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"No," he said, his gaze flashing back to meet hers. His tone was not angry but harsh and dripping with disappointment. "I know why you left and didn't tell me about Harper, but I will never understand how you abandoned her as a child. I never had the opportunity to be a parent to her then, but I do now." My chest tightened with a weird mixture of pain and rage, but also gratitude. I was so angry with my mother but thankful for AJ, who was here to stand up for me—something I'd never experienced from a parent before. "So get in your fancy car and leave. Don't ever come back. Don't call her. Don't follow her. Don't even do a Google search on her. You forfeited all your rights to know anything about her the day you walked out, started a new family, and left your child to fend for herself against grown men hurting her."
A tear streamed down my mother's face, and a wave of rage surged through me. She didn't get to be sad. She didn't get to be upset now. This was all her fault.
"Save the tears. You have no right to be upset." Tears prickled at my throat, but I forced them back, swallowing them. I wouldn't shed a tear for her. She didn't deserve my tears. "If some time in the future Harper decides she wants to talk to you, she'll contact you, but until then, don't attempt to contact her, or I'll see to you myself." The threat came through loud and clear.
"You don't understand," my mother cried.
"There's nothing left to understand," AJ muttered, sadness twisting his facial features. "What my wife and her family did to you and Harper was wrong, and I'm hoping to have the chance to fix it with Harper." His gaze flicked over to where his wife stood with Lincoln and then back to my mother. "But what you did to your own daughter is unforgivable." His gaze blinked down at me as a sad smile spread across his face.
"It's sad," Christian said, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "You missed out on being a part of Harper's life, and she's pretty amazing." His gaze flicked down to me. "Harper has a family now." His gaze flicked back to her. "And you aren't part of it."
"We will all make sure Harper has everything she needs," AJ said, holding his arms out and gesturing to everyone huddled around me. "We will make sure she's safe."
"We will make sure she's not hungry," Christian's mom spoke up.
"We will make sure she has a roof over her head," Lincoln's mom smiled.
"We will make sure she has electricity and running water," Chloe shouted.
"We will make sure she has clean clothes," Ryder said.
"We will make sure she has a clean bed to sleep in," Aiden snarled.
"We will make sure no one ever hurts her again," Maverick said.
"Because that's what families do," AJ said. The tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, but not for her. For them. For everyone who didn't have to be but chose to be. For the family, I'd always dreamed about, and now I had. "They don't abandon each other when times get tough."
"They take care of each other," Christian finished his sentence. "So, you should leave, and if Harper decides she wants to talk to you, she'll let you know."
"She's only here because her husband found out," Chloe's mother spoke up from the back of the crowd. Everyone twisted around, glaring at Chloe's mom. "I'm friends with her husband's sister. We had drinks yesterday, and she was venting about her brother's wife. I didn't know it was you until I just called her and asked her the wife's name. He kicked you out because he found out you abandoned Harper."
Spinning back around to face her, my eyes widened. "So, you're only back to ask me to help you fix it, aren't you?" I choked out as a wave of pain washed over me. This all made sense now why she would show up out of the blue. "Did you come back to ask me to cover for you? Or to lie about something else?"
"Harper," she pleaded. "I have nowhere to go, and my girls need me." I exhaled sharply as if I'd been punched in the gut. My knees felt weak, and suddenly I struggled to breathe. Why would I think she'd come back because she wanted to apologize or felt bad for what she'd done? She didn't. She only cared about herself.
"Leave," I hissed, pointing toward her car.
"Harper."
"She said leave." Christian's tone was low and threatening. His entire body tensed as his fist clenched at his side. When she didn't move fast enough, he jerked forward, sending her flying backward so fast and hard that she tripped over her feet, falling back. Lincoln, Maverick, Aiden, and Sebastian moved in quickly, each grabbing a limb.
"What are you doing?" my mother asked. They didn't answer as they lifted her off the ground. "Get your hands off me. Harper, please don't do this. Please talk to me." Christian was fast. So fast, I didn't realize he'd moved until he was already leaning down in her face.
A low growl tore out of him. "Don't. Ever. Say her name. Again." Her eyes widened with fear, shock, or both, but she got the message.
AJ opened her car door, and they shoved her in. AJ leaned into the car, saying something only she could hear, but I had a pretty good idea what it was.
Watching my mother's expensive car back out and pull away, I decided that would be the last time I saw her. She would never be the person I wanted her to be, the mother I'd longed for. At that moment, I made peace with the fact that she was gone forever.
Chapter 53
Christian
Shoving the last brown moving box into the back of my Jeep, I slammed the door shut. This was it. We were all packed and ready to leave for college.
That was something I never thought I'd say.
We'd said most of our goodbyes yesterday, but Chloe, Ryder, and my mom came to see us off today. Chloe and my mom struggled the most with our departure.
