AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The heartbreak and confusion written across Harper’s face speared me straight in the gut, demanding a slow death rather than a quick stab to the heart.
“Ladies, please say your goodbyes,” Tom announced, and for the first time over the last month, I thought his voice cracked.
Lexi stepped forward first and briefly hugged me, displeasure and anger the only emotions in her eyes. She didn’t even speak to me before she moved past me and out the door that led to a car.
Harper came forward next, and for a moment, I questioned if I might be having a heart attack. My lungs constricted, making it hard to breathe and my heartbeat seemed to stop momentarily as she moved toward me. From behind her, Candace and Danielle looked on as tears trekked down their cheeks, their confusion clear.
This wasn’t supposed to be our story.
“I’m not sure what to say,” she whispered, silent tears racing down her cheeks. She leaned forward and hugged me, her hands pressing into my back like she feared letting me go. I knew the feeling.
All the things I wanted to say to her raced through my mind, but I couldn’t say any of them in front of the cameras. Not if I wanted to protect her.
“Can I walk you out?” I asked her.
She nodded, and I fell a slight step behind her as we headed out the door. Once we got to the car, she peered up at me, her eyes searching for the same answers Candace and Danielle wanted. And so many more.
I knew how unexpected this seemed, how it made me look. Especially after the things we’d shared with each other. Somehow, I hoped that because of those things, she’d see I’d done this for her. She knew that I’d protected Audrey, and part of me hoped she could piece the similarity together. The difference being that I loved Harper.
I hadn’t even said those words yet, just that I was falling in love. It wasn’t the same. We were supposed to have more time.
“Why?” she finally asked, her eyes red and already puffing up.
“I can’t.”
She stood on the very tips of her toes and pressed her lips to mine, salty tears still running down her face. Her hands cradled my face so delicately. I worried that when she stepped away, I might fall apart right there on the sidewalk.
“I thought I was more than a placeholder,” she whispered. “I don’t know where I went wrong, but I sure love you.”
“You are.” My voice cracked, leaving me unsure if I’d even said it allowed.
Please don’t go. I love you too.
I closed my eyes as she stepped away, a chunk of my heart ripped out of my chest. It hurt more than I could ever put into words to know I’d done exactly what she expected for me to do.
The car for both women pulled away from the curb, and I watched until I couldn’t see them anymore.
Once the show wrapped, I would find her. Tell her everything Laurel did and threatened me with.
I just hoped she’d be willing to listen.
