Page 78 of His to Teach
He’s right. Saying that I’m more important than her education is fucked on so many levels.
“You don’t get it!” Harper finally breaks free from Emma’s grasp, rushing to her brother and pulling on his arm. “I’m happy with him, Mason. He’s good for me!”
He turns on her, face thunderous. “Getting you kicked out of school isn’t good for you! Letting people at the university gossip about you—Jesus, Harper, do you hear yourself right now?”
“I’ll go to a different school then,” she responds. “Or switch my major. I don’t care.”
Fuck. I can’t let this happen.
Mason turns from her to get up in my face, his expression murderous. He’s an inch or so shorter than me, but broader across the chest. And the rage in his eyes makes it clear that he wouldn’t think twice about knocking me the fuck out. “You’re done with her. Do you hear me?”
The words stab through my chest, pain radiating out into my limbs.
Because I know in my heart that he’s right. I can’t do this to her. I can’t ruin her. I refuse.
“Let me talk to her,” I beg him, willing him to recognize the regret in my eyes. “Let me fix this.”
He stares at me for a long minute. Finally, he nods, once. He leans toward me, voice low enough that only I can hear. “You have ten minutes. And I’m only allowing this because I trusther.”
His meaning couldn’t be clearer. He no longer has any trust to spare for me.
And I deserve it. I deserve so much worse than losing my old friend’s trust.
“Come here,” I tell Harper, barely able to look at her as I pass by on the way to her room. She hurries after me, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Nate, I’m so sorry. He doesn’t understand.”
Instead of responding, I shut the door behind us. There’s a lead weight in my chest and I feel like I’m going to throw up as I glance over at the bed. We’d been so connected there a few short hours ago. Not just a physical connection—it had been soul deep. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like it in my life.
How could everything have changed so completely in so short a time?
As I look down at Harper, I know what I have to do. The reason I allowed myself to feel a connection that strong is because I believed she needed me. It wasn’t like with Renee—Harper needs the same things I do in bed and in a relationship, so I let myself believe that I should be the one to give them to her. I should be the one to take care of her. To make her happy and keep her safe.
But now all I can see is destruction. In the space of a few minutes, I set fire to her relationship with her brother and seriously damaged her academic ambitions. I’m not taking care of her. I’m ruining her. Isn’t that what Mason said? I hate that he’s right.
But there’s no way in hell I’m going to let it get any worse.
“You’re not going to a different school,” I tell her, my voice ragged. “And you’re not switching majors.”
She nods, seemingly unconcerned. “Fine. You’re right. We’ll just have to be more careful.”
I’m shaking my head before she finishes the sentence. “No, angel. It’s not going to work.”
Her face is the picture of confusion, like she can’t begin to understand what I’m saying. It breaks my heart a little more.
“We’renot going to work, Harper.”
She just stares at me. “I don’t understand.”
I want to touch her so badly. Want to hold her and wipe that scared, confused look off her face. But I can’t do that. I can’t keep hurting her. So I shove my hands into my pockets.
“I’m not going to be responsible for screwing up your education,” I tell her. “And your brother’s right—that’s exactly what’s going to happen if we keep this up.”
“I told you,I don’t care.”
I shake my head. “And that’s the problem, angel. You feel like you can give up the things you worked so hard for, just to be with me. That’s not how a relationship is supposed to work.”
There’s something like panic on her face now. “I thought you were supposed to make sacrifices in a relationship,” she argues, her voice high and strained.
