"Harley?"
I broke down. "I'm so sorry."
Flynn sighed. "Oliver told you...didn't he?"
"Yeah," I pursed my lips and nodded.
Mekhi rubbed my back.
"I don't need sympathy-"
"You can barely talk. You're hurt. Do you need me to come back-"
"No...Harley."
"Then what do you need?"
"Nothing....I don't need anything from anyone right now."
"Flynn, you're hurt. You need people there for you right now-"
"No. Harley, please listen to me...For once, listen."
I wiped my cheeks and took a deep breath. "Okay."
"I came back home because I realized that I need to get better in the place where I got over everything else. With my family. I love you."
I looked down.
"You will always be my best friend."
I nodded and rolled my eyes. Obviously he meant as a friend.
"But I need to be alone. Just like I needed to discover more about myself alone, I need to recover on my own. Meaning, I need professional help and help from my family members...It's not just the assault. There are other things hurting me. Oliver feels just as bad as you may be feeling right now. And I'm not even sure how Riley feels. But I know that you all understand. You understand, right?"
I sighed. "Yes."
"Okay...My dad's coming back again."
"He is?" I smiled a little, wiping my tears.
"Yeah...He's trying to get his family to move closer to us...He wants to be a part of my life."
"That's awesome."
"Yes...it is. I'm happy about something at least."
"Flynn," I took a deep breath.
"Yeah?"
"There's something I need to tell you before we hang up."
"Okay. Go ahead."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what-"
"Just listen. I'm sorry for treating you the way I did when we were dating. I only cared about myself and what I got from other people...from you. I did things to get an outcome. I was mean and rude because people thought of me that way and I liked being feared by everyone else. Then I changed who I was by pretending to be a person I wasn't. I hurt people. I led Eva on and played along with her because I thought I would look better. I know now that if I really cared about her...I would've told her no from the beginning. If I cared about you...I wouldn't have kissed you when you were dating Heather...slept with you. You loved me when we did these things and you didn't think you could control yourself but I could've. And I let these things happen because I liked feeling wanted. Guilt wasn't in my book. I'm trying to be better...I'm changing for the better..thanks to someone I've met," I smiled at Mekhi," and I'm going to be a much better person when we meet again. I understand now what you meant when you said that you needed to know yourself...I need to know myself too. Thank you for being there for me. And I know that you're strong and you'll get through this because you always fight through. You don't need me to do it, because you are a strong person. I'm praying for you on my end. And I want first call when you feel like talking, okay?"
"Okay," he answered with a heavy voice.
"Bye, Flynn."
"Bye, Harley."
I hung up and looked at Mekhi. I nodded with tears in my eyes. "He'll get through this. I know it."
Mekhi nodded then he hugged me.
I hugged him back then I wiped my cheeks. The first step of change was for me to do less weeping and more acting.
* * *
Flynn P.O.V:
I stood by the phone with a smile on my face. Tears were forming in my eyes. She was changing. She was becoming the girl I thought she was. The girl I fell in love with. That I was in love with again.
Frederick looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. He suddenly hugged me. "I missed your smile. I missed you."
I hugged him back. "I missed me too." I looked at the phone. And I was beginning to miss her again.