Comin' Home

Harper couldn’t believe she had just walked out of her house like that. She had yelled at her father, said something that had been boiling inside of her for years, and now she was finally leaving and maybe never coming back.

As she walked down the driveway, she realized she had no one to pick her up, no one to take her where she needed to go. “Shit,” she muttered out loud to no one in particular. So, she started walking down the road.

It didn’t take her long to pass his house. She sighed. She should have gone there next. She should have walked up to the door, knocked, and talked to Kenny. She should have told him why she left, but also asked why what happened four years ago happened. She should have done a lot of things, but she didn’t. She just kept walking.

She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jean shorts and started to realize how hot it was today. She could feel the sweat forming on the back of her neck, which was more than enough to gross her out.

Harper’s luck hadn’t really been up to par lately. So as she walked and started to feel like she might pass out from the heat, she heard a car pull over behind her. She casually glanced over her shoulder as her feet smacked the sidewalk underneath, and what she saw was like a saving grace and hell all rolled into one.

“Harper?” he called as he climbed out of the bright yellow car. “What the hell…?” his voice trailed off as he jogged over to her speeding figure. She had started to practically jog when she spotted him and his yellow car. She just prayed to some higher power that Garret was alone.

“Harper, if that’s you, stop,” he said when he caught up to her. It was like a force field had been thrown in front of her and she physically couldn’t go any further. She groaned and turned around to face him.

“Hi Garret,” she said feebly.

“When the hell? What the hell? I—What—When?” The poor boy couldn’t even get a full sentence out, but luckily Harper could piece some of it together.

She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her, a protective stance she had learned to take with these boys. “I got in a few days ago. I graduated college last week, and Ni—“ she stopped and sighed again, then rolled her head around, trying to find the words. “I wanted to come home for a little bit,” she lied. Lie number two, and they just keep coming.

“I call BS, Harp. First of all, you, of all people, don’t just ‘want to come home’. Second, you’ve been here for a few days and yet you haven’t bothered to stop by? I thought we were your friends, Harper.”

She rolled her eyes. “You stopped being my friends when I left, Gar. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s true. And you’re right, I didn’t want to ‘just come home’, I’m here with my boyfriend.”

He stopped for a minute to take it in, then nodded. “I figured. Anyone we know?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter at this point.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “Look, I know this is probably the last thing you want to do, but I could use a ride into town. Please?” she asked him, begging.

He shook his head in shock, but agreed. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered as he turned the car back on and started to drive away. “Kenny-”

“Has no idea I’m here, and it’s going to stay that way. For now, at least,” she mumbled as Garret drove.

The drive was quiet. Harper could almost feel all the questions bubbling up inside of Garret, and she knew he wanted to ask them, but luckily he was quiet. He finally got into town and after prying it out of Harper, he pulled into the parking lot of the Subway. When he was parked, Harper tried to thank him and get out as quickly as possible, but he locked the doors. “You aren’t leaving without seeing him again, Harper. You owe it to me at least; you can’t make me keep a secret this big. It’s not fair.”

She groaned and smacked her hands off the dashboard in frustration. “Well if he’s anything like you and John, he’ll see me soon enough,” Harper mumbled, looking away from Garret. “Look, I don’t have to do anything. And you don’t even have to keep this a stupid secret. Do what you want, I don’t care anymore. The last thing I need to worry about right now is Kennedy!” she burst, yelling at Garret. She was doing a lot of yelling today.

“Tense much?” Garret muttered. “Fine Harper, do what you want like I know you will. I just think if you’re here for awhile, then it’d be shitty for you to not at the very least let him know you’re here. That’s all.”

Harper sighed and rubbed her forehead, but nodded. “I know, Garret. Believe me, I know. There’s a lot I need to do, but I have a lot on my plate right now and I just don’t have the time or energy to deal with him right now.”

“Just think about it.”

“Okay,” she whispered, and then climbed out of the car slowly. She stopped and leaned back inside, looking Garret right in the eyes. “Thank you,” she told him, choosing not to elaborate on what she was thanking him for exactly.

“You may not think we’re your friends anymore Harper, but I still am,” he told her before smiling and leaving.

Harper almost burst into tears right there, but she kept it together. She walked into the Subway where Nick was waiting for her and instantly spotted her boy sitting in a booth with Halvo. She walked over and collapsed on the bench, laying her head on Nick’s shoulder. “Can I just go home now? Please?”

“Home home? Or Boston home?”

“What do you think?” she muttered, burying her face in his chest while he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

“You’ll be alright, Love. You’ve gone through worse.”

Maybe not worse, she thought to herself, but definitely harder, more difficult and awkward times, that’s for sure.

“Plus, pretty soon you will be back in Boston, and then you won’t have to deal with your parents anymore. Just hang in there,” Nick reassured her, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“Right,” she mumbled. She had to start keeping her lies straight. Right now, Nick thought she was worried about her parents. What he didn’t know what how she couldn’t keep her mind from traveling back to Kennedy. I suck, she thought to herself.