“Harbor!” She took me from head to toe and stepped aside. “Oh, my God! Your father mentioned that you were coming?—”
“Alive and kicking.” I perked up.
She closed the door behind me, and we stood awkward as fuck in the entryway.
The little coos and baby noises from the corner of the living room caught my attention. Peering around, I spotted the bassinet tucked in the corner. Chaya led me that way. They had redecorated. The entire house had been changed. Any trace of my childhood was gone.
“Is that… a baby?” My brows dipped and she snickered before moving past me.
I watched her carefully snatch up this little being wrapped in a blue blanket and cradle him close to her.
“It is. This is Harold Jr., your baby brother,” she introduced us.
As much as I felt detached from my family, the minute I laid eyes on that baby, my heart swelled, and my eyes misted. He was a tiny little replica of our father, down to his bright, scrutinizing eyes. He was so alert as his mother rocked him.
“You want to hold him?” She offered.
She didn’t let me answer, before she slid him into my arms for me to embrace. His little eyes met mine. Reaching out, I held a finger out and he instinctively latched on to it. I felt an immediate connection and a small smile formed on my lips.
“He’s perfect,” I declared.
Looking into his innocent face almost drained all the malice out of me. I swayed from side to side, and he gave me the cutest little half smile. My heart melted, turning to nothing but putty. This kid was lowering my defenses.
“Harbor?” My father’s voice froze me where I stood.
Whirling to face him, I continued to rock the little baby in my arms. I managed to keep it together while my father and I squared off.
“Hey.” I greeted him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, standing there with disbelief.
“We need to talk,” I concluded, walking over and handing the infant back to his mother.
My father’s face screwed up and his hands went into his pockets as he carefully surveyed me.
“I am going to give him a bath. We have a play date this afternoon. I am glad that you are okay, Harbor.” Chaya said on her way out of the room.
Just as my sister had, he took me in from head to toe. In the last year, although my physical appearance hadn’t changed a lot, there was something else behind my eyes now. I had lived, experienced things, and been with a man for the first time in my life. I was not the same. My entire outlook on the world had changed.
“You look well.” He observed, bowing his head and brushing past me.
“Yeah, well things are starting to look up in life. That’s not why I’m here,” I said, placing my bag on his couch.
“Oh? So me thinking you were abducted, I get no explanation for that?” he asked, facing me as he stood in front of the fireplace.
I wanted so badly to scream and yell that it wasn’t true. I’d been kidnapped, and it changed everything. But how did I explain all of that after the last year. My father and anyone else that heard the story would think I was crazy as fuck for actually falling for the man that took me. The shit sounded so twisted that I wondered what the fuck was wrong with me in the head. I must be really screwed up to fall victim to Frequency and his fucking charm. My father continued to watch me, skeptical as fuck, which made me nervous under his microscopic orbs.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what really happened,” I muttered.
“Try me.” He folded his arms across his chest and peered down his nose at me.
He had given me that disappointed look damn near all my life. I hated it. It took me back to being a little girl that wanted his approval for everything and never received it.
“The house looks nice. Do I still have a room, or have I been banished from the Lawson Kingdom?” I questioned playfully.
“You really came here for small talk?”
“I really came here for information,” I replied, my words sharp, causing both of his bushy brows to lift above his eyes.
