Harper
I don’t want to let go of him. I want to stay in his arms for the rest of the day, but I know he doesn’t have long before he’ll have to leave.
“I don’t want you to leave,” I whisper.
“Look at me,” he murmurs.
I lean back far enough to meet Jackson’s gaze. His eyes soften and he reaches up to brush away the tears on my cheeks.
“I'm not leaving here without you. You can’t stay here. He’ll keep coming, especially if he thinks you’re here alone.”
“But I have finals…”
“I know. I think we need to call your dad, then we can figure everything else out.”
I nod my head. I know he’s right. I won't be safe here by myself. Evan isn’t acting like himself and I'm a little nervous about what else he might try. If he knows I'm here alone, there’s no telling what he might do.
Jackson pulls up my dad’s contact info and quickly presses the button to video chat with him. My eyes widen, knowing Dad’s going to see me right away… and the tears on my cheeks.
“Hey, Jackson.” Dad smiles until his eyes focus on me. The smile quickly fades and his brows pinch together. “Harp? What’s going on, sweetheart?”
I nibble on my bottom lip and stare up at the ceiling, trying my hardest to blink away the tears.
“Do you want me to tell him?” Jackson asks softly. I nod my head as I lose the battle with my emotions and another drop slips down my cheek.
“Jackson?” Dad growls.
“Hey, don’t be getting angry with me. I'm not the one that made her cry.”
“Then who did?”
“Evan Fodder.”
“Ugh, I can’t stand that kid.” Dad rolls his eyes.
“Daddy!” It’s something between a laugh and a cry. I'm not sure if I'm upset about his disapproval or not. My emotions are everywhere and I can’t control it.
“What? I met him once and I thought he was an immature jerk. What did Evan do?”
Jackson glances at me and takes a deep breath. This won't be easy to listen to him tell Dad about. I'm more than embarrassed by my actions and I know he won't approve.
“Well… you see… they’re kind of engaged, but not really?”
“Yeah, I'm going to need more information than that.” Dad settles back into his chair. I hear a squeak and a moment later, Mason and Pecker slide their chairs into view of the camera. I knew they’d be included in all of this, but I didn’t expect them to listen to the story when Jackson broke the news to Dad.
“You can’t stay there, Harper,” Mason says, shaking his head. “He’ll be back. There’s no doubt about that.”
“But I have finals.”
“I’m sending an email to the school right now.
I’m letting them know there was an incident with another student and that your security team doesn’t feel like it’s safe for you to remain there.
They can let you take exams online, or they can have you come in separately to take them.
You have straight A’s and I don’t think any of your professors would believe even for a second that you’re trying to get out of taking your finals.
Honestly, you could probably skip the tests altogether and still get a passing grade.
” Peck stares at a computer off to the side as he types quickly on the keyboard.
“I'm not losing my 4.0 grade point average for Evan!”
“No one cares what your grades are.” Mason rolls his eyes. “Have you never heard of ‘C’s get degrees’?”
“Well, I'm so sorry I want to be better than mediocre.” I roll my eyes back at him, making him chuckle.
“We’ll figure it out, but you’re coming home with Jackson,” Dad says firmly and I know it’s useless to argue. When he uses this tone with me, I never win. This is his ‘don’t mess with me, Harper’ tone. “You’re leaving your car there too.”
“What? Why?”
“Tracking,” Mason singsongs. “Have you learned nothing from us?”
“Oh my gosh! Evan isn’t tracking me! That’s crazy.” I throw my hands up in the air at their ridiculousness.
“We’re not taking a chance, Harper,” Jackson says softly.
“Exactly! Listen to Romeo.” Mason motions to Jackson.
“Seriously? You’re still calling me that?” Jackson groans.
“What time do you need to leave, Jacks?” Dad ignores Mason’s comment and tries to refocus everyone.
“I have about two hours before I have to be on the road.”
“Ok. Do you have your SUV?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Harper, I want you to pack as many of your things as you can and get them into Jackson’s SUV.”
“What?” I stare at him like he’s crazy, because he has to be… right?
“Listen to me. I know you’re not happy about this and you’re terrified right now, but you need to pay attention.
Based on what Jackson’s told us, Evan will be back.
He’s not going to stop until you take him back.
When you don’t answer the door, he’ll most likely break into your house.
I want as little there as possible, got it?
If it’s important to you, it needs to go with you.
He knows Jackson can’t stay much longer and he’s going to use that to his advantage.
I’d say for the next two hours you’re safe, after that, I wouldn’t count on it.
Get out of there before you end up like your mom.
” His voice catches when he talks about Mom and my eyes fill with tears all over again.
“Ok. Will you come back and pack up the rest of my things?”
“I’ll drive there sometime this week and get a moving company to pack everything up.
We’ll have you moved out before the end of next week.
I have a friend who works in the police department out there.
I’ll give him a call and see if he can keep an eye on your place until we empty it.
Your lease is over at the end of the month, correct? ”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t worry about anything. Just get home and I’ll deal with everything else.”
“What about my car?”
“Have Jackson move it into the garage. There’s not much more we can do with it right now. I love you, sweetheart. Go pack and text me when you leave.”
“I love you too.”
“Jackson, while she packs, I want to talk to you.”