Page 51 of Only With Me

And then a thought crosses my mind.If only I’d stayed and gone to lunch with him, I would’ve been here for whatever happened.

But then I remind myself that if I had stayed to have coffee with Harlow, who knows how much longer it would’ve taken for me to find him. We’re lucky I was only gone for thirty minutes as it is.

Noah: As soon as Fisher gets back from a job to watch Poppy, I’m heading up there.

Landen: Tripp and I are on the way now. Be there in 10.

Before I have a chance to respond, Dad and Mom rush in. They must’ve sped here.

“Any word?” Mom asks, wrapping her arms around me.

“Not yet. They just took him back five minutes ago.”

Dad squeezes my shoulder. “I’m gonna let them know we’re here.”

An hour passes and the rest of my siblings arrive, all asking for updates and information, but we still don’t know.

When the emergency room back doors open, the last thing I expect to see is Harlow with her mom. Mrs. Fanning is in her scrubs and works here, so it’s possible Harlow came to visit after I stood her up.

It’s obvious she’s upset and has been crying.

But then I notice there’s a bandage around her hand.

“Harlow?” Noah calls out, standing and rushing over.

Instinctively, I get to my feet, wanting to console her, too.

“What’s wrong?” Noah asks.

“It’s my dad.”

Chapter Eleven

Harlow

I’m tempted to chuck my phone out the window as I drive home.

I repeat his message in my head over and over, getting angrier each time.

Hey, I’m so sorry I didn’t text sooner. A work thing happened, and I wasn’t able to get away.

Normally, I wouldn’t get upset about someone having to cancel at the last minute because shit happens, but he didn’t text me until he was already twenty minutes late nor did he offer to reschedule.

When it comes to dating and guys, I seriously have noassholeradar because he fooled me big time.

Another part of me wonders if he’s lying and was here, saw me, and then left.

But his loss. I look damn good today and he missed out.

Yep, that’s what I’m telling myself.

Since Mom’s working at the hospital today, I’m home with Dad, but he went to take a nap shortly before I left. Even though I want to storm into the house, I don’t want to wake him.

Moose greets me at the door, acting like he has to go potty. “Hold on, sweetie.”

Figuring the other two dogs need to go outside, too, I go to my parents’ bedroom and quietly open the door. The backyard is fenced in, so they can roam freely.

“Sasha, Shelby…outside,” I whisper the magic word just loud enough for them to hear me.