“But he has friends here.”
“And he’ll see them when I come back to work once a month.”
“So that’s just it, you’re just going to leave us?” Her voice breaks, which causes me to look up. There are tears streaming down her face, ruining her make-up.
I shake my head and push away from the counter. “There is no us,” I say as I walk past her. I open a couple of boxes until I find what I’m looking for. Against my better judgment I wrap a quilt around her shoulders. I let my hands linger on her for a beat too long. When I pull away, she looks at me.
I run my hand through my hair and tug at the ends. It’s too short now. I don’t like it. “I have a lot of packing to do before my flight and the movers come, you should go.” I don’t wait to see what she says or what her reaction is. I go back to packing and focus on it like it’s my professional job.
I hate that she’s still standing there, watching me. Every so often, she sniffs and I think she’s about to say something, only I’m rewarded more silence. I can’t look at her for fear that I’d fall to her feet and ask her for another chance. I won’t do that because I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not about to apologize for something that I had no control over, when all she had to do was listen to me.
“Harrison?”
I set the plate in the box and look at her questioningly.
“My daughter was being bullied at school.”
I take a step back and realize that I never told her about Peyton. I would’ve, but she ended us. I nod and lean against the counter. “You were in L.A. and I got a call to pick up Quinn from school. Liam got a call about Peyton because your father-in-law didn’t answer or something. Anyway, I went to pick up Quinn and he had a black eye and I knew that Peyton was involved, but I thought she punched him. When we got back to Liam’s, Quinn told me a story about a friend that was being bullied and how he asked the boy to stop, but he wouldn’t. When the boy touched Quinn’s friend, he reacted.”
I chance a look at Katelyn and see that her hand is covering her mouth. Tears continue to stream down her face, breaking my heart even more.
“I put two and two together and figured with her outbursts and reluctance to do things, it had to be Peyton. So I called her down to the studio and showed her what I did when kids would bully me.”
“What?” she squeaks out.
“When I was a teenager, I found a drum set and brought it home and taught myself to play; but I’d imagine the faces of those kids who made fun of me day in and day out as I beat the drums. Every day, I’d pound and pound until I had nothing left. I gave her some sticks and let her go to work. She hit the drums so hard, I swear I could see the anger leaving her body.”
“You helped her.”
“Good,” I say.
“You taught her to play as well?”
I nod. “They came to me with an idea. They wanted to play a song for Liam and Josie. So we worked very hard on making it just as perfect as possible.”
“She smiled.”
“What?”
“Peyton… she smiled at me for the first time since Mason died. And it wasn’t just any smile, her face lit up because of you, because of what you did for her.” Katelyn moves in front of me. I press harder against the counter.
“Look at me, Harrison, I have something to say.”
I look up with hesitation. Her watery eyes slice right through my heart. My hands grip the countertop, giving me something to hold on to.
“I’ve been so stupid these past few weeks. It took a village of people to show me how wrong I was about you and those pictures. I thought I could let you go, that I could move on and just be a friend, but every time I turn around, you’re doing something that slaps me in the face to remind me that you’re here. You gifted my daughters with the most precious gift and for me… You gave me a bracelet that bears another man’s initials. Why?”
“Because I told you I’d never ask you to stop loving him. He’s a part of you and I would never ask you to give him up.” I answer her against my better judgment.
“Those are things I should’ve remembered when I saw those pictures. I shouldn’t have allowed someone to cloud what my heart knew, but I did, and I’m sorry.”
I bite my lip to keep myself from breaking down. I look down and push my thumbs into my eyes. These are words I wanted to hear weeks ago.
“Harrison,” she says as her hand pulls mine into hers. My heart soars as heat spreads through my body. I’ve missed her. Her fingers lock with mine as she brings our hands up between us. When her lips touch my skin, I want to push her away and tell her no. Tell her that I’m done and the damage can’t be changed, but I’d be lying to myself.
“Katelyn, please don’t do this unless you mean it,” I beg her.
“You can’t leave us. You can’t get on that plane and fly back to Los Angeles and leave us here. I’m sorry I failed us, Harrison, and I know I’m selfish and don’t deserve what I’m asking.”