Harley
I stared in shock as the workers moved into the living room.
"Um, move them into the guest room, I guess," I mumbled, motioning towards it.
They nodded and walked off towards it.
Samantha was settling into the couch, kicking off her heels, watching them.
And then she caught me staring.
"I just didn't want to waste time," she said, winking.
"Great, I'm in love with a psycho," I mumbled to myself.
"What?" she asked.
"N-nothing."
We sat in silence waiting for them to leave.
It was around five in the evening now.
"I. . . was not expecting this," I said in an attempt to break the silence as the door closed behind the workers.
"Mm? You said it yourself. Divorce Alex if I want you. I did want you. Always have."
I gulped, a shiver running down my spine.
The balls on this girl.
"So, that's it? You're single now? And you're living with me now?"
"Yes, obviously," she said, coolly.
"I will never understand you," I breathed out, leaning back on the couch and folding my arms.
She chuckled.
"How about a drink?" she asked.
"What would you prefer?" I asked, getting up.
"Wine sounds nice."
"Wine it is," I said, walking off to the freezer.
"I have so much to say and it's killing me," she said.
"Yeah, you have a lot of explaining to do, Sam."
"Don't pretend like you don't, too."
I sighed and settled down on the opposite couch again, setting down a bottle of red wine and two glasses. I started pouring it in.
"I don't fucking get you," I let out.
"Nobody really does," she replied, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"Was this your plan all along?"
"I. . . may have had it playing in the back of my head for twelve long years."
"Damn," I whispered.
She chuckled again. "Not all of it, mind you."
"I have a feeling there's a story coming."
"Obviously," she said, picking up her wine-filled glass and sipping.
I nodded, settling into the couch, a pillow on my lap.
There was silence for a bit as she gathered her thoughts.
"My biggest fear in life was being the next Paris in my parents' life. Being a disappointment. I started off by making toxic friends, dating a lot of boys and working hard to be and stay popular."
"Which is something everybody saw and knew," I said.
"But then you came in. And we, um. . ."
She locked eyes with me.
I smiled slightly.
"I don't think we have to talk about what we did, hm?"
I smiled to myself.
"This fear of them disowning me or hurting me like they did with Paris was big. A little too big for my liking. This is something I've had to deal with for most of my teenage years."
I looked down at myself as she continued.
"That day when my dad caught us, it could've gone many ways. I guess that's when I decided that I can still fight the fear of disappointing my parents while not necessarily giving up on you. And so, I came out to them. Told them you were my girlfriend."
"How is that a smart move?"
"My mom negotiated it down to sending me away. Earlier, the ideas included kicking me out or signing me up for conversion therapy."
"Fuck," I said.
She nodded before continuing. "And so I was sent away to boarding school for the final months of senior year. I was busy with studying and adjusting to the new schedule. But I tried calling you Harley. You didn't pick up, not once."
"My phone broke," I said, blushing in embarrassment.
"I see. After graduation and once I'd turned eighteen, I was made to sign a document that would transfer my parents' business to my husband. Once I got one, that is."
"Why the fuck did you sign that?"
"Because I wanted them to stay calm and peaceful. He thought I'd moved on from you and I let him. My mom knew the truth and she told me she'll support me no matter what."
"And then?"
"I went to college to get my journalism degree, got engaged to Alex Goldman during junior year. I still searched for you, Harley. You'd moved away, nobody knew where. I searched far and wide on the Internet with no luck. And then I went back and gathered some statistics on where you might be. Most residents moved to Ohio and Texas. I travelled to those states during the summer, tried my luck. None. Again. Who knew you were in LA the whole time?"
"My mom got a better job there," I said.
"And so I decided to wait. Even after graduating, after marrying Alex, I kept trying. But it was like you'd vanished. Why the fuck weren't you on any social media?"
I shrugged. "It was distracting."
She rolled her eyes. "Did you stop talking to Wyatt and Axelle? 'Cause they had no idea either. I'd tried contacting them, too."
"Like I said, my phone broke. And the move happened so fast I couldn't say goodbye properly."
She let out a sigh. "After three more years of active searching, I'd given up. But I was always alert. Searching for your name anywhere I went."
"Fuck," I sighed.
"Yep."
"And then I moved here."
"And then you moved here," she said, smiling again.
I couldn't help but smile back.
"Why the fuck not, Harley?" she said, pushing me away. She was mad now.
"Sam-"
"Did you hear anything I just said? I'm going away."
"Sam-"
"I won't get to see you, or touch you or kiss you. He's locking me away."
"Sam-"
"We'll probably grow apart and never see each other and he'll force me to marry some man to take over his goddamn business empire."
"Sam-"
"What?" she groaned, her tears free-falling again. "What."
"I love you."
"I still don't get it. You seemed kind of satisfied with your decision to marry him. You said you did it for money."
"He gave me stability, satisfied my dad, kept everybody happy. I needed that sort of peace while I looked for you. And it felt like a better excuse to give people than being in love with somebody I hadn't seen in years. Besides, he was the only one left. He might be an asshole but you have to understand that I was lonely.
"When my dad and my mom passed away two years ago, the business went to him. The rest of their assets were divided between the two of us, exactly as he wanted.
"And now, I still have those assets and he has what my parents left him. And I don't have to see him ever again," she said, folding her arms and leaning back on the couch, drinking the rest of the wine.
"And you're with me now," I said softly.
"And I'm with you now," she said, chuckling lightly.
"You really took it to heart, huh?"
"What?"
"What I said the day you left."
There was silence again.
"Of course I did," she said, blushing, looking down at her feet.
"But what hurts me is that you weren't looking for me, too. I was on social media, people knew where I was, why didn't you come back?" she asked, sniffling, her voice cracking slightly.
I felt like somebody was ripping my heart out and stabbing it.
"B-because. . . " I paused.
Why didn't I?
She looked up at me, her eyes sad and vulnerable.
"Because I didn't think I was worth it. That you deserved better than a fuck-up like me," I realized.
"I don't think you're as fucked up as I am, Harley," she said.
"I was a fucking nobody, Samantha."
"Does that mean you didn't mean what you said that day?" she asked, her eyes filling up.
I moved to her in an instant, holding her close. She cried into my shoulder.
"N-no, of course not," I said, resting my chin on her head.
"Then why didn't you try?"
I let out a sigh.
"I thought it's best if I moved on. You did tell me not to wait," I said, looking down at her. She looked back up at me.
"And did you move on?"
I chuckled. "No. Couldn't love anybody the way I loved you. It was terrible."
She chuckled at that.
"But I figured it's best if I focused on my career. I needed a strong distraction from thinking about you. You got in so much trouble coming out to the people in your life and choosing me and I figured I'd done enough damage."
"Mm," she said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "But you didn't. You made me realize who I was."
I smiled at her.
She smiled back.
I pressed a kiss to her temple, finally feeling at home as I wrapped my arms around her.
"I love you, Samantha Winston."
After all these years, saying it wasn't strange in any way.
"I love you too, Harley Gardner."
Those three words. From her.
Holy shit.
And then there was silence again.
***
Hey guys!
Hope you liked this chapter!
Again, not the end.
Lemme know what you think :)
Love,
queenred