Chapter 20
“You really don’t haveto do this,” Harley whispered, fidgeting in her seat in the waiting room of the therapist I found for her. It wasn’t easy to get this appointment, but my parents built the home of the therapist, and it helped me skip the line. I still had to tell Harley about them; it was quickly becoming another secret between us. And we didn’t do secrets.
I wasn’t sure how she would react, given how her parents had treated her. I didn’t want her to think that I had something she didn’t, when, in reality, I’d grown up without these people. I hadn’t needed them then, and I sure as hell didn’t need them now.
Dropping my hand on her bouncing, jean-clad knee, I squeezed her small leg. “I’m not doing anything you wouldn’t do for me,” I reminded her, and she sighed in irritation.
“Really, East? This isn’t funny. I am freaking out.” She rested her head on my shoulder. I longed for her to suck my strength straight from my body. She needed every ounce for what she was about to do.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise, it’s all going to be okay.”
“And if she can’t fix me? If I’m so beyond repair? What then, Easton?” she whispered, panicked.
“You don’t need to be fixed, Harley. That’s not why we are here. I told you I’m not here to fix you. I’m here to heal you, little bird. You are not broken. Do you hear me?” I grasped her chin between my fingers, tilting her head toward mine.
Brushing my lips to hers quickly, her bouncing knee slowed, and then her name was called.
“Harley Cole?” a middle-aged woman in a pair of navy blue slacks and a white, ruffly, button-up top called her to the back. Harley stood, and nervously, her eyes darted between me and the lady.
“Can he come with?” she tentatively asked, reaching for me.
“It’s up to you, Miss Cole.” Squeezing Harley’s hand, I gained her attention and shook my head.
“You need to do this without me. I’ll be right here waiting for you. If you really need me, I’ll be in there in a heartbeat. You are strong enough to do this on your own, to heal yourself.” She nodded and blinked away her tears.
“To heal myself,” she repeated with a firm nod, and then like the beautiful bird she was, she raised her head high and followed the lady, her hair gleaming in the fluorescent light like the most exquisite feathers.
I scrolled through the new phone Andy and Layla gave me. Harley signed me up for all the latest social media apps, but nothing piqued my interest. I didn’t want to follow anyone from my past; nobody was worthwhile. The device vibrated with a text message, surprising me.
Andy: How is she?
I’d filled him in on Harley and the need for a therapist better suited to her condition. He and Layla had been instrumental in finding the therapist, and for that, I was grateful. But I still struggled to let them in, to give them the closure they needed.
Easton: Nervous.
They’d asked me yesterday if I wanted to change my name and take theirs. I’d left the office immediately, unsure of how to respond. I’d only known them for a couple of weeks, and they were already asking me to change it.
Harley would know what to do. She was my voice of reason.
Andy: Why don’t you bring her by for dinner at the house tonight?
I’d been invited a few times for dinner, and somehow had found a good reason not to go every time. I could easily say no, tell him she couldn’t handle it, but she’d tell me to go. Just like I pushed her here.
Easton: I’ll ask her.
Andy: Let me know. Your mother would love to cook for the two of you.
They constantly referred to themselves as mother and father, but they didn’t have a clue on how to be either. A real mother never would have deserted me.
Harley stepped back into the waiting room an hour later, her cheeks flushed, eyes swollen, her bottom lip bruised from biting it. Standing, I opened my arms, and she walked into them, dropping her head to my chest with a soft cry.
“I did it,” she whispered, relieved.
“I knew you could. How does it feel to fly, little bird?” I sank my fingers into her thick hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She sighed in my hold.
“Freeing.”
“Just wait until you soar.”
It wasmy turn to squirm in my seat in the car. Harley’s hand was interlocked with mine on the center console. She was humming along to the song playing on the radio, her other hand dancing in the wind of the open windows.
She hadn’t been this happy in a long time.
“Something’s bothering you. What’s wrong?” She turned her head to me, giving me all of her attention.
“Why would something be wrong?” I decided telling her was a bad idea, not after the day she’d had.
“You’re tense. What’s going on? Is it today? Are you regretting coming?” Worry and panic didn’t belong in her tone, but it was there, and I hated that I was the reason it was.
“I don’t regret anything that I do with or for you, Harley. Don’t you ever forget that. It’s about my birth parents.” I sighed, pressing the button to bring up the windows on the car so we didn’t have to talk so loudly.
“Oh? I didn’t realize you’d found them.”
“They found me. They own Andy’s Construction and have been looking for me for years, apparently. They gave me the job, apartment, car, phone, all of it in some fucked up way of mending their mistakes.” I glanced at her. She was digesting the new information.
“So, you’ve known for a couple of weeks then. Were you afraid to tell me?” I pulled into the parking garage of our apartment. She unclipped her seatbelt and turned to me.
Squeezing the steering wheel, I shifted the car into park and glared at the concrete wall in front of us.
“I didn’t want to upset you with how your parents have been.” She nodded.
“Why are you telling me now, then?”
“They want us to come for dinner.” I groaned, letting go of her hand to run it through my hair. I needed a haircut.
“Let’s go. It won’t hurt to get to know them.” She reached for me, taking my hand in both of hers. “Hiding from the truth will only hurt you in the long run, East. I’d kill for my parents to invite us over for dinner. Plus, if it backfires in our face, we have each other, right?” The grin that tugged at my lips belongs to Harley Cole.
“You bet. You and me against the world, little bird.”
Pulling out my phone, I shot a text off to Andy.
Easton: We’ll be there. What time?
His response was instant, and I rolled my eyes at his desperation.
Andy: Now?
I showed Harley the text message. Throwing her head back with laughter, her eyes glowed with happiness. “Why the hell not? I’m starving.”
“I love you.” Leaning across the console, I cupped her face, pulling her closer to me. I softly bit down on her bottom lip, drawing out a loud moan from deep in her throat. Licking the sensitive flesh, her fingers dug into my scalp, pulling at my hair.
“More. So much more,” she whispered against my lips just as I began to devour her mouth, stealing and claiming her breath as my own.
I followedthe directions to the large house on the other side of town. Harley looked on in amazement and then threw the comment I’d been waiting for. “You never mentioned they were stinking rich. I’m totally underdressed.” She glanced down at her ripped jeans and casual t-shirt.
“I disagree. I was thinking you’re wearing too much and should take off your shirt.” She slapped my chest while laughing.
“You’re insatiable. We are not doing anything of the sort in your parents” driveway. Now, be the man I fell in love with, not the guy who was betrayed by everyone. I showed you that you can trust. You trust me, right?” I nodded, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing the soft skin.
“With my life.”
“Then trust me to protect you tonight. Nobody’s getting through me.” Taking the deepest breath I could muster, I exited the car and rounded the front. Opening the door for Harley she took my hand and squeezed.
She led me to the front door like it wasn’t her first time here and rang the doorbell. Glancing up at me, she smiled, and from the furrow in her perfect brows, I knew she was waiting for me to do the same.
Layla threw open the door in a floor-length blue dress the same color as our eyes. She smiled at Harley and leaned forward to give her a hug.
“It’s so nice to meet you, honey,” she said, and Harley teared up at the embrace.
“Oh, you, too.” There was a slight wobble in her voice, but then she cleared her throat. But I saw the longing in her eyes.
“East, honey. I’ve missed you.” Layla embraced me as well, and Harley let go of my hand, giving me space to hug my mother.
One stern look from Harley, and I was wrapping my arms around Layla, hugging her back. She gasped before squeezing me as tight as she possibly could.
“You have such a beautiful home,” Harley said, making Layla pull away. She wiped at her eyes and then turned her attention to Harley.
“Andy built it for us a few years ago. We make a good team. He’s the architect, and I’m the interior designer.” She laughed, smoothing her hands down her dress. I watched her and Harley interact, listening to their easy conversation, and fell in love with Harley all over again.
Andy greeted us in the kitchen. He slapped me on the shoulder before pulling Harley into a big squeeze. This time, she did cry and apologized quickly, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment.
“If you’ll excuse me, I just need the restroom.” Layla offered to show her where it was, and I was stuck with Andy, wondering if coming here today was the right idea for Harley.
“She’s beautiful, son,” Andy commented, calling me that fucking word again. The one he had no right to say.
“She’s everything to me,” I agreed, and he chuckled.
“Felt the same way about your mother. It’s crazy how you just know when they’re the one. Are you going to propose?” He asked, grabbing me a water from the fridge. He must have sensed my hesitation to answer, because he took a long swig from his before saying, “I know it’s none of my business. I know I wasn’t there when you needed me, but Easton, I’m here now. I’m doing the best I can, and I understand why you’re pushing me away. I just need you to know I’m here if you need someone.”
“Why didn’t you have anymore kids?” The question that had been nagging at my head for the last few weeks finally voiced itself. I had to know.
“When I turned twenty-one, I had been working for a small construction company and had enough saved to buy a small home for me and Layla. She had been working double, sometimes triple shifts between the furniture store and diner she worked at.” He pauses to finish his beer.
“Our goal was to save enough money to give you a better life than we had. We went back to the adoption agency to find you. But you were in a foster home, and they wanted to evaluate us to see if we were able to provide a good, stable environment. We passed almost all the tests, but then your mother was fired from the diner after your grandfather came and trashed the place looking for Layla. Without that income, we couldn’t afford the mortgage payments and the wellbeing of a child.”
“So, you left me,” I finished for him, rage boiling inside me. Where the hell was Harley?
“We left you in the care of a good foster family. They let us come see you whenever we wanted. I’m surprised you don’t remember us.”
“I was four. What the hell did you want me to remember?”
“Your mother used to sing you this song about pigs. Do you remember that?” he pushed, and I tried to think back to that foster family. They were kind people until the father died in a car accident, and we were all sent to other foster families.
“The mother used to sing a song to put me to sleep. She used to play with my toes.”
“That was me,” Layla said from the hallway, a tear rolling down her cheek. Harley was at her side, watching the scene unfold. “This little piggie went to the market…”
Her voice triggered a memory, and I staggered back. “East?” Harley was at my side, her hands latched onto my forearm, grounding me.
“It was you, but then why didn’t you come back?!” I shouted, slamming my fist down on the marble counter.
“We did, but by then, the adoption agency had been burned down, and you had been adopted,” Andy finished the story, but I shook my head.
“You never answered my first question. Why didn’t you have any more?”
“I didn’t want another child if I couldn’t have you.” Layla wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks, and I hated the anger flowing through my veins.
“I need some air.” Leaving the suffocating kitchen, I stepped outside to the pool area and sucked in a much-needed breath of fresh air.
“What would you do?” I asked Harley, already knowing her fucking answer but needing to hear it, nonetheless.
“Forgive them,” she whispered, her fingers lacing with mine, her lips at my shoulder, her strength wrapping around me.
“They left me.” The words were broken as they left my lips.
“They came back. Mine haven’t come back, East.” I nodded, mulling over her words. “They love you and only want the best for you.”
“What did she say to you?” I squeezed her hand, acknowledging her words.
“Nothing. She hugged me and consoled me the way I wish my mother would.”
“I’d like to think, if they had come back into my life, you wouldn’t be here today. Everything happens for a reason, right? We wouldn’t have met.” Harley laughed.
“You are crazy, certifiably crazy.” I pulled her into my chest, burying my head in her shoulder, hiding my face in her hair.
“As long as you love me, I don’t care.”
“We were meant to find each other, East, just like they were meant to find you. Forgive them, love them, let them in.” She kissed my ear, her lips soft and gentle.
“Okay,” I agreed, and she pulled back, looking at me with bright, excited eyes.
“How does it feel to fly, East?” She bit her lip to hide her grin, and I threw my head back and laughed.
“Like I’m finally alive, little bird.”