AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He told me he agreed to therapy.” I shouldn’t be surprised. He all but offered to go together the night before I moved out, but I figured that was his last attempt at an olive branch. His accepting that it might do him some good is the best of news.
It means he’s ready to move forward.
“Yes, well, we should’ve pushed him a long time ago,” Ian says, scratching the top of his head. “He agreed to individual therapy and group meetings with other SCI patients twice a month. Maybe if he sees that he’s not alone in this, it’ll clear his head.”
“That’s a huge step for him. Who will watch over him?”
“Helen, Henrik, and I will step up. I’ll sleep here if I must. We have a meeting with his family doctor tomorrow.”
“Good . . . that’s a relief.”
“Are you feeling all right?” Ian asks before sipping his coffee. “I heard you threw up.”
“I’m fine. Probably just stress.”
Henrik offers me a ride. Then he tells me not to worry too much and that they will watch Harvey until he’s on his feet again.
I say goodbye to Harv one last time. A part of me wants to stay with them, yet the other part knows that I made my decision, and I must live with it.
I’m not his girlfriend anymore, and if the man has any chance of moving on from our relationship, he needs to develop the other relationships in his life.
While I wait for Henrik, Harvey’s mom steps out of her car. We quietly hug, and I see the tears brimming in her blue eyes when I pull back.
“He’s going to be okay,” I tell Helen, and for once I believe it myself.
“I hope so.” She dabs a tissue in the corner of her eyes. “I can’t say I understand your decision to leave him, because, well, frankly I don’t, but I don’t fault you for it either. We can never forget the time you spent trying to make him smile.”
I had a feeling Helen wouldn’t be as happy having me here as Ian.
I don’t blame her. I broke her son’s heart.
And it’s almost laughable that it took me years to try to make Harvey smile while Claire managed to do so as soon as she started working with him.
Helen hugs Henrik before he tells her he’ll be back.
How did this happen? How can Harvey’s family feel like strangers already?
It’s as if this isn’t my life. As the days go by, I keep missing the key players that used to be in it.
“Gem, it’s not your fault.” Hen breaks the silence, squeezing my hand, once we’re in his car.
I swallow because he has no idea that I’ve been sleeping with the monster that caused all of this. Palmer clearly shouldn’t have been driving that night. Damon knew she was unstable—he knew! And now Harvey will pay the price for the rest of his life.
“It is. Trust me, it is,” I whisper, clearing my throat. “Do you mind driving me to my dad’s place instead?”
I’m glad when he nods. I’m reminded why I love spending time with him—it’s so easy, and if he suspects there’s trouble in paradise, he doesn’t comment on it.
“If we’re going to play the blame game, then I’m pret-ty sure I’d win, considering you told me to keep an eye on him, you know?”
“He’ll be okay. He has to be.” A part of me is grateful for Claire for pushing him to get the help he needs. “Thanks for driving me, Hen. I could’ve taken an Uber, seriously.”
“Nonsense, I had to clear my head.”
As silence blooms, I wonder if I misread the signs from the journal burning a hole through my purse right now. It could’ve been anyone else but Harv and me. Yet, as my mind whispers these words, I already know they’re woven in lies.
He lied to me since the beginning.
He knew and he saidnothing.
