Page 98 of The Attraction

I don’t know what is happening to me tonight, but I have turned into some mushy emotional man. But I guess risking your life will do that to a man.

“Thanks for all the support and watching over Harper while I was gone. I promise I won’t put you through anything like that again.” I take a seat on the couch and watch them all follow.

Flynn is starting to relax a little now. “As much as I was angry at you, I have to hand it to you, what you did took balls, and the way you handled that knife was impressive. When Ashton sent through the video to prove you were alive, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch it, but you know me, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, let’s just say, if that video makes the internet, then at least I won’t have to worry about our parents seeing my white ass all over their screen like when your sex tape with Felisha got leaked.” And this brings a roar of laughter into the room.

We continue to talk about what happened and where to go from here with security and telling Harper. And although I thought it would be hard to get on to the same time zone again, I start yawning sitting here talking. But there is something I’m desperate to know from Flynn. So, when everyone sees I need sleep and they stand to leave, I reach out and grab Flynn’s arm and ask him to stay back for a minute.

After saying my goodbyes to Rem and Nic, I turn back to Flynn, and he has the stupid smirk on his face like knows what is about to happen.

“Don’t be a bastard and leave me hanging. Is she okay, has she asked about me, did she suspect anything was going on, how is she sleeping?” The words start spilling out of me in my desperation to know about Harper.

“Whoa there, one thing at a time. Firstly, she’s alright and as to be expected after a breakup. She has her moments where she is quiet and wants to be on her own, but she has thrown herself into work and we have hardly seen her. She has no idea that you left the country, although thanks for making that an awkward thing for me. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also didn’t want to get the blame for telling her accidentally. You owe me for that one.” He points at me to reinforce his point, and I’m sure I will be paying for that favor for a long time yet.

“And who said you were hopeless with secrets?” I reply, and Flynn just smiles as he gives me the middle finger.

“Harper and I made a deal on the first day that we wouldn’t talk about you, so it didn’t make things awkward, and she lasted three days, so I’d say that was pretty impressive.” He has no idea what relief that brings me.

“Oh, she’s stubborn, so I’m actually surprised she gave in that quickly, but I can’t say I’m disappointed.” I laugh at how it must have killed her to come to Flynn and ask. She would have been kicking herself over it.

“But man, you warned me, but I had no idea what that woman goes through on a nightly basis with her nightmares. It almost ripped my heart out and she is just a friend.” The look on his face tells me what I wanted to know. They are still happening, and she is struggling.

“Shit, how bad was it? Is it every night, what was she crying out?” I’m sitting on the edge of the couch now, and there is no way I’ll be sleeping anytime soon thinking of her over in Flynn’s apartment living through another nightmare.

“You. She was calling out your name, and she was distressed that she couldn’t find you, crying and then hugging herself hard. I wanted to call you that first night, but Felisha wouldn’t let me. Told me that we had to respect Harper’s choice to deal with this on her own.” I can see how it affected him, and I understand. It’s not fun to watch her in pain.

“Did you talk to her about it in the morning, or did she seem to remember it?” I ask.

“No, she just carried on like nothing happened, and that’s the weird part. Is this what has been happening since she heard about that scum Chester?” He wants to understand as much as he can about what happens for her.

“Yes, apparently she had these dreams back when her father was killed, but through therapy, she got rid of them. And then when she found out about Chester, they came back with a vengeance. It rips my heart out every time, but the first night I heard her, I went into her room and held her. She calmed down, and the nightmares disappeared whenever she was in my arms. And the next morning she would wake up so much better, but completely oblivious that I had been in her bed the night before. And I can assure you it didn’t go well the night she found out, but we worked through that.”

I run my hands through my hair and look at him. “It was my greatest fear when she left my apartment, knowing it meant she was going to be on her own at nights when it happened. But I had to push that agony from my head when I got on the plane to Chicago. I told myself that the few nights would be worth it if I could take the fear away completely.”

“I understand why you did it, but you should have told me. I would’ve gone with you. That’s what brothers do.” Flynn looks sad knowing I didn’t confide in him.

“You are looking at it the wrong way. I needed you here, that was more important to me than anything. I trusted you to keep Harper safe, and I knew you wouldn’t let me down. You protected the woman I love, and that means the world to me, Flynn. If something had happened to her, then it wouldn’t have mattered if he killed me because I would have been dead inside anyway.” And that’s the honest truth.

I can see it all piecing together for Flynn now, that the trust I placed in him was like giving him my world. This time it was me leaning on him, not the other way around.

We both stood, and this time it was me who hugged him as tight as I could without hurting myself, trying to show him what he means to me.

Once I was finally alone, showered, and crawling into my bed, I buried my head into my pillow. I can still faintly smell Harper’s perfume, and it finally feels like home.

Now I just need to work out how to get her body back here too so I’m not just here never washing my bedsheets again so I can sleep with her scent around me.

I know I should be waiting for Harper to come to me, but I can’t wait that long. She deserves to know what happened, and I need to be the one to tell her, before she hears it from someone else.

Tomorrow is the day whether she is ready or not, and I’m going to need every bit of strength to get through it. But it will be worth it.

I hope.

HARPER

When I woke this morning, I felt exhausted.

Last night was a lot!

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