The smile spreads across my face at the feel of her in my arms and I pull her closer, relishing in having her in my arms again. Yesterday was emotional, in fact, the last few weeks have been emotional beyond belief.
“Wakey, wakey.” My head snaps up and my eyes open wide at the sound of her mom’s voice.
Harmony stirs, moaning my name and sending thoughts into my head that really shouldn’t be there when I have her mom giving me the death stare.
“Morning, Tilly.”
She huffs, narrowing her eyes at me and planting her hands on her hips. “What is it exactly that you think you’re doing?”
“I…” My eyes drop from hers as I cringe, feeling like a teenage boy being caught with his girlfriend when they were both meant to be at home. “Sleeping?”
Harmony’s eyes open, a soft smile spreading across her face as she looks up at me. “Did we honestly sleep on my office floor all night?” Tilly clears her throat and Harm’s head snaps toward her. “Mom?”
Tilly raises her brows. “I was wondering why you didn’t come home last night.” Her eyes meet mine. “Now I can see why.”
I shuffle awkwardly before turning my gaze back toward Harmony, seeing her roll her eyes and stretch out her arms above her head. “I’m a grown woman. I think I can stay out for a night without you questioning me.”
“Erm…” I sit up, starting to feel uncomfortable with Tilly watching her daughter still lying on my chest. Harmony moves to the side, patting her hair down and straightening her clothes. “Nothing happened,” I blurt out, my voice sounding too high to remotely come across as normal.
Both Harmony and Tilly snap their eyes to me and I feel like I wilt under their gazes until Tilly bursts out laughing, losing control of her body as she slaps my bicep.
“You’re your own people. What you choose to do is your business, but next time, lock the door.” She winks and walks out of the room, still chuckling to herself.
I slowly swing my gaze back to Harmony, unsure on how to act before I pick up my phone from beside me, seeing that I have a couple of messages. “I better go,” I tell her as I stand up.
She clears her throat. “Yeah, I… I guess I should go have a shower and change before my art class.”
I nod my head and clear my throat, shuffling awkwardly before walking out of the office door.
I was meant to tell her everything last night, but I didn’t, and I don’t know if I did it on purpose or not. What I do know is that for us to be able to start afresh, I need to lay it all out on the table for her.
My stomach dips as I hear Tilly singing in the main room, and I walk toward her, clearing my throat before saying, “Could you spare Harmony today?” She stops what she’s doing and narrows her eyes at me, probably trying to work out what I want Harmony for. “I want—no, need to take her somewhere.”
She looks around me toward Harmony’s office and then back at me. “I’ll do it this one time, but this is her work. Remember that.”
You’d think she was being deadly serious but the smirk on her face tells me that she’s teasing me.
“I get it. It’s only this once,” I tell her, my eyes showing her that I know how important this studio is to her. “Thanks,” I say, spotting Harmony as she comes out of her office door, leaning against it and watching us.
She narrows her eyes. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Plotting to take you away,” I reply, a smirk on my face. “Be ready in an hour.”
She scrunches up her face in confusion, her cute nose wrinkling. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Go home and shower, hon. I’ve got it from here,” Tilly replies.
I chuckle as her mom walks away, apparently done with the conversation. I flick my eyes over Harmony’s face, trying to decipher if she’s okay with me taking her away from her Saturday classes.
She must see what I’m searching for because she gives me a small nod which has me spinning around and walking toward the door. Her voice calling my name has me stopping me in my tracks and I turn back around, the self-doubt and insecurity in her eyes flooring me. “Yeah?”
She looks down at the floor, biting her bottom lip before bringing her gaze back up to mine. “The kids… you are still bringing them, aren’t you?”
I smile at her concern before walking back over to her; standing so close that we’re nearly touching as I bring my hands up, cupping her cheeks.
She leans into me and I tilt her head down, kissing her lightly on the forehead. “Of course I am, I’d never keep them away from here.” I pull back slightly. “I’d never keep them away from you.”
She blows out a breath of relief as I let her go before walking out of the studio, knowing that this time I’ll be coming back.
I drive home as quickly as I can, not being able to stand being away from her for so long; at least not until I know exactly where we stand after she knows the truth.
We’re on a seesaw, going this way and that, not quite settling on what we are or where we want to go. That all changes today once I’ve told her what happened ten years ago.
As soon as I walk into the house, I head for a shower, knowing that if the kids catch me before I take them to the studio that I’ll never get away.
After my shower, I throw some dark jeans on with my black, leather combat boots and a simple white t-shirt before grabbing my leather jacket and jogging downstairs.
“Daddy!” Izzie squeals, jumping down from her seat and running toward me. I catch her, lifting her up in the air before cuddling her to my chest and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Where was you?”
I set her back down in her seat and say, “You’re so nosey,” before touching the end of her nose and walking over to Clay, kissing the top of his head too before grabbing myself a cup of coffee.
“I take it that it went well?” Amelia asks, standing next to me and leaning against the counter.
“We’ll see,” I say, shrugging and finishing my coffee, trying not to think too much into how today is going to go even though the dread is settling like a heavy weight on my chest. “You okay to pick them up from art class?” I ask, to which she nods before I turn back to watch the kids.
“Tris?” My gaze swings back to Amelia as I raise my brow in question. “I need to talk to you.” She bites her bottom lip, her gaze swinging from mine to the kids. “I know now isn’t exactly the right time, but… I’m thinking about moving out.”
My head reels back and I step closer to her. “Why would you do that?”
She opens her mouth, her features scrunching up. “I—”
“Dad? What time is it?” Clay interrupts, standing up and bringing his plate over to us.
Amelia takes it from him and wanders off toward the sink as I check my watch. We need to be leaving and as the kids are ready, I don’t have time to see why Amelia wants to move out. It doesn’t make sense to me, but right now, I have other things on my mind.
“A?” She turns toward me but doesn’t meet my eyes. “We’re talking about this later.”
I don’t wait for a reply before I walk out of the kitchen and head to the car with the kids.
We make it to the studio within ten minutes and when I double park right in front of the studio, Clay asks, “Why is Harmony outside?”
I turn my head, switching the ignition off and watching her standing there: shoulders slightly drooped and head turned down toward the cobblestone path. It’s not until she hears Izzie calling her name from inside the car that she snaps her head up and pastes a smile on her face.
I’m enthralled as she walks toward us, not able to move even if my life depended on it. She captivates me like no one else ever has, and I kick myself for all the pain that I’ve caused her: not only in the past, but in the present too.
She opens Izzie’s door and as she does, Izzie launches herself at her; Harmony catching her just in time and chuckling as Izzie giggles before looking over at me and smiling wide.
I jump out of
the car, letting Clay out and following them into the studio.
“Amelia will be picking you up today,” I tell them as Harmony sets Izzie down next to her.
“Why?” Izzie asks, her lips turning into a pout as she widens her blue eyes.
I crouch down in front of her. “Because Harmony and I are going on a day trip—”
“I want to come!”
I chuckle and shake my head. “You can’t come, pumpkin.” She pouts and looks down so I place my finger under her chin, bringing her gaze back up to mine before saying, “Next time.”
“Promise?” she asks, holding out her little finger.
“Promise,” I answer, hooking my finger around hers and shaking.
They both wander off into the main room and I look up at Harmony, stepping closer. “You ready?”
She nods, cautiously. “Sure, but I want to know where we’re going.”
“Nope,” I say, my lips lifting into a smirk as I spin around and hold open the door for her. “It’s a surprise.”
She hesitates before rolling her eyes and walking past me and down the cobbled path. I unlock the car, holding open that door for her as well before she climbs inside.
I run around to the other side and slide into the driver’s seat as she asks, “So, no chance in you telling me where you’re taking me?”
“Nope.” I turn the key in the ignition then reach over and pop open the glove compartment, pulling out a piece of material before handing it to her. “Put this on.”
She takes it from my hand, her movements slow but jerky. “What… what is it?”
“A blindfold.” I can see the apprehension on her face, the unsure look inside her honey eyes as she looks back down at it. “Please, Harm. I promise it won’t be long until we’re there.”
She sighs and wraps it around her head, tying it off at the back. “Happy?”
“Extremely.” I chuckle and flick the turn signal on, pulling out onto the road and heading to the place where all of the animosity started.
It’s a twenty-minute drive at most, and I feel every single one of those minutes as the doubt starts to set in.
Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this?
I can feel her nerves mixed with mine swirling around the inside of the car as the silence wraps around us, not even a single note being played on the radio.
I clear my throat as I pull up on the grass verge, seeing the tree in front of me. Memories of the last time I looked at that tree assault me: the image of her sitting on the grass, the rain pouring over her as I drove away.
This time is different, I tell myself before pushing open the door and stepping out, walking around to her side and helping her out.
I can tell she wants to say something, but instead, she bites her lip, stopping herself.
I pull her toward the tree before turning her around, lifting my hand behind her head and undoing the knot she tied in the back.
Her eyes flutter open and slam closed against the harsh sunlight before she tentatively opens them again, looking around me at our willow tree. “What is this?”
I hesitate, maybe I should have taken her somewhere else to tell her instead of bringing her here: back to the beginning? “I needed to bring you back to where it all started.”
“Is this a sick joke?” She laughs sarcastically until she sees the look on my face. “Oh, you’re serious.” She raises a brow. “You thought this would be a good plan?”
“I… erm…” I look around, the sun breaking through the softly moving branches of the tree and down to the trunk that we used to sit against for hours as I watched her draw and paint. “Yeah?”
She spins around and starts to walk toward my car, throwing her arms out. “Unbelievable.”
“Wait!” I shout, catching her as I jog across the grass, wrapping my hand around her bicep and spinning her around to face me. “There’s more—”
“More what, Tris? More insults you need to throw in my face? More time to tell me how I’m not good enough for you?” She huffs, blowing out a breath. “I’m a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, I don’t fit into your life. Isn’t that what you told me?”
My mouth opens but no words come out, my brain to mouth function not working as I let go of her so fast, feeling the burn of her words against the palm of my hand.
She’s thrown my own words back at me and I don’t know what I can say to that.
Her eyes fill with a mixture of sadness and anger as she walks past me, pulling her cell out and holding it in the air, likely searching for service. “Damn thing!”
The first step she takes has my breath catching in my throat; the second cracks my heart; and the third has me springing back to life.
“Harmony!” She doesn’t acknowledge me as she makes it closer to the tree and I storm toward her. “Can you just stop!”
“Leave me alone!” she shouts back, but all that does is cause me to move faster.
“If I’m not running anymore, then I’m sure as hell not letting you.”
She spins around, mouth opening and closing as she tries to find what she wants to say until she straightens and pulls back her shoulders. “What, Tris? What was so important that you had to bring me here?”
I’m two steps away from her now, and I can see every single emotion that she’s feeling run across her face and in the depths of her eyes. “That day—”
“That day you left me!”
“I never wanted to leave!” I scream, backing her against the tree, pushing my face into hers. “Did you really not know me at all? Could you not see that it was a front?” I place my hands on either side of her head, the rough bark of the tree digging into the pads of my fingers before I slap my palm against it. “I loved you with every fiber of my being!” Her wide eyes stare at me as I lower my voice, the gravely tone wrapping around us. “I did it… for you.”
“You… you tore my heart out and trampled on it while you went.”
“I know, dammit—”
She continues, not hearing a word I’ve said. “I always said you weren’t a good liar, but you seem pretty convincing right now. In fact, come to think of it, you were really fucking convincing back then too. So, which is it, Tris? Which time were you lying?”
“Fuck!” I clench my teeth, a muscle in my jaw ticking as I stare at her. “I spent seven days straight practicing that fucked-up speech that I made.” I move my hand away from the tree, placing it on the side of her face but she flinches, trying to pull away—not that she gets very far because I have her trapped. “I had to make you believe me; I had to make sure you wouldn’t come after me.” A tear tracks down her soft cheek and she wipes it away angrily. “It was all one big goddamn fucked-up lie; a lie that was meant to protect you.”
Her eyes flit between mine, a glimpse of uncertainty rising to the surface before she shuts me down. “No. Don’t try to wipe the slate clean after all of this time and label it heroic.” She tries to wriggle out of my grasp but I don’t let her leave. “Tristan, let me go!”
“No,” I growl. “It was to fucking protect you. My dad said he’d get you thrown out of college; he threatened to rip apart your mom and dad’s lives.” I grip my hair in my hand, pulling at it painfully. “He had power then, Harm, power I had no strength against. I walked away, for you!”
The gravity of what he’s saying hits me like a ten-ton truck. “You could’ve talked to me!”
“And if I had?” He raises a brow at me, his eyes swirling with anger as he pins me to the tree with his hips. “You forget that I knew you so well back then. You would have come up with a solution to keep us together.”
“Because that’s such an awful thing to happen, isn’t it? Were you that embarrassed by me?”
“Fuck me, you’re insufferable.” His words don’t match the look in his eyes as they sparkle in the sunlight that shines around us. “He wouldn’t have stopped at anything to get me to marry Natalia and join our families together.” He shakes his head. “We didn’t have a goddamn choice.�
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“You had a choice, Tristan, there’s always a choice,” I breathe out. “And am I honestly supposed to believe that you married and had two children with someone because you were forced to?”
“Jesus Christ!” He pushes away from me, severing our connection as he spins around, his head in his hands as he looks up at the blue sky. “Once we were married, I tried my best to make it work; we both did.” I hear him puff out a breath. “I won’t stand here and tell you that I didn’t love her, because I did.” He spins back around to face me. “But it was never like it was with you.”
“Then why—”
“Because he would have ruined everything you ever wanted!”
“He did ruin everything!” I roar, making him flinch. “He did ruin everything,” I repeat, quieter this time.
“But, don’t you see?” he asks. “He didn’t. Look at where we are now.” He opens his arms wide, his muscles rippling with the movement. “We’re back in the very same spot… together. He can’t come between us now.” He pauses. “Unless you let him.”
My heart wants to forget about everything that’s ever happened and walk right into his arms, but my head is telling me to not be so stupid. He could be saying all of this to—no, that’s not Tristan, it never has been.
My back presses against the tree as I stumble, hit with the realization that he’s telling me the truth. “All of this time.” I shake my head. “We’ve wasted all of this time because of some stupid power trip.”
He takes three giant leaps for steps, clutching the sides of my face as he comes within inches of me. He places his legs on either side of mine, his whole body caging me in. “None of that matters now, sunshine. I’ve been in love with all of your crazy colorfulness from the moment that you covered me in paint and I looked into your beautiful eyes.”
“I—” His thumb swipes across my lips, stopping me from talking.
“I love you with every single piece of my broken and battered heart, there’s never been a doubt about that. I’ll never stop loving you; not even when I take my last breath.”
Etching Our Way (Broken Tracks Series Book 1) Page 40