Get it together, Harper. He’s literally old enough to be your dad!
I lift my head and throw a hand to my mouth.
For the second time tonight, my heart breaks as I stare at the painting on my bedroom wall.
The last memory I have of a happy family life now has the word
Skank written across it in thick, black ink.
“Arrgghh!” I scream, storming across the floor. Yanking the painting from the wall, I run to my open window and throw it down to the garden. “Fuck you, Christina Fawkes! Fuck you!”
Pulling off my dress, I face-plant on my bed and cry harder than I have since my mother died.
Then I hear the thud of heavy footsteps bounding up the staircase.
My heart thumps so hard as I stare at my door.
And even though I’m only wearing my bra and panties, I don’t make a sound when the handle begins to lower…
TWELVE
Harper
It’s almost midday, and I’m still lying in my bed thinking about what an epic shit show my life is.
Because not only did Chris piss off the most influential girls in my college, but he also made up some nonsense about me dating Billy McVane.
Screw college. No way am I going in today.
My phone rings as soon as I switch it on, and I’m relieved to see my best friend’s name flashing on my screen.
“Hey, Maria. How was the hot date?” I ask.
“Forget aboutmy hot date!” she yells. “I want to hear about your party to end all parties. Fire Life, huh? You sly old dog.”
I rub my forehead. “How did you hear about it?”
“Are you crazy?” She laughs so loud I have to move the phone away. “You broke the internet, Harps! I’ve been fielding calls all morning. Don’t worry, I know the Billy McVane stuff is total BS. You would have told me. I’m more interested in the silver fox who poured gasoline over Christina and Becca. Apparently, they’re fighting for their lives in the burn unit.”
I roll to my side. “That has to be the worst case of grapevine gossip I’ve ever heard. There were no fires. And it was Macallan, not gasoline.”
“I figured,” she says. “Will you unfriend me if I admit that I’m kinda disappointed?”
I giggle. “No. You’re safe. God, it was so awful. Christina Fawkes read my diary to like half the college. And she wrote
Skank all over the painting I did when I was nine. Had to throw it out.”
“You love that painting! Evil witch. Hope she gets boils on the inside of her eyelids.” My best friend has a way with words. “And I hope her warts grow warts. And then I hope the warts on warts grow?-“
“Warts,” I say. “I get it. It was beyond horrendous. I’m never showing my face in public again.”
Maria pauses. “Have you not been on social media this morning?”
“No,” I say. “I’m still in bed. And this is where I plan to stay. Forever.”
“Okay. Then you need to prepare yourself for impact.”
I sit bolt upright. “What? Why?”
“Greek Life,” she says. “The members have been running some poll thing since eight o’clock this morning. Apparently, they don’t want Christina running things anymore.”
“Because of last night?” I gasp.
“I’d say so. They’ve been voting all morning and…” I hear Maria tapping at her keyboard. “You’re at ninety-six percent.”
“What?” I shout. “For what?”
“To run Greek Life, dopey. All hail Queen Harper. Maybe you can fix me up with a dashing prince.”
Fiery bile races up my throat.
“I don’twantto run Greek Life! Why would people vote for me? No one ever even talks to…” A single thought crashes into my head and it makes me so mad. “Mr. Invisible! He’s always meddling with things. He’s probably paid half the college to rig the vote.”
“Mr. Invisible?” Maria laughs. “Are you still drunk? Sounds like I missed one hell of a party.”
“I need to go. I’ll call you back.”
“Ohhh,” she groans. “Is this how it’s going to be now? As soon as Harper climbs the social ladder, she ditches her loyal best friend. I get it. Scoundrel. Call me back.”
Maria ends the call, so I toss my phone down and head for the room at the end of the hallway.
There’s no way in hell all those people would have voted for me.
“You better not still be here!” Pushing open the door to find an empty room, I stand here bewildered at why my first feeling is disappointment.
Just like it was when he didn’t come into my room last night.
My brain and emotions were normal before this guy showed up like a bad smell. Now everything is haywire.
And he smells amazing.
“You confuse the shit out of me, Chris Collins!” I march to the wardrobe. “You better not have any clothes in here! You’re not living in my- Arrgghh!”
A cardboard box falls from the top shelf, toppling me backward. I fall onto his bed and slide down to the floor. Then I notice something shining inside the box.
“You better not have brought more guns into my house!”
Crawling across the floor, I reach inside the box and pull out…
“Handcuffs?” I gasp, dangling them in the air. “What kind of freak is my dad friends with?”
My conscience tells me to put them back and get out of here, but just like everything else lately, I ignore it. Instead, I slide the metal over my wrist and laugh as I glance in the mirror.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of…” Something clicks and my smile fades. “No, no, no!”
The handcuff is locked tight.
The front door slams shut downstairs.
Then the slow plod of footsteps echo up the staircase.
This is worse than bad.
Chris pauses in the bedroom doorway, and I stare at his massive feet. With one locked handcuff still wrapped around my wrist, I’m hiding under the bed. He’s panting like he’s been running.
Of course he has nice legs. Why wouldn’t he?
His calves pulse and bulge as he walks across the room.
“Hey, Mark,” he says, staring through the window.
Oh my God. He’s calling my dad. “Yeah. I’m here.” He sighs heavily. “Listen, pal, I don’t think I can stay here.”
Keeping the handcuffs quiet, I shuffle closer.
“Don’t take offense, but it’s Harper. Yeah. I know you warned me.”
Great. Some dad. “But it’s getting worse. She stinks.”
What the hell? “Really bad. Yeah. That’s it. Cat piss.”
My neck creaks as I sniff my armpits.
“I think she steals stuff too,” Chris says, his upside-down head suddenly appearing beside me. And he’s not even holding a phone. “Like handcuffs.”
He reaches out a long arm, but I shuffle to the other side of the bed and stand. I hate that handsome smile.
“Nice pj’s, kiddo. If you wanted to play, you could’ve just asked…”
With the bed separating us, I lift my cuffed wrist. “I don’t want to ‘play’ anything. Especially not withyou. And what are you even doing with these? You…you perv!”
Great. He’s wearing a tight blue sports vest and white shorts, and I don’t know where to look again.
“Oh,
I’m the perv?” he counters “You’re the one rummaging through my closet when I’m not here.” Chris smirks and sniffs the air. “Why can I smell cat piss?”
“I don’t smell like cat pee!” I shout. “And you’re not supposed to be here. I was doing you the favor of helping you move out. Anyway, uncuff me!”
He snickers. “Where are your manners? Sayplease.”
“Right!” I stomp around the bed and walk right up to him. “I don’t have time for your games, Grandpa. Give me the key!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.