Page 96 of A Brush with Love
“Harper, I—”
“Go! Fucking go!” she yelled, looking at him with rage and hurt and confusion. “I don’t want you here. You’re the last thing I need.”
“Trust me,” Dan said, staring at her for a moment longer, rawand vulnerable, before fixing his features into an emotionless mask. “I’m done.” He turned on his heel and left the room.
Harper waited a full minute, kept everything under control for sixty whole seconds, before she broke.
She balled her hands in her hair, sobs ripping from her throat. She grabbed a pillow, biting into it as she cried.
She allowed herself
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
seconds of tears
Six
Seven
Eight
moments of rocking back and forth to the pulsing pain in her head. In her chest.
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
instances of wanting to be held, of wanting to let go of control.
Then she gritted her teeth, wiped her eyes, and waited calmly for her discharge papers.
It wasn’t until she got home, sitting on the edge of her lonely bed, that she noticed the list of psychiatrists attached to the forms.
CHAPTER 33
DAN
Dan walked around the city aimlessly. He didn’t know where to go, what to do. The words “You’re the last thing I need” propelled each step forward until hours had passed.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, causing his heart to jolt in his chest, pathetically hoping it was Harper. He accepted the call so quickly, he didn’t read the caller ID until it was too late.
And he was officially on a call with his mom.
Cursing under his breath, he brought the phone up to his ear.
“Hi, Mom.”
