Chapter 6 #2
“I was fucking with you, Jonah. Chill out. But it’s good to know that even you have lines you won’t cross. I’ll keep that little piece of information tucked away for a rainy day.”
“Good to know,” he says. “So, were you going to tell me what the fuck this whole relationship thing is about with Knight?”
“I—” I cut myself off as another call from my mother comes through the line, and despite knowing that I’m not about to answer it, I can’t help the way my body responds.
My palms grow sweaty and my heart starts to race, quickly jumping into survival mode.
Hell, maybe it’s just anxiety over the thought of her wanting to have anything to do with me.
“Ugh. Mom’s calling again.”
“Just answer it,” Jonah says. “She’s just trying to check on you.”
“No. That specifically defeats the purpose of not talking to her,” I remind him, watching her name flash on my screen and getting a sick satisfaction out of ignoring her call.
“But why would she be needing to check on me? She has no reason to, not unless some assface opened his giant mouth and went blabbing about the unfortunate parking garage stabbing incident.”
Jonah scoffs in disgust. “That’s what you’re calling it?
An unfortunate incident? Could you at least pretend that it’s a big deal?
You got stabbed and almost bled out,” he scolds.
“And in my defense, I didn’t realize that you still hadn’t told her.
I figured she would have known by now, so I didn’t think twice when she asked me how you were doing. ”
“You realize she’s probably going to try and come see me now, only she’s not going to find me at my apartment, and that’s only going to bring up more questions.”
“Well, maybe you should have answered her call and she wouldn’t feel the need to come and check on . . . wait. Why wouldn’t she find you at your apartment? You don’t live there anymore?”
“I, uhhhh . . . Shit.”
“Harper,” he scolds. “What the fuck is going on, and don’t even think about hanging up on me this time.”
Well, fuck. I suppose this was bound to come out sooner or later.
“I kind of, ummm . . . moved in with Knight.”
“Moved in with him? What the actual fuck? You’re living together?” he questions. “Just how serious is this thing between you?”
“As serious as an NFL player trying to keep a gold digger from piercing the condom with a pushpin.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jonah mutters. “I really don’t understand how you turned out the way you did.”
“I believe it’s called masking one’s trauma with dark comic relief. You should try it sometime. It might really give that bland personality of yours a little pizzazz.”
“You know, sometimes you make me want to pour bleach directly into my ear holes.”
“Okay, well, next time you’re in the area, let me know, and we can give it a try.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“No problem.”
“So, were you actually going to tell me how you’re doing after your little stabbing incident?”
A stupid grin cuts across my face, knowing how painful that was for Jonah to refer to my near-death experience as a little incident.
I lean back on the couch and kick my feet up onto the coffee table, getting comfortable.
“I’m doing fine,” I tell him. “Going a little stir-crazy not being able to go back to work, but I should be cleared in the next few days. Knight isn’t exactly thrilled about me going back to work, especially because this asshole hasn’t been caught yet, but I need it.
I feel so pathetic just sitting here doing nothing. ”
Jonah laughs with exasperation. “Do you have any idea how much of that needs to be unpacked? Like first, what the hell do you mean you’re going back to work in a few days?
You only just got stabbed. It should be months before you head back there.
You need to heal properly. And second, Knight.
Don’t think I didn’t notice how you just glossed right over your explanation earlier.
Because what the hell do you mean you’re living together? How long have you two been involved?”
My face scrunches as I try to figure out a timeline. “Ummm, I don’t know. I suppose it all kinda started at that sham of an anniversary dinner Mom threw a few months ago. Knight drove me home after that, and it just kinda . . . grew.”
“Grew?”
“Yep. Grew.”
“Wonderful,” he mutters. “And I’m assuming that because you’re still breathing, Mom doesn’t have even the smallest idea.”
“Nope. And it’s going to stay that way.”
“You’re asking for trouble,” he tells me. “Have you even considered how fucking awkward shit will be at family dinners after you inevitably break up?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I mutter.
“But we’re not breaking up anytime soon.
This thing between us, it’s serious. I’m in love with him, and he’s in love with me.
Not to mention, he’s an overly possessive grumpy caveman.
Even if I tried to break up with him, he’s not about to let me go anywhere.
Me and Knight . . . It’s just something you’re going to have to learn to get comfortable with, because neither of us has any intention of stepping away from this. ”
“Shit. It’s really that serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, fuck. Who would have known that any man would actually want to subject himself to your bullshit? I was going to put your name down at the local pound to be the number one contact for every cat that came through the door to help you get a head start on your inevitable cat-lady lifestyle.”
“Yeah, and I was about to have you subscribed to every dildo manufacturer in the country because you’re obviously a little bitch who likes to take a big dick or two.”
“I hate you.”
“Hate you too, big brother.”
Jonah laughs, but the sound quickly fades.
“Listen, I, ummm . . . I’m really glad that you’re doing okay.
It’s shit that the cops haven’t found the guy who hurt you, but I’m proud of you for not letting this destroy you.
If anything, you sound stronger, and I don’t know if that has anything to do with having Knight in your life, but if it’s as serious as you say it is, and you really are in love with your uncle, then you know you have my full support.
All I’ve ever wanted was to see you happy. ”
“Thanks, Jonah,” I whisper, a small smile playing on my lips as I think about this new life I’ve started building with Knight, and while it terrifies me to completely hand my heart over to him and make myself vulnerable, there’s nothing I want more. “I’m really happy.”
“Good. I’m glad,” he says. “But would it also kill you to pick up the phone every now and then to give your big brother a call? Hell, doesn’t even have to be a call. A text would do.”
“You’re not getting soft on me, are you?”
“No,” he mutters. “I just think it’d be nice if we didn’t act like such strangers all the time. You know, for the twins, of course.”
“Right. For the twins.”
Jonah laughs, and just as the call goes quiet, a brilliant warmth spreads through my chest. “Hey, Jonah?” I say, my lips quirking into a small smile. “You’re a dork, but I really love you.”
He scoffs. “Nawww. Don’t hit me with that shit because then I’m going to feel compelled to say it back, and you know those words just seem to get stuck in my throat.”
“I know. It’s because you’re an emotionally crippled ape who is incapable of understanding and communicating grown-up emotions. It really baffles me how you managed to get Emily to not only marry you but procreate. Hats off to her. She must be a saint to put up with your shit.”
“Ha. Ha.”
I grin to myself. There’s nothing I love more than giving Jonah a hard time.
“Alright, I’ve gotta go. Some of us actually have jobs to go to and don’t get to spend all day fucking around on the couch doing nothing.”
I roll my eyes, not prepared to let on just how much that jab stung.
I’d do anything to get off this damn couch and get back to work, but it’s only a few more days away.
“Fine. I’ll talk to you later,” I tell him.
“Maybe the girls could call when they get home from daycare and tell me all about their day.”
“Yeah, they’d like that,” he says. “Talk to you later, you big ugly swamp turd.”
“Right back at you, you giant—”
The line goes dead, and I suck in a sharp gasp. He did not just hang up on me before I got the chance to insult him. What an assface.
Letting out a huff, I glance down at my phone and start swiping away the notification for Mom’s missed calls, and I can’t help but wonder if Jonah is right.
If I just give her a call and let her know how I’m doing, then she might leave me alone.
But if I don’t, I run the risk of her showing up at my apartment, only to realize I don’t live there anymore, and that’s only going to bring more problems.
Fuck. I really hate it when Jonah is right, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell him that.
My thumb hovers over her contact information, not really wanting to speak with her, but more than happy to play it all down.
If she knew just how serious this was and just how close I came to losing my life, she would insist on moving me in with her and Elias just so she could pretend to be the perfect mother, looking out for her little girl, simply so she has something to brag to her friends about.
Ugh. I think I’d prefer to risk meeting my crazed stalker in the parking garage again. Anything is better than dealing with my mother.
Letting out a sigh, I go to press down on her name just as a new text comes through from a private number.
I usually delete random texts the majority of the time.
They’re generally men living in their mother’s basement, hoping I would want to be a sugar baby, despite not having a single cent to their name.
Either that or an Egyptian prince who wants to make me his wife, but in order for him to share all of his wealth, I’d first need to give him access to my bank account.
Or feet pics. Men always seem to ask me for feet pics. And I won’t lie, pure boredom has seen me paint my toenails and put on one hell of a foot photo shoot. Fucker never even paid me for it, but that’s what I get for sending the goods before asking for payment.
Something twists in the pit of my gut, and instead of swiping the notification away, I find myself pressing on it and opening the new text.
Well, fuck.