“Harper! Yuck!” Gemma’s cheeks reddened, and she lowered her eyes. “Alex is like … a brother or something. Don’t be gross. And he’s your best friend.”
“Don’t.” Harper shook her head. “I’ve watched the dance you two have been playing the last few months, and I wouldn’t care, except he’s going away to college soon. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m not getting hurt. Nothing is happening,” Gemma insisted. “You know, I thought you would be happy. You’re always telling me not to go on those night swims alone, and I brought someone with me.”
“Alex?” Harper raised an eyebrow, and even Gemma had to admit that Alex probably wouldn’t be a very effective bodyguard. “And those night swims aren’t safe. You shouldn’t be going on them at all.”
“I am fine! Nothing happened!”
“Nothing happened yet,” Harper countered. “But three people have gone missing in the last two months, Gemma. You have to be careful.”
“I am careful!” Gemma balled her hands into fists at her sides. “And it doesn’t matter what you say anyway. Dad says I can go as long as I’m home by eleven, and I am.”
“Well, Dad shouldn’t be letting you go.”
“Is there a problem, girls?” Brian called from the bottom of the stairs.
“No,” Harper muttered.
“I’m going to take a shower and go to bed, if that’s okay with Harper,” Gemma said.
“I don’t care what you do.” Harper held up her hands and shrugged.
“Thank you.” Gemma turned on her heel and slammed the bedroom door behind her.
Harper leaned on her doorframe as her father climbed the stairs. He was a tall man with big strong hands, worn from years of working at the dock. Though in his forties, Brian was rather fit, and other than the few gray streaks in his hair, he didn’t look his age.
Stopping in front of Harper’s room, her father crossed his arms and looked down at her. “What was that about?”
“I dunno.” She shrugged and stared down at her toes, noticing the bright blue nail polish had begun to chip.
“You’ve got to stop telling her what to do,” Brian said quietly.
“I’m not!”
“She’s going to make mistakes, just like you do, but she’ll be okay, just like you are.”
“Why am I the bad guy?” Harper finally lifted her eyes to look up at her father. “Alex is too old for her, and it’s dangerous out there. I’m not being unreasonable.”
“But you’re not her parent,” Brian said. “I am. You have your own life to live. You should be worrying about college this fall. Let me worry about Gemma, okay? I can take care of her.”
“I know.” She sighed.
“Do you?” Brian asked honestly, looking her in the eyes. “I know I’ve let you take on too much since your mom…” He trailed off, letting it hang in the air. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t be okay without you.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Dad.” She forced a smile. “I just worry.”
“Well, try not to, and get some sleep tonight, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded.
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Night, sweetie.”
“Night, Dad.”
Harper went back into her room, shutting the door behind her. Her father was right, and she knew it, but that didn’t change the way she felt. For good or for bad, Gemma had been Harper’s responsibility for the past nine years. Or, at the very least, Harper had felt responsible.
She sat down on her bed with a heavy sigh. Leaving them would be impossible.
She should be excited about finally getting out on her own, especially considering how hard she’d worked for it. Even with working part-time at the library and volunteering at the animal shelter, Harper had managed to get a 4.0 all through high school.
The scholarship she’d been awarded had opened doors for her that her father’s budget couldn’t. Every college she’d applied to had been eager to have her. She could’ve gone anywhere, but she’d chosen a state school only forty minutes away from Capri.
Peering out through the curtains, Harper could see the light from Alex’s bedroom. She grabbed her phone from her bedside table, meaning to text him, but changed her mind. He’d been her friend for years, and despite the fact that she’d never harbored any romantic feelings for him, his growing flirtation with her younger sister weirded Harper out a bit.
The pipes groaned as Gemma turned on the hot water in the bathroom across the hall. Harper grabbed the blue nail polish so she could touch up her toenails and listened to Gemma sing in the shower, her voice soft like a lullaby.
Harper gave up after one foot and curled up in bed. Within moments of her head hitting the pillow, she was out.