Chapter 28 Harper
Harper
I spent the remainder of my visit being whisked around London and the quaint little village closest to Ademere, and then it was time to go home. Orion still had a few more days with his family, so he and his brothers saw me off to the airport.
“Lovely to meet you, Harper,” Odin said, engulfing me in a hug. “Come back anytime. Anytime.”
Octavian gave me a small bow and a formal handshake. “I wholeheartedly second that.”
Orion walked with me as far as he could. “You survived.”
“So did you,” I said, ringing my arms around his neck. “Next semester is going to be so much better for you.”
“Hopefully for both of us,” he said. “Especially when you win the NoSci. Because you’re a brilliant chemist.”
“Will your parents come listen to you play at the concert?”
Orion’s grin tilted. “Maybe. Looks like the NoSci award ceremony is the same weekend. So they might be there by scheduling default.”
“I’ll take it.”
We kissed for as long as I could stand before becoming self-conscious in public, then reluctantly let him go.
“Thank you for coming,” he said, brushing the back of his hand over my cheek. “For being there, that night.”
“Thank you for the trip,” I replied. “And the stamp in my passport. And just for being you.”
“I love you,” he said.
“Love you too.”
“Hey, Bennett,” Orion called as I headed toward security, his smile brilliant. “You’re nailing this romance thing.”
A dozen smart-ass remarks came to mind, but I decided not to ruin the moment. I smiled back. “You make it pretty damn easy.”
He staggered back, clutching his heart as if he’d been shot by Cupid’s arrow, and I smiled, a warm glow infusing every part of me.
I took that warm feeling with me all the way back to Rhode Island, where it stayed with me until I opened my front door and found my mother passed out on the living room floor and Dash nowhere in sight.
“Oh fuck.”
I dropped my bag and the handle to my rolling suitcase and fell to my knees beside her.
I checked for a pulse, but she was already mumbling something wetly.
Stale wine was on her breath and coming out of her pores.
The coffee table was littered with three empty wine bottles and a pizza box, only one slice eaten.
“Dash?” I called, grabbing for my phone. “Dash!”
No answer.
The phone nearly slipped out of my hands as I yanked it from my pocket. I searched fruitlessly for missed calls and texts until I realized it was still on airplane mode.
“Goddammit.”
I switched airplane mode off and watched my screen populate with a missed call and a text from Mrs. Andolina, both from this morning. The text told me to call her, so I sat back on my heels, my eyes falling shut. I put the phone to my ear and listened to the message.
“Hello, Harper. Your mother has had a bit of a relapse, I’m afraid.
I checked in every day, but yesterday things took a turn, and it seemed best if I took Dash to stay with us.
He was confused at first but is having fun playing with Spike.
Yesterday he made a snowman with Frank. I didn’t see the point in telling you since you’re coming home today, but…
anyway, I hope this reaches you before you arrive home.
Perhaps you can come over here first? We can talk about how we can help you and Dash going forward.
I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I hope you had a lovely trip. ”
My hand dropped to my lap. Yesterday? What happened yesterday? What set Mom off? But I knew in my heart the truth.
Nothing. It wasn’t yesterday. It was the minute I left. She just hid it from Mrs. A until she stopped caring about hiding it.
“Self-will run riot,” I muttered.
I hauled myself off the floor and texted Mrs. A that I’d be over in half an hour, then cleaned up the coffee table.
I threw out the empties like I used to when I was a kid, when the sound of glass bottles clanking together inside a garbage bag had been the soundtrack of my youth. And here I was again.
I straightened the living room, erasing the signs of Mom’s bender, then hooked my arms under hers and hauled her onto the couch.
I was bigger and stronger now; I could do it like a pro.
She muttered and mumbled but didn’t wake up.
I covered her with a blanket, set a glass of water and three Advil on the coffee table.
I grabbed my car keys, my other hand going to my pocket where the constellation coin Orion had given me lived.
It lived in every pocket of every outfit I wore.
I rubbed my thumb along the stars while doing some math.
Because doing the math, horrible as it was, was better than dwelling on what I’d come home to.
The NoSci prize money is $25,000.
It’s awarded in the beginning of April which is four months away.
Our mortgage is $1,400 per month.
$1,400 x 4 months is $5,600 plus late fees…let’s say $10K total, to be realistic.
Worst-case scenario, if my mother didn’t get her shit together—which, let’s be honest, seemed probable—we’d be in the hole for ten thousand dollars, and the bank would foreclose until I won and paid off the debt.
“If I win,” I said, getting in my car.
But losing, I decided, wasn’t an option.
Because it couldn’t be.