Chapter 22
twenty-two
CAL
“Will you stop being such a baby?” Harlow sighs, taking my outstretched hand.
“It hurts, Firecracker. I need you to hold me through the pain,” I say, smirking at my girl. The doctor tries to hide her smile as she continues removing the stitches from my head.
“This might scar. I can give you a recommendation for a plastic surgeon, or you could try scar cream.”
“No thanks, Doc. The scar is going to make me look like a badass,” I give my best everything is fine smile to the doctor, but it falls when I see Harlow. The haunted look in her eyes every time she stares at my head too long guts me. I know she’s seeing what she could have lost, and I don’t know how to help her. I squeeze her hand, her green eyes snapping back to mine.
“Your fan base is going to have a lot of questions.” Harlow fights a smile. Fans have been rabid for information. We’ve been asked not to say anything publicly until the investigation is complete. Which we’re fine with since we don’t know what to say anyway.
I shrug and smile up at my firecracker. “I’ll just tell them I hit my head falling for you.”
Harlow snorts and rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. I will do anything to keep that smile on her beautiful face. I’m half gone for her as it is, but when she smiles at me like that, fuck, I might already be there.
“Alright Mr. Griffin,” the doctor says, snapping her latex gloves off. “You’re all set.”
I stand, pulling Harlow to me as the doctor leaves the room. “Thanks for helping me through the pain, Firecracker.”
Harlow laughs and buries herself in my chest. I hold her tightly and kiss the top of her head. We stay like that for a moment, but Cora’s giggle breaks us out of the moment. She’s in her stroller, chewing on a giraffe teething toy. Her teeth are coming in hard now. She has two that just broke through and another four that we can feel pushing on her gums.
“Da-mmm!”
Harlow’s head swings around, causing her hair to hit me in the face. “Did she just say damn?”
“I don’t know. I was busy being assaulted by a red monster,” I say, making exaggerated spitting noises.
“You liked that red monster when you were pulling on it and fucking me from behind this morning,” Harlow mutters under her breath.
I groan and pull her back into my chest. “Don’t make me hard in the doctor’s office with my daughter right there, baby.”
A knock sounds on the door and a nurse pops her head in, looking frazzled and wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Griffin, but there’re reporters gathered at the front of the building. We’ve been denying that you’re here, but they must have spotted you. Dr. Green is keeping them from entering, but I don’t think you can get to your car in the parking lot without having to go through them.”
“Shit,” I mutter. “Thank you. I’ll figure it out,” I say to the nurse.
“Give me your phone,” Harlow says, holding her hand out. I hand it over without question. She pauses when she sees the picture of her and Cora in the tub on the lock screen.
“I can’t go too long without seeing my girls, even when I know I’m coming home to them,” I tell her. She kisses me quickly before going back to whatever she is doing.
“Da-mmm!” Cora says, giggling when she gets the reaction she wants. Meaning me with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“Dada, baby girl. I’m Da-da,” I say, pronouncing it slowly for her.
“Da-mmm!” is her reply. I just sigh and rub my chin. Maybe if I don’t react, she won’t keep saying it.
“Here you go. We should be good to go in a couple of minutes.” Harlow hands me my phone.
“What did you do?” I ask her, squinting my eyes in suspicion.
“Quit looking at me like that. I just posted a picture on your socials and had the rest of the band comment on it.”
I keep squinting at her before turning to my phone and finding the post. I bark out a laugh when I see what she’s done. It’s a selfie I took of us a couple of days ago. I’m smiling like an absolute goon and only Harlow’s forehead is visible. It was funny then, and it’s even funnier now that she posted it for the world to see.
Until I see the caption.
“Major announcement happening today! First to find where this was taken gets to break the story.” I read out loud. Willa and Belle have both commented, saying how excited they are. Kai only commented a thumbs up and Mav said he’s so happy. “Uh, Harlow?”
The nurse pops her head back into the room. “They’re gone. I don’t know what happened, but they literally ran away.”
Harlow laughs and thanks her.
We make our way to my car, my eyes darting everywhere just in case there was a straggler. But the parking lot is deserted of anyone with a camera.
Once Cora is strapped into her seat and Harlow and I are settled in the front, I turn towards her. “What’s the plan exactly? That picture was taken at a rest stop in Maine.” I had to go back to make a full statement to the police on what happened that day with Brad. Harlow refused to let me go alone.
Harlow laughs. “I know. It’s going to take them forever to figure it out.”
“And when they do? What’s the big announcement?” I ask, trying to ignore the notifications piling up on my phone.
Harlow shrugs. “You should probably figure that out.”
I glare at her, but she just smiles sweetly. “The picture makes it seem like I’m announcing you as my girlfriend,” I tell her, holding my breath to see how she responds to that. She is my girlfriend if we’re using labels, but she honestly feels like so much more than that.
Harlow turns her head to look at me, that happy smile still on her face. “I’m not worried about the media, Cal. We can keep this for us, or we can tell the world. Whatever you want to do.”
“What do you want?” I ask. I’ll do whatever she wants. I’ll keep her hidden from the scrutinizing eyes of the world, or I’ll go shout that she’s mine from the tops of mountains.
“You, Callahan.”
I grab her and press my lips to hers in a chaste kiss. “I want to tell the world, Firecracker. You’re mine, and I want everyone to know.”
“Then tell them,” she says, not worried at all.
“Some people won’t be nice. They won’t like that you tamed the untamable.”
Harlow laughs so hard she doubles over in her seat.
“Okay, that reaction is a little much,” I grumble.
“Tamed,” she laughs and has to take a deep breath as tears stream down her face. “The untamable,” she continues. Her laugh is so loud and contagious that Cora is laughing now too.
“Okay. Both of you can stop laughing at me now.” I frown and cross my arms, which just makes Harlow laugh harder.
“Okay, okay. I’m done,” she says a few minutes later, wiping under her eyes. “Your dad is a funny guy, Cora girl.”
“Dammm!” Cora exclaims, feet kicking the mirror in front of her.
“Da. Da,” I tell her.
“Da-dammm,” Cora says and then claps.
“Closer I guess,” I grumble, starting up the car.
Both mine and Harlow’s phones start pinging with texts.
Kai
Harrison’s guy finally broke into Ezra’s phone.
Harlow gasps next to me. Her dad was able to obtain the phone with relative ease, but getting into it has been another story. It looked like it had been erased, but Harrison said he had a guy that worked miracles. So we’ve been playing the waiting game ever since.
Did he find anything?
Kai
Don’t know yet.
Jo
I’m out getting Maverick a new coffee table. I’ll pick lunch up on the way back and we can have a meeting. I’ll let Harrison know to meet us at Cal’s.
Why my house?
Jo
Cora’s naptime is in a little over an hour.
“Wow. She really knows our schedules,” I say.
“It’s kind of her job,” Harlow laughs.
Firecracker
Thanks, Jo! I picked up your favorite wine yesterday.
Jo
You’re my soulmate, Harry.
“I don’t think so,” I grumble under my breath. Harlow snorts next to me. We haven’t said those words to each other yet, but it’s clear we’re moving quickly in that direction.
Belle
Is no one going to ask about what happened to Mav’s other coffee table?
Willa
I just thought he finally realized it was ugly.
Mav
It was not ugly!
Jo
You really don’t want to know what happened to it.
Well, now I do.
Kai
I kind of want to know too.
Mav
My naked ass went through it.
Willa
You were right, Jo. We didn’t want to know.
I laugh and toss my phone in a cup holder.
“Is it weird that I still want more details on what happened to that coffee table?” Harlow asks. I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles, keeping my eyes on the road as we head home.
“Da-dammm!” Cora says from the backseat.
“You’re right, Cora girl. Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Da!” Cora replies, sounding serious.
“Don’t worry. Your dad doesn’t want to know either.”
I smile to myself. These two have some sort of language all to themselves. I admit, I was jealous when I first noticed it, but now it fills me with a warmth I wasn’t expecting. I love how much they love each other.
I suddenly have this little family that I never expected, but I’m so grateful for it.