AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 22
Harmonia
With my mom moving around in the kitchen and the guys long gone, all I can do is stare down at the new cell phone now in my possession. I can’t believe my mom demanded I have one and it simply appeared in his hand moments later. My gut tells me the fact that their numbers and Rhea’s being already stored had nothing to do with the magic Alexi has and everything to do with him already setting it up for me.
I can’t decide how that makes me feel. Well, I can, but the walls between the two of us aren’t completely shattered yet, and I can’t bring myself to put my hope in him. I know how I feel deep in my soul, just like I always have for all of them. I love him. Enough to figure this out and see past his asshole-ish tendencies, but I don’t want him to know that because I don’t want to see the satisfaction on his face when he realizess the ball is entirely in his court.
Tapping my fingers on the countertop, I swivel on the bar stool as I look to my mom, who is cooking up a feast like she’s preparing for hundreds of people to show up.
“You know you don’t have to do that, right? They always have containers prepared in the fridge.” I nod to the stainless steel appliance behind her.
She smiles in response, quickly glancing up from the pan she’s stirring on the stove before looking back down again. “I know, but the stock is getting low, and I’m here, so why not?” The shrug she offers is casual, but it stirs something inside of me.
“How do you know the stock is low?” The question leaves my lips before I can even consider it, and I start to roll my eyes at my own outburst. I realize my mom could have looked in the fridge and seen the amount of containers, but the way she instantly looks sheepish, glancing anywhere but at me, makes me pause.
My brows pinch together as I sit up straight in my seat, staring her down until she finally looks in my direction. She mindlessly wipes her hand on the towel tucked into the pocket of the apron she found as she nervously rubs her lips together.
Clearing her throat, she stands a little taller, like she’s bracing for impact before she finally answers me. “Alexi’s mom and I take turns.”
My heart pounds in my chest in rhythm to every syllable that leaves her mouth, my mouth drying out as I gape at her in shock. A million thoughts run through my mind at once, but the first thought that slips past my lips slices at my own soul.
“You knew where they were the whole time?” My voice is barely more than a whisper, revealing the vulnerability I was hoping to express as anger.
Pain washes over her features as her eyes crinkle at the corners and her mouth tips up ever so slightly at the side, a sad smile aimed in my direction. One I’m unsure if I can accept.
“Harmonia, the day everything happened, I heard you sob for hours and hours in your room. I tried to console you but you rightly wanted time to yourself, time I openly gave you.” She turns the dials off on the stove, ignoring the food for a moment as she fixes all her attention on me. “The next morning, you woke with a level of determination that surprised even me, marching over to Alexi’s like your life depended on it.”
I can remember it so vividly in my own mind, the hope I’d felt with every step before my world came crashing down.
“I wasn’t so determined on my stomp back home,” I mutter as my mom comes to stand across the kitchen island, eyes fixed on mine as she nods softly in agreement.
“When you returned home, Harmonia, what did you say to me?” My chest squeezes as my pulse pounds in my ears. I clench my hands into fists as I remember the taste of the words on my tongue. “What did you say, Harmonia?” Her tone is firm but gentle all at once, an ability I’ve only ever seen my mom possess.
Gulping past the lump in my throat, I answer her. “That I never wanted to see them again.” The resignation is clear in my tone, my adolescent choices tearing me up inside. “But, Mom, I was sixteen—”
“Exactly, you were sixteen, Harmonia. They put what felt like the weight of the world on your shoulders and they shouldn’t have. So I made the decision to let you lead the narrative, promising myself that if you brought them up I would disclose everything, but you never did.” My stomach clenches so tight I fear I might be sick as I nod, full of shame, in response.
“Yeah.” My voice is raspy, the reality of the fact all of this was so close and yet so far kills me.
I don’t hear or see my mom move as I stare down at my lap, but in the next second her arm is around my shoulder, her lips pressing against my head softly as she soothes me. “I knew within my heart that the four of you would find your way back to each other. That’s what sealed souls do.”
My gaze lands on my marked arm again, uncertainty and anger coursing through my veins as my mom tracks my line of sight. Her fingers run over the inked skin as she continues to speak to me. “I know it likely doesn't feel like the greatest timing in the world, but you know what I always say, Harmonia…” Her words trail off, waiting for me to repeat the mantra I heard every day growing up.
“Everything happens for a reason.” The words slip from my mouth automatically as she rubs my arm in comfort before stepping back and making her way back around the kitchen island.
I purse my lips, trying to decide how mad I can be at her, but the more I watch her, the more I’m thankful that she supported them, even when I couldn’t. She’s good at that. With Rhea, with Talon, Alexi, and Malik.
Fuck.
How did I deserve this woman as my mom?
Releasing a deep breath, I tuck a loose tendril of hair behind my ear as I watch her turn the stove back on. “Well, you better make sure to make some mac and cheese.”
The mention of my favorite food makes a smile take over her face and lets her know that everything is good between us as she glances up at me again. “Honey, it’s already baking in the oven,” she says with a wink, making my chest swell with happiness. “While I’m doing all of this, why don’t you call Rhea? Catch up or whatever it is you girls do.”
My smile reaches from ear to ear at the mention of my friend and I nod. The house is being patrolled and there’s nowhere for me to go, so that sounds like a perfect distraction to everything going on around me.
“Thanks, Mom,” I mutter, grabbing my phone off the countertop before heading to the sofa. I drop down in the seat with a sigh, feeling somehow lighter after that heavy conversation with my mom.
