AllFreeNovel
Share Us
14
Xavier
Harlow chuckled at my disgruntled expression, amusement glimmering in his eyes. I scowled at him, not understanding what he found so damn funny. “What?” I grunted.
We were currently at my apartment. He’d been back at work for a week now after finally being cleared by both his therapist and the Chief. Colwyn forcing him to go see Carl’s resting place helped tremendously, and slowly but surely, Harlow was finally making progress in his recovery. His flashbacks at nighttime were few and far between now, and he hadn’t had another flashback in the middle of the day.
He was taking anxiety and depression meds, as well as sleeping pills, but all of them were low doses—just enough to stabilize him so he could live life normally without the weight of his mental health weighing on his shoulders.
Even the dark circles under his eyes were beginning to fade, giving way to the guy I remembered back in high school—goofy, fun, and takes no shit. Not even from his closeted bully.
Fuck, those were the days. Not bullying him, but the way he always came back at me.
“You look like you’re having the time of your life over here,” Harlow teased.
I scowled. “I fuckinghatelaundry.”
Harlow laughed and snatched my sweats out of my hand before gently pushing me out of the way. “Find us something to eat, and I’ll fold and put your laundry away.”
I was going to marry this man one day, even if it was just for the sole purpose of him doing my laundry for me.
I sighed, beyond grateful for him. When he’d seen the state of my room, how I just had laundry baskets full of clean laundry, he’d forced me into my bedroom to put my clothes away. But I was used to living in chaos for a reason—laundry and I didn’t mix.
“You sure?” I asked, not wanting to be roped back into doing it, but not wanting him to do it for me if he didn’t want to.
“Folding and putting away laundry is calming for me. Since you like to cook, make us something to eat.”
I gripped his chin and turned his head back to me, planting a soft kiss on his lips. He sighed into it, his tongue coming out to lightly touch mine before we pulled away. Then, he smacked my ass hard enough to make me yelp. I rubbed my sore ass cheek, glaring at him.
“Food,” he ordered.
I rolled my eyes before slipping out of my bedroom and heading into the kitchen. After grabbing the ingredients I needed to make baked chicken and rice, I set the oven to preheat and began to prep and season the meat.
A loud knock sounded on my apartment door, and I frowned. No one had buzzed to come up, so maybe someone had the wrong apartment?
Harlow stepped out of my room, arching a brow at me, one of my t-shirts in his hand, a hanger in the other. I shrugged at him and washed my hands before going to answer the door. Harlow remained standing where he was, though he set aside the shirt and the hanger on my bar.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I snarled when I saw who was standing on the other side. “How the fuck did you get in?” I demanded.
My mother sheepishly shrugged at me. She didn’t look much different from when I’d left. Her hair was still dark—no gray to be seen. Her makeup was flawlessly done, no doubt hiding a bruise at this point. And she was dressed to impress in an expensive summer dress with golden sandals on her feet.
“I slipped through while someone was leaving. I knew you wouldn’t let me up otherwise.”
Harlow pressed his hand to my lower back, a silent show of support. My mother’s eyes flickered to him for a moment in surprise before moving back to my face.
“Damn right I wouldn’t have let you up,” I sneered. “I’ve got nothing to fucking say to you.”
“Can I come in so we can talk like civilized people, rather than through a crack in your door?” she asked, her eyes flickering to the other doors in the hall.
I scoffed. “Like hell are you getting in my fucking apartment,” I snapped. This was my safe space, and already, it was bothering me enough just to know I could smell her expensive perfume. She was too close. Invading my safety.
“I left him,” she blurted. She reached for me, but I stepped back, my body pressing against Harlow’s. He gripped my hips, steadying me and grounding me. “I left him, Xavier.”
I wanted so badly to believe that might mean something, that leaving my asshole of a stepdad might make things better, but it wouldn’t. My mother would never learn to stand on her own two feet, and before long, she’d be with the next douchebag who slapped her around. And she wouldn’t care so long as she got a credit card.
“You left him, or he left you?” I retorted. “Tell the truth,” I bit out when she opened her mouth to respond.
Shame crossed her features, and I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, didn’t think so,” I sneered. Of course, he left her. She probably went over her spending limit one too many times, or he found someone younger and prettier than her. “Go fuck yourself, and don’t ever show up here again.”
