Page 103 of Always Us

“She has a really high IQ and she’s good with computers. She can hack into most any system. She told me she hacked into the FBI servers when she was 15. Can you believe that? The FBI! How is that even possible?”

“Did she get in trouble?”

“Since she was a minor they let her go, but she had to promise never to do it again. She said she didn’t look at anything on the server. She just did it to prove that she could.”

Maybe I’m thinking too much like Carson with his conspiracy theories, but I find it suspicious that Pearce would pick this girl for the scholarship. Is he thinking he might be able to use her skills? Having her hack into government servers, or any server, could be advantageous, both for his business and for the organization. He could find out information or delete files he needs to have disappear.

“Where is she from?”

Harper rifles through her dresser drawer and takes out some earrings. “Somewhere in Montana. She was raised by her dad. Her mom died a long time ago.” She hands me the earrings, big gold hoops. “Can you put these on me?”

“Sure.” I carefully fit the earring through the hole in her ear. “I talked to your parents last night.”

“I don’t want to talk about them. They stopped by here to take me to breakfast this morning and I wouldn’t go so they left. They’re flying home later today.”

“Harper, you can’t ignore them forever.” I slip the other hoop in her ear. “It’s almost Christmas break. When you’re home, you’ll have to talk to them.”

“I’m staying with a friend from high school who lives in Pasadena. I’m not going back to my parents’ house.”

“Not even for Christmas?”

She sighs. “I don’t know. I have to think about it. They want me there, but right now I’m too mad at them to agree to it. If I was still dating Sean they wouldn’t have let me come home for Christmas, so going there is almost like letting them win.” She loops her healthy arm in mine. “Let’s get out of here and go to my favorite coffee shop. Remember how I used to make you go there all the time?”

“At least now I can afford a coffee.” We walk to the parking lot and I point to the car as I unlock it. “It’s this one.”

“Nice car. Pearce loaned you his Mercedes, huh?”

“It’s just one of many. I think he has five of them and they’re all black.”

On our drive to the coffee shop I tell her about Lilly and how sad she was and how she kept asking me about death.

“I think Katherine’s lost interest in her,” Harper says as I park in front of the small brick building. The place has a new sign that’s shaped like a coffee cup.

“Lost interest in who?”

“Lilly. It’s like she doesn’t care about being a mom anymore. She spends all her time with her boyfriend. She’s never home, and when she is, she ignores Lilly.”

I shouldn’t be talking about Katherine with Harper. I don’t want to accidentally spill what I know. It’s another huge secret that I’ll never be able to tell Harper, or anyone else.

I hold open the door to the coffee shop. “Looks like they got new tables.”

“Yeah, they did some renovations over the summer.”

We order our coffees and find a booth to sit in. That nervous feeling I had earlier is gone now that I’m with Harper. Being with her at this coffee shop is a good memory. We had a lot of good talks here.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.” She sets her coffee on the table. “I saw that guy, Carson, on campus the other day.”

And the nervous feeling is back. “At Moorhurst?”

“He was on my floor. I think he was looking for someone. Maybe he’s dating one of the girls.”

“That doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t live here anymore.”

“How do you know where he lives?”

“I don’t.” I say it too fast. I smile and calmly say, “I just thought he might’ve moved.”

“He could still be here in Connecticut. There are a lot of colleges here.”

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