Chapter 38
Harper
Idon’t know what to do.
Part of me wants to make sure Ash is okay and his night isn’t ruined. Another part of me wants to smile at guests and apologize for “whatever that was” before I clean up the glass. A big part of me wants to punch Daniel in the face.
My instinct to go after my brother overrides everything else, and I take off after Jaylen. The main room is still slammed, and I have to bob and weave through the crowd. I’m only able to see the back of Jaylen’s head as I follow after him to the door.
People are staring and whispering as I push past them, apologizing as I go. I’m sure the frantic look on my face as I run through the speakeasy calling after my brother isn’t helping keep the chaos at bay, but right now, the only thing I care about is him.
“Jaylen!” I shout as I reach the main door. “Jaylen, wait!”
But he doesn’t. He is already headed up the steps to street level, pressing past the line of people waiting under heat lamps to get in.
“Jaylen,” I call again as he stomps toward his car.
I am in heels, a shitty choice for all-night bartending duties and chasing someone on an icy street.
Catching up to him seems fruitless, so I yell, “Jaylen! Please stop!” My voice is filled with desperation, and it seems to be enough to stop him.
He turns around and stands still, his expression full of anger and hurt.
I stand in front of him, panting from running and shivering because of the cold. I didn’t think to grab my coat, and now I am standing on a dark street in nothing but a cocktail dress at 12:30 in the morning in the middle of winter.
“Are you sleeping with him?” he asks, wasting no time.
“Jaylen,” I plead, but he cuts me off.
“Are you sleeping with Ash?” he demands.
“Jay, I can explain,” I say as my eyes fill with tears.
“Well, then you better start explaining. Not that I can think of anything you could say that could make this okay.”
I swallow hard. “We told Daniel we were married at his wedding to get him back for cheating–”
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that,” he says. I hug myself, both from the cold and how upset I am. “You lied.”
“But I didn’t,” I say. “We told you we were together, and you supported it.”
“Accepted it. I accepted the fact that the two of you are involved. There isn’t anything I can do about it without being a complete asshole.
I would never support my best friend and my little sister dating.
And, I’m definitely not okay with the fact that you’re…
” he trails off, not wanting to finish the sentence. I can’t blame him.
“We were going to tell you,” I say.
“Yeah? When? Because we talked the other day, and you had the perfect opportunity to be honest with me, but you weren’t. You told me half the story and let me believe the rest. What happened to you, Harper? You’ve changed.”
“Changed?” I ask, my words strangled in my throat as I fight breaking down completely. “How?”
“The Harper I know, the Harper that is my sister, would never lie to me. She would be real with me. She would also be real with herself. You were so dead set on finding real love. Not on settling and or screwing around just for the fun of it. You have always wanted to save yourself for marriage, and now look at you. Sneaking around and sleeping with Ash on a whim. It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore. ”
His words sting, but more than that, they make me mad.
“You try being the perfect one all the time!” I cry out.
“I know I set those standards for myself, but I didn’t do it just on principle.
I did it so I wouldn’t turn out like them.
I wanted to give myself a chance in the world and not end up as just another girl who grew up in a broken home.
Half the time you raised me and the other half our eccentric aunt whose idea of parenting was getting take-out from the diner and watching reality TV to avoid the reality of our situation.
I wanted to feel like I had control of something.
Like I had a chance. I don’t know, I guess I wanted to do something I could be proud of. Something you’d be proud of.”
Tears are pouring down my cheeks now, and I’m shaking. Jaylen’s expression softens slightly, and he steps closer to me.
“Where is your coat? Jesus,” he complains before taking off his jacket and putting it around my shoulders.
I sniff before he responds. “Here’s the thing, sis.
I never expected any of that from you. The perfect grades, the ambition, the self-control, the abstinence.
I admired it, sure. But I never expected it.
I mean, goddamn. We had everything going against us growing up.
Simply surviving the shit show was more than most people expected from us.
I was proud of you. I was always proud of you, but I’m not proud of you now. ”
His words are enough to break me.
Ash walks out, stalking over with his jaw clenched. Oh, good.
“Impressive little show you put on in there,” Ash snaps as he walks up beside me.
“Not as impressive as the show you two have been putting on for weeks,” Jaylen shoots back.
“You knew we were together,” Ash states.
“And you knew how I felt about you sleeping with my sister,” Jaylen retorts.
“You guys,” I try to cut in, but neither of them listens to me.
“I don’t think it’s any of your business what Harper and I are doing,” Ash says.
“Oh really? How exactly do you figure that?”
Ash loops an arm around me. “Because she is my girlfriend.”
Jaylen’s eyes engage with Asher’s. “Well, she’s my little sister.”
“I’m an adult, Jay,” I say, and he looks over at me.
“So what? Now that you two are together, I mean nothing anymore?” he asks.
“Jay,” I tremble.
“Jesus,” Ash scoffs.
“What? You have something to say? Say it,” Jaylen demands.
“Jay,” I say again, knowing full well that this is about to escalate to a level where mistakes will be made. I reach for him, but he jerks away.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Jaylen snaps.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Ash points at him.
“Get your finger out of my fucking face,” Jaylen warns him. “And keep your hands off my sister.”
“You guys,” I try again, but they step closer to each other, chests puffed. Oh god.
Asher stares at Jaylen hard and lowers his voice. “I will do whatever I damn well please with your sister.”
A look of pure anger washes over Jaylen’s face, and he swings and hits Ash in the jawline hard. I shriek and Ash stumbles, taking a swing at Jaylen but missing.
“You guys! Stop!” I cry out, but neither of them seems to care. It’s like they can’t even hear me.
Jaylen swings again, this time missing. Ash shoves against him, and they break apart.
“You've got a lot of fucking nerve, you know that?” Ash grits out. “You ruined the opening! You realize how many people in there probably won’t come back?”
“How’s that my fault?” Jaylen asks, swinging again.
“Because you had a hissy fit!”
“You’re fucking my sister!” he shouts before swinging again. His rage makes it sloppy, and he misses, nearly losing his balance.
“I’m making love to your sister,” Ash retorts, and Jaylen lets out a wily laugh.
“Oh, what, so you love her now? The man who never falls in love? The man who probably can’t fall in love even if he tried?”
Ash’s expression turns lethal, and he grabs Jaylen by the shirt, slamming him into the side of the building and barring his forearm over Jaylen’s throat.
“You are way out of line,” he spits in his face.
“Asher! Asher, stop!” I demand, yanking on Ash and forcing him to let go. Ash is about to walk away when Jaylen swings at him again. His fist hits Ash square in the mouth, and he hits the ground.
“I might be out of line,” Jaylen says with a cough. “But you are dead to me,” he says, and his eyes dart to mine. “Both of you.”
I reach for him again, and he shrugs me off before stalking away.
“Jay. Jaylen. Wait,” I cry, but Ash reaches out and grabs my hand, shaking his head.
“Let him go,” he says, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Just let him go. We fucked up.”
And with that, I break down.