didn’t feel like hate. This felt like safety. It was the type of silence that didn’t need to be filled. Like being heard without having to speak.
I tried not to overthink it. Just focused on the steady rhythm of his heart under my ear, his hand resting warm and solid on my back. Every now and then, his hand would brush up and down my spine, slow and careful. Trying to soothe me without words.
I finally shifted just a little, my gaze lifting to meet his blue eyes. He reached out and gently wiped a stray tear off my cheek, his touch barely there but somehow undoing me all over again.
Then he smiled. That quiet, lopsided one he didn’t flash forjust anybody. The kind that made something flutter painfully in my chest.
“How’re you feeling, Shortcake?”
