AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It looks as though you are in my room, holding dresses that I was going to consider wearing to the ball.”
“Yes. That is what it looks like. But that is not what it is.”
More confusion filled Harper and she had previously thought that was impossible. “You are not making sense, Leah. Please just explain to me what you are doing.”
It was then that Leah dropped the gowns on the bed in a pile and began to sob uncontrollably. Her face became even redder but also drenched in tears. She was trying to speak but her crying was overtaking that ability.
Harper on the other hand, stood there not quite knowing what to do. She had never dealt with someone so riled up before. On the one hand, it pained her tremendously to see Leah in such a state. But on the other hand, the situation was so strange that it made Harper motionless for a moment.
Eventually, Harper entered the room further and took Leah in for a hug. Whatever had caused her to cry, it could not have been in malice. Harper still wanted to know the cause though. And the reason as to why she had been in her room in the first place.
“Please, Leah, try to compose yourself. Crying like this cannot be good for your health. At this rate, you will faint.”
Harper watched her friend try her best attempt at steadying her breathing. And that led to drier cheeks, which lead to long, controlled breaths in and breaths out.
“I was trying to hide the dresses. I am incredibly sorry, Harper.”
There felt like something was missing in that confession to Harper. “I would say don’t be sorry…but just why were you trying to hide my dresses? I am immensely confused.”
“I did not want you to wear them to the ball, Harper. That is why I was trying to hide them. If you had no dresses, then you wouldn’t have been able to attend the ball.”
It was as though Harper was receiving all the information in the world, but still lacked anything important. She watched her friend fall flat on the bed in grief next to the mound of dresses.
“I am an awful friend Harper.”
“Even as I stand here in a storm of confusion, I will not ever deem you a bad friend. But please, whatever it is that has caused this, tell me. I do not understand why—”
“Because I have been in love with Michael for years. And it now seems that you both are moving in the direction that I had dreamed of with him. And so, I tried to sabotage you being able to attend the ball.”
Harper could hear the tears returning in Leah’s voice and did not want them to come back. She found herself oddly not angered by Leah’s actions in the slightest. But she could understand why Leah had worked herself up.
“Please, Leah, I am not as upset as you think.” Harper took a seat on the bed next to her. “I wish you had just been honest with me, to begin with, that is all. There is never a reason to hide things from one another. We have been friends for our entire lives.”
Leah sat up and wiped some fresh tears from her face. “You’re not upset with me?”
“A little irritated. After all, I did come into this room with you trying to steal my gowns.”
“And I am truly sorry for that. I just did not know what else to do. It was too hard in my mind to tell you the truth. I had even hurt my ankle on purpose to separate you from Michael the other day.”
It was at that moment that Harper knew just how serious Leah had been about the whole thing. She had gone as far as to hurt herself over it all. “Leah, that is not good. To hurt yourself over a matter that you could have easily come to me with.” Thinking about it, she had never seen Leah resort to methods so strange. It was unlike her.
“I know. I just, what was I to do? I know that you said I could have brought the matter to you, but I was afraid that it would have tarnished our friendship. I didn’t want to put what we have in jeopardy.”
That took some of the crazies away from the situation and it warmed Harper’s heart to know that her friend would go to such great lengths to protect their friendship.
“I appreciate that, Leah. I would feel the same way if the roles had been reversed. I may have not stolen your dresses, but I understand.”
They both laughed and watching the relief wash over Leah made Harper feel more at ease. Before, she had looked as though she was going to make herself sick.
“It will never happen again, Harper. I just must ask you…please…do not marry Michael. I have never loved a man as I do him. It would destroy me if he married anyone else. I do not mean this to be selfish.”
Seeing what it had done to Leah, she knew that it was the furthest act of being selfish on her part. She must have loved Michael. Leah was usually so composed, so thoughtful in her actions, at that moment in the room, she was void of control. She was a mess.
“I will not marry Michael. You have my word. I wasn’t even all that excited about it to begin with. He was just the next best option, I suppose.” Harper’s mind went directly towards Brian. But she did not feel comfortable saying it out loud. There was an uncertainty in how Leah would take it after their discussion and after Brian’s actions in general. So, that information would stay with her for the time being. In any case, the focus was on Leah as they sat there. “How long have you been in love with Michael, has it been for years?”
“Yes.” Leah seemed ashamed to admit it. “I wish I dared to tell him. But it has not been easy. You know how shy I get from time to time. Do you have any suggestions on how I should tell him? I feel like now in our adult age, time is of the essence.”
It almost made Harper want to laugh. She had been dealing with the same situation. Except the man of her eye wanted nothing to do with romance. At least with Michael, he had been open to it. “I am not sure, Leah. But if I get an idea, I will tell you immediately.”
She hoped that the idea would come to her sooner than later.
