AllFreeNovel
Share Us
HARPER
Oh my goodness,what’s with all the hammering? My head feels like it’s going to explode in the next minute if this noise doesn’t stop. Just when I think it’s over, it starts again. But now it’s more than the hammering. Is that someone yelling?
I roll to the other side of the bed and swing my legs over the edge. Once I don’t feel dizzy, I get up and walk toward the commotion. Each step wakes me up a little more, but nothing can save me from the reflection in the mirror I pass. My eyelids are swollen, and the circles under my eyes have their own zip code. And let’s not forget about my nose that rivals Rudolph’s.
“Harper Rose Martin, if you don’t open this door within the next thirty seconds, I’ll break it down. I swear.”
That voice stops me mid-step. Am I still sleeping? Because that just sounded very much like Tara. But Tara’s in England, so that can’t be right.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven.”
I close the rest of the distance between me and the front door and open it in one powerful swing.
And there she is. My best friend, sporting a similar set of dark circles like me, although hers aren’t nearly as bad as mine.
“Oh, finally. Don’t you dare and ever do anything like this again, do you hear me?” She grabs me by the shoulders and hauls me against her.
What is going on? This is very unlike Tara.
Since she’s still trying to squeeze the life out of me, I croak out, “What happened? What are you doing here?”
She pulls back and puts a hand on her chest. “What am I doing here?”
I nod.
“I’m here to make sure you’re still alive.” She gives me one of her duh looks. “Obviously.”
It’s then that I notice the small suitcase by her feet as well as a takeout box from our favorite bakery.
I point at it. “Is that what I think it is?”
This is how easily I’m distracted these days due to my pregnancy brain. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I can literally walk into a room to get something, and the moment I cross the threshold, I’ve forgotten what I’m there for. It’s like magic, but in a bad way.
“You bet it is.” She grabs the bag and her suitcase.
I step aside so she can come in, and I close the door behind her. “Are you staying?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Different things.”
“Okay.” I have no clue what she’s talking about but I’m used to that with Tara sometimes.
“Let’s eat and talk.”
We walk to the kitchen to get plates and some water and juice before taking everything to the living room. Since my bladder is yelling at me, I use the bathroom, brush my teeth quickly, and head back. We both easily fit on the large couch sideways, and I snatch a blanket to drape over my lap. I’m still wearing the same clothes I put on yesterday.
The day I woke up by myself in the hotel bed and Ryan was gone.
The day I went back to my mom’s place after I discovered the viral video of our altercation at the bar with Ben, where I found out my dad fired Ryan.
It was all too much. My whole body felt cold and heavy, my heart was aching, my head pounding, and I was dizzy. So I put on Ryan’s hoodie, turned off my phone, and crawled into my bed. Curled up under the blanket felt safer than anywhere else at that point.
“Harper?”
“Huh?”
