Page 73 of Private Tutoring
My brain stuttered to make sense of everything. “What are we going to do?” I pulled my head from the clouds and concentrated on the problem. “I need to talk to Harmony about the musical. Dean Carpenter agreed to let her come back and take the lead role.” But this, her pregnancy and finally having an answer to the threatening letters, mattered more than anything.
“We might be able to use that as a lead to talk to her.” Stephen nodded. “But I think we need to see her in person.”
“Agreed.” Roberto closed the trunk I’d left open. “Anyone up for a trip to Milwaukee?”
“We don’t have her address.” As the usual voice of reason, it fell on me to point out the obvious.
Roberto tapped his temple. “Already thought of that. I checked her student file while we waited on you.”
Okay then. I had zero objections to this adventure.
36
HARMONY
I’d spent an entire week mourning the loss of Stephen, Roberto, and Matthew. A whole week and all I had to show for it was a garbage bag full of teary tissues and nights filled with regret. Mom hadn’t hesitated when I showed up at her front door. She’d taken me in, told me to shower, and then we’d sat down and discussed the entire situation. While she admitted she was surprised by the polyamory, she had no problems with it, or with my pregnancy.
Like Delilah, she asked if I wanted to keep the baby, and as soon as I said yes, she was on board. I loved that about Mom. She’d worked her ass off for me through all my growing up years, and she loved me unconditionally.
I wanted that for my baby.
A car drove down the road, the blue exterior visible from my spot on the couch where a bench-seat window looked out over the postage-stamp-sized front yard and the narrow road. The small, two-bedroom house would be cramped with a baby, but Mom had insisted she didn’t mind and we’d figure everything out. The one time she’d asked about the father and I brokedown in tears, admitting none of them knew, she’d soothed me without any kind of reprimand.
I brought my knees up, tucking my feet into the crack in the cushions and rested my chin on my knees. A sigh built.
It turned into a shriek when a knock thudded on the front door. I grabbed the nearest object—which happened to be Mom’s thrift store candlestick lamp—and held it over my shoulder like a baseball bat as I stepped backward toward the kitchen where I’d left my cell phone to charge.
A shadow appeared in the window, followed by a familiar face. Matthew cupped his hands around his eyes and wiggled his fingers. “Harmony, it’s us. Can we come in?”
Us? As in …
I dropped the candlestick lamp, leaping back when it nearly landed on my feet, and bolted toward the door. There was no part of me that had the strength to deny them when they stood on my front stoop. I wrenched open the deadbolt and flung the door open so hard it banged against the wall.
Tears blurred my vision. “You’re here.” I took a step back as reality crashed down in a thick wave. “Why are you here?” I tried to cross my arms, but I’d lost the ability to move as shock took over.
Matthew cupped my face between his hands. “Can we come in?”
The double meaning brought out a tiny smile. I shook my head and moved out of his grasp. He still had the power to convince me of anything, but I didn’t dare deny them the seclusion of the house. Mom’s neighbor—the one she called the neighborhood watch—had already walked from her front door to her single flowerpot. She stood there watering the dead plant, her attention riveted on me and my professors.
I moved deeper into the house. “Lock the door behind you.”
Matthew entered first, followed by Roberto and then Stephen, who closed the door and turned the deadbolt without breaking eye contact.
“Why are you here?” I barely managed to give them a second to look around. Having them in Mom’s house put a tight sensation in my chest. They made it look smaller than ever. The tattered couch and worn carpet told a story of struggle that I tried to ignore.
Stephen eased between Roberto and Matthew, so that the three of them presented a united front. A nudge from Matthew to Stephen announced Stephen as the spokesperson. “We’re here to ask for a second chance.”
Why passed my lips in a whisper.
“We love you.” Matthew held out his hands like he might take mine and hold onto me.
I shoved them into my back pockets despite the chill that swept through me and begged me to lean into the comfort they offered.
Roberto spoke next, his delicious accent on full display. “We know about the baby.”
The world as I knew it turned upside down. I sank onto the couch before my legs gave out and held my head in my hands. My vision blurred, and I realized I’d been holding my breath. The deep inhale put the world right again. “How?”
There were a multitude of questions in that single word. How had they found out? How had they found me?
