Page 110 of Stealing Home

The crowd is still thick around the stadium, and I have to weave my way through to get to my parents. I keep my head down, and try not to catch anyone’s eye, but inevitably I still get stopped many times. I smile, and pose for selfies before continuing on. Because of the delays, it takes several minutes to get to my parents.

My mom sees me first and rushes to hug me. I hug her back briefly, then step away from her. Jerking my chin toward Mara, I ask, “What’s she doing here?”

“C’mon, Scott, don’t be that way. We didn’t get to catch up when you were home. I came all this way so we could talk,” Mara whines.

“Why now? You didn’t want to talk when I caught you in bed with another guy. Now that I’ve moved on, you want to talk? That’s a load of bullshit. Go back home, you wasted a trip.”

Mara’s eyes fill with tears, and her hand covers her mouth to hide a sob. “You were never this cruel before.”

“Sounds like the consequences of your actions. I need to talk to my parents, so if you don’t mind getting lost and never coming back into my life, that would be fucking awesome,” I snap.

“Scott,” my mom chastises.

I shake my head. “Don’t mom. Please tell me you aren’t part of bringing her here.”

Of course, I told my parents that Mara and I broke up. I was too messed up afterwards to hide it from them, but I never gave them all the details. Only that we fought when I came home to surprise her and broke up. That doesn’t excuse them inviting her here now, and I’m not sure I can forgive them.

My dad grabs my shoulder and turns me to face him. “We had nothing to do with her being here. I swear to you. In fact, that is what we were talking about before you came over. Your mom and I wanted to know why she was here too.”

“You can see how bad this looks. It’s going to be hard to convince Harlow to give you a chance now. How are either of us supposed to believe you didn’t bring her here to mess with our relationship again?”

His face falls. “I fucked up. I know that, and I want to make it up to you. In order for me to do that I need you to give me another chance. I’d hoped that our relationship wasn’t so broken you would doubt me so easily.”

He looks at Mara, who is still lingering nearby, and scowls before turning his attention back to me. “Why didn’t you tell me what really happened between the two of you? I’d never have asked your sister to bring her in the first place.”

My fists clench at my sides. “You shouldn’t have asked her either way, not when you knew I was bringing home my girlfriend. It isn’t your place to decide who I’m with. Harlow is going to be my family, so either get on board with that, or I’ll cut you out to protect her. Just like you’d do for mom.”

He sucks in a breath, but before he manages to speak, my mom grabs his hand and squeezes. “He’s right, Aiden, and you did do that exact same thing when some of your family tried to get rid of me.”

My dad bobs his head a few times. “You love her that much?”

I exhale forcefully out of my nose. Repeating myself over and over is getting really old. “I’ve told you that I do.”

“Then let’s go talk to her. We’ll go to dinner, clear the air, and start over,” my dad encourages.

“Yeah, she’s waiting over—” I look over by the concession stand where I left Harlow, but she’s not there. The crowd has started to thin, and I should be able to see her easily, but she’s vanished.

I spin in a circle, trying not to panic, but something feels off. “She was just over there,” I point to where we parted, “but maybe she called our friends.” Pulling out my phone, I pull up Griffin’s contact info and call him.

“Hey man, that was a great game,” he greets me.

“Thanks, uh, have you seen Harlow?”

“During the game, but not since, why?” he asks.

“I can’t find her. She was waiting for me to talk to my parents, and when I turned around she was gone. If you hear from her, will you tell her I’m looking for her?” I ask him.

“I’ll do one better, I’ll grab Charlie and we’ll go check and see if she’s home,” he offers.

“Okay, call me either way. I’m going to try her phone.”

“What’s wrong?” my dad asks.

“I don’t see her.” Even I can hear the sound of panic in my voice.

An apprehensive look comes across his face. “Maybe watching you talk to Mara was too much for her. Do you think she took off?”

I can’t blame him for thinking that, but Harlow wouldn’t leave me now. I’m sure of that. “She wouldn’t leave voluntarily.”

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