Coming Home Duet

by Cameron Hart

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you need to stop insulting the love of my life. She is perfect in every way. Harper is everything you’re not.”

  That stops her in her tracks. Her mouth is open in shock. When she finally gains control of herself, I see tears form in her eyes.

  “I want to give us another chance, baby,” she sniffles. Big crocodile tears roll down her face. Gabriella continues her performance, and I let her get it all out. “Now that your name is cleared, there’s nothing in our way. I never stopped loving you, you know. You are my one and only.”

  Now that pisses me off. “Your one and only? What about Matt? Or Tyler? Or any of the number of men you slept with in the short time we were married? Face it, Gabriella, you were only after me for my money. You thought you’d get half in the divorce, but it doesn’t quite work that way when you cheat on your husband as often as you breathe.”

  She snaps out of the charade once again, giving me another glimpse of her true, calloused self.

  “Fine. I think you’ve said enough. I’ll leave. You won’t see me again, Levi.”

  With that, she turns on her heel and slams the door on her way out.

  “Good riddance,” I mumble under my breath.

  I’m still reeling from the whole encounter and I wonder what the fuck she thought was going to happen when she tried to get back together with me. The anger and shock dissipate, and I replay her words in my head. She said Harper saved my ass.

  Does that mean I still have a chance?

  I don’t waste a second. Turning on my computer, I book the next flight to Atlanta and run out of my office.

  “Levi? Where are you going? Should we expect you back in the office?” My secretary asks.

  “I don’t know, I’ll let you know when I get to Atlanta.”

  I don’t have time to worry about anything else. I have to get to Harper.

  ✽✽✽

  Five hours later, I’m in Atlanta.

  Fuck, this place already feels like more of a home than Chicago, though I suspect it has nothing to do with location, and everything to do Harper.

  The wait in the rental car line in the airport takes forever, and I’m tempted to just get an Uber, but I have a feeling I’m going to want my own car. Everything is taking forever and it’s annoying the shit out of me.

  Finally, I get my car and drive to Harper’s as fast as I can without endangering myself or others. I whip into the first free parking spot and leap up the stairs to her apartment. Banging on the door, I hold my breath as I wait for her to answer.

  What am I even going to say?

  I should have thought of something. I love you. I’ve missed you. Can I throw you over my shoulder and take you far away from here so I can make love to your sweet body until we’re both so sore we can’t move?

  Okay, that last one might come off as a little strong. I don’t get much time to figure anything out because the door swings open.

  Only, it isn’t Harper. Or Emma. It isn’t anyone I know.

  A small Asian woman answers the door. She has to be about seventy-five years old.

  “Yes, what can I do for you?” She asks, eyeing me warily.

  “I’m looking for Harper or Emma, they live here.”

  “Oh, no, I’m sorry. I don’t think so.”

  “They definitely did a month ago, now tell me what’s going on? If she doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. But I’d rather hear that than some bullshit lie.” I know I’m losing it and I shouldn’t go off on this poor woman. I can’t seem to help myself; I feel a frantic, almost manic need to find Harper and make sure she’s okay, let her know she’s mine and I’m never leaving again.

  “Sorry, sir. I moved in two days ago. I don’t know a Harper or Emma.”

  What the fuck?

  Where is she? What happened? Why did I ever leave? Is she okay? If Dan or Tracy did anything to her…

  My thoughts are cut off by the small woman clearing her throat. I realize I’ve just been standing here like an idiot for a while.

  “Sorry to bother you, ma’am. My mistake.”

  I high tail it out of there and get back into my car, trying to regroup and figure out a plan.

  “Where are you, sweet girl?” I whisper to myself.

  Then I remember I never unblocked her number. I whip out my phone and unblock the number before calling her. Instead of hearing the melody of her voice, I get the dreaded beeping alarm, telling me the number has been disconnected.

  “Shit,” I grunt at no one in particular.

  I have zero desire to ever see Dan or Tracy again, but I have to know where Harper is. Even if they don’t tell me, I might be able to pick up clues or maybe get them to give me her new number. I’ll risk getting shot by Dan again in order to glean any crumb of information he has.

  My stomach turns sour when I pull up next to their house. There’s a moving truck and it looks like the house is nearly empty.

  What the hell happened while I was gone?

  I run up to the front door, which is already propped open.

  “Dan? Tracy? Harper?” I yell into the mostly empty house. I don’t hear anything for a minute, and I feel like I’m going to pass out from anger and desperation.

  I walk around the house and find Tracy in the kitchen, drinking wine straight from the bottle.

  “You.” She sneers, narrowing her eyes and swaying a little on her feet. “You’ve some nerve to shhhhow up herrre,” she slurs.

  I have a hundred questions about what is going on, but I settle on the most important one.

  "Tracy. Tell me where Harper is, I'm begging you.” Yeah, not the smartest business move, but for Harper, I'm breaking all the rules. I'm growing more and more unhinged by the second and I don't have time to negotiate with this drunk bitch.

  "Ha!" She barks. "That'sss one thing I did right. Kicked her fat assss out of the apartment. Cut ‘er off completely." She finishes by slicing her hand through the air to emphasize her point. The movement makes her drop the bottle of wine, which promptly crashes to the floor and spills all over the tile. Serves her right.

  I turn around and head out of the door so I don’t say something to Tracy in the heat of the moment that I know I’ll regret later.

  “Wait!” She cries out. Her voice sounds about as desperate as I feel right now. “Don’t leave. I’m all alooooone!”

  “Good,” I yell as I run out of the door and back to my car.

  I look at the dashboard. It’s just past three in the afternoon, which means she might be in class. I drive to campus, unsure of where to start looking. I opt for the registrar in the student center, hoping against hope I can bribe someone to give me her personal information or at least a class schedule.

  When I swing open the door, I find something even better.

  “Emma!” I yell, even though we’re in the same confined space.

  “Levi?” She looks like I’m the last person on earth she thought she’d see today. That’s not good. That means Harper gave up on me. She thought I left. And why wouldn’t she? That’s what I’ve been doing from the beginning; getting close and then abandoning her. God, I’m a fucking fool.

  “You asshole!” Emma shouts. “You broke Harper’s heart and she still went to bat for you, you ungrateful son of a bitch!”

  Emma storms over to me and pounds her tiny fists on my chest. I keep my hands at my sides and let her rage at me. God knows I deserve so much worse.

  “Sir, is there a problem? Want me to call security?” The woman behind the desk asks.

  “No, we’re good.”

  She nods and goes back to her book, seemingly unfazed by the scene in front of her.

  “Emma, I need to see her, this isn’t what you think—”

  “Oh no, mister. Not a chance. She won’t tell you this because she’s too sweet, but you fucking broke her. She lost everything, every goddamn thing, she gave it all up for you and you can’t even answer your phone!”

  It fucki
ng guts me to hear Emma say that. I deserve it. Every last word.

  “Emma. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know what Harper gave up for me, but I know I don’t deserve it. I am not worthy of her kindness. I swear to you, I only meant to protect her. I wanted to keep her away from all of this lawsuit bullshit. I have no idea what she did, but I was told she got me off the hook. Please, please, Emma, tell me where she is.”

  Emma stands her ground, craning her neck to stare me down. There’s no doubt about it; Emma is as fierce as they come, despite her being all of five foot two and maybe a hundred and fifteen pounds soaking wet.

  I see her stance soften ever so much, telling me she found whatever it was she was looking for.

  “If you hurt her ever, and I mean ever again, I will not hesitate to come after you. I may be small, but I know some monsters who don’t need an excuse to fuck someone up. Do you hear me? She’s my only family and I refuse to see her as miserable as she has been since you left.”

  I wonder, not for the first time, what Emma’s story is.

  "I know I messed up and there's no excuse. I promise, Emma if I ever hurt her, I will gladly offer myself up to whatever nightmare you have in store for me. I love her and I plan to spend every day of the rest of our lives making up for my mistakes."

  Emma finally backs down. “You love her?”

  “Yes. More than anything. I really wanted her to be the first person I said that to, but I’ll tell the whole goddamn world if it means I can get her back.”

  “Fine. I still don’t like you right now.”

  “That’s fair.”

  “Take me to your car then, asshole.”

  “Is that my new nickname?”

  “Yeah. You’ve earned it.” She grins at me, the anger finally draining from her face.

  “Agreed,” I chuckle.

  Emma hops into my car and directs me to a shitty motel in an even shittier neighborhood.

  “What the hell, Emma? This is where you guys have been staying?”

  “Yeah, well, Tracy kicked us out the day you disappeared and, you know. Desperate times and all that.”

  Oh, fuck no. Harper will be with me, wherever that is. Certainly not in a shithole like this. I keep those thoughts to myself, however.

  Emma steps out of the car at the same time I do. Instead of heading to the room, she starts walking away from the motel.

  “You’re not coming in?”

  “Um, no, I’ll just take a bus downtown. Actually, can you not tell her you saw me?”

  Strange request. "Do you have someplace to go? I don't want to kick you out of your place."

  “I actually had to leave town for a bit. I’m keeping a low profile for now, but I’ve been looking out for Harp when I can.”

  I nod, not really comprehending what she’s saying. My Harper has been here all alone?

  “Go get your girl, Levi,” Emma says, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between us. “She loves you, ya know.”

  “Yeah?” My voice almost cracks with the emotion of hearing that.

  “Duh, you dummy. It wouldn’t hurt this bad if it wasn’t love.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Levi…” Emma looks up to the sky and contemplates her next words. “Just take care of her, okay? Promise me she’ll always have you.”

  She shocks the hell out of me when I see tears form in the corners of her eyes. It almost sounds like she’s saying goodbye for good.

  “Of course, Emma. I’ll always be there for her, no matter what.”

  “Good.” She gives a curt nod and then continues on her way to the bus stop.

  I stand in front of the door and get ready for the hardest conversation of my entire life. I’ve traded millions on the stock market, had meetings with some of the richest people in the country, and had a fucking gun pointed at me, but this is by far the most intimidating thing I’ve ever done.

  I have to hold on to what Emma said. Harper loves me. I just have to give her a reason to give me another chance.

  I take a breath and knock on the door.

  Chapter 14

  Harper

  Who the heck is knocking on the door?

  I’m kind of afraid to open it, but maybe it’s Emma? She got me set up in this motel a few days after we trashed the apartment, but then she told me she had to go out of town for a bit to deal with some family things. She never talks about Florida or what happened before we moved to Atlanta. I know she went through something and I figured she’d tell me about it whenever she was ready.

  I know Emma felt terrible for leaving me, and honestly, I was kind of afraid to live on my own. But I knew she didn’t need to worry about me while she was dealing with whatever else was going on.

  Despite my many, many protests, Emma rented the room here for two weeks, and then shoved a bunch of cash in my bag before she left. I didn’t find it until later that evening. Emma gave me her new phone number and made me promise not to share it with anyone. I’m worried about her, and I have a feeling there’s so much more going on than what she initially told me, but she calls every night. My plan is to find a place for us so she has a home to come back to whenever she’s done facing down her demons.

  The knocking comes again, making me even more aware of being a single female in a crappy motel.

  Single.

  Ooof.

  It hurts to think about that word. Not that Levi and I were ever really “officially” anything, but that kind of sucks worse. I don’t even know what I am grieving. We weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, exactly. We were so much more. Weren’t we? At least on my end we were. He cared for me in a way I’ve never experienced.

  Or so I thought. I get that things were complicated with the lawsuit, I mean, I freaking heard it all on the phone, but why didn’t he return my calls? Or answer my texts? I thought maybe he was scared or wanted to protect me or something, but I turned my phone in the day after he left. They arrested my dad the next day. And then I still haven’t heard anything from him. It’s been three weeks now. He obviously knows my dad was arrested. How could he not?

  Whoever is at the door is pounding it down in earnest now. I know I probably shouldn’t open it, but honestly, these doors are only slightly more effective than a piece of cardboard, so if the person on the other side truly meant harm, they could break in easily enough. I grab a coffee mug from the small table by the window just in case I need to bash it over the person’s head.

  I swing open the door and all the air is sucked out of my lungs.

  It can’t be.

  I swear I see Levi standing right in front of me as if I just conjured him up. He looks about as miserable as I feel. We have matching bags under our eyes and I'm pretty sure he's lost a little weight. Of course, he’s Levi, so even at his worst, he looks super sexy, whereas I look like a disheveled mess.

  “Say something, sweetheart, you’re killing me here.” His deep, gravelly voice snaps me back into reality. He must have asked me something while I’ve just been standing here gaping at him.

  So many emotions flash in my mind. Anger, bitterness, hurt, longing, sadness, betrayal, loneliness, foolishness. But the one that sticks out the most is relief. My mind is freaking pissed at Levi, but my body longs for his. Before I even realize what’s going on, I find myself wrapping my arms around his torso and burying my face into his warm chest.

  It takes him a second to respond and I feel like an idiot.

  Of course he’s not really here for me, not like that. He probably just came to say thanks before leaving again. But then why didn’t he just call me? Could that possibly mean…

  I feel his arms surround me and pull me closer as his forehead drops to rest on the top of my head. He smells like pine and citrus, and I can’t help but smile into the soft fabric of his shirt. He’s here. He’s really here.

  “I missed you so much, sweet girl. I’m so sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry. Please forgive me, Harper, fuck, I’m so sorry.”

  I want to forgive
him. I do. But I deserve answers, dammit.

  Even though it pains me, I pull myself away from him and shove him a little to give us some space. If he holds me any longer, I'm going to end up forgiving him and kissing him and forgetting about all of the pain and misery I've had to deal with these past few weeks. I step back inside the room and try to put as much distance between us as I can.

  "Where did you go? Why didn't you return my calls?" I ask, continuing to back into the room. "Why are you here now? Why the hell couldn't you trust me?" He follows me inside, taking one step forward every time I step backward. "Why am I not good enough for you? Were you just using me to fill time?" I throw a pillow at him, trying to keep him away. "Were you ever going to tell me about your ex-wife? Was I just a rebound for you?" Another pillow is chucked his way. "Were you using me to get back at my dad? Am I just a joke to you?"

  Tears sting my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. My back hits the wall, with Levi following close, standing right in front of me. Hurt, regret, and longing cloud his beautiful brown eyes. He opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t give him the chance.

  “No!” I yell in his face, pounding my hands on his hard chest. I have no doubts that he could stop me, restrain me, throw me over his shoulder and take me wherever he wants. Instead, he lets me get it all out. “You don’t get to talk yet. If you wanted to talk, you could have returned any of my sixty-five calls or two hundred text messages. But, since you’re a coward and ran off to God knows where, you get to listen to me.”

  He presses his lips together and keeps his arms at his sides, letting me smack his chest to emphasize my words.

  "I was so scared for you. I heard everything on my voicemail that day. You were in my dad's office and I heard what he said about the business, about the SEC, about sending them a false tip to check into you. And then I heard gunshots and I thought…" I choke out a sob and Levi tries to comfort me. I smack his hand away and regain my composure.

  “But it turns out you were fine. I didn’t know what to do with the voicemail, but I had to get it into the right hands. So I turned my phone into the police. They arrested my dad the next day. I thought maybe then you’d come back to me. Like an idiot, I thought…” I can’t look him in the eyes anymore, so I focus on the chipped pink nail polish on my big toe. “I thought you loved me,” I whisper.