Page 54 of Right Side of Paradise

Interlude

Me:

Sweetheart

You were gone all day, come have dinner with us

I leave for the bar in half an hour. Can I see you before then

It’s seven o’clock, sweetheart. Have you eaten anything today?

Harlow, I’m worried about you

Harlow :

I’m okay. Just got out of the shower

Me:

You were on the water for a while. You gotta be hungry. Have dinner with us?

Harlow :

I’m tired. I have water and I’m just gonna lie down

Me:

You hear from your mom today?

Harlow :

No. She won’t answer my calls or texts

Me:

She needs time, sweetheart. Don’t think about it too much

She didn’t respond, and when it was time for me to leave and she still hadn’t said anything, I climbed the stairs to her room. Setting the plate on her nightstand, I looked at her curled up in bed with my raggedy old teddy bear beside her head and AirPods snug in her ears.

If I stared any longer, I’d wake her up and beg her to talk to me, knowing damn well I’d get the same short answers we’d been getting all day. My chest ached with a hurt I couldn’t explain. She was right in front of me and it felt like she was in another world.

In two decades, I’d never seen her this withdrawn. Not even when she was the shy stranger Rico showed up at the park with one day.

And the whole house was feeling it. She controlled our rhythm more than she knew; it only took a day to throw us off.

Soul was losing his shit, Rico was blaming himself, and I didn’t know what the hell to do. How had our love story turned into this so fast?

It wasn’t a secret Harlow adored her mother more than anything in the world. Their bond was deep, and their love was deeper. I knew she felt blindsided, but I just wished she would talk to us.

After pulling the blanket up to her waist, I left the room and closed the door behind me.

On the walk to work, I pulled out my phone and typed a message I knew would go unanswered.

Me:

I just left your room. There’s food on your nightstand if you wake up. I guess you were tired, you were already sleeping when I walked in.

I love you, Harlow