Page 42 of To Bring You Back
“People first.”
“Too bad Harper doesn’t see it that way, huh?” He clenched his jaw but couldn’t seem to stop himself from continuing. “Can you imagine how fast you’d make a statement on her behalf? And she’s letting this happen to you.”
“Good thing I didn’t follow your advice to get more involved with her.”
Tim grunted and his mouth skewed as if he were barely containing retorts.
Gannon left before the restraint broke.
12
Gannon sat on the floor against the door of the studio as if blocking the exit could contain the Harper situation from exploding further.
Despite their different priorities, Tim had been right about two things.
Harper wasn’t returning calls, and the online reaction to the accusation had been volatile. Long rants in all caps and laced with profanity demanded Awestruck’s music be taken off the air and this weekend’s show canceled. Fans fired back, defending him. If the clash happened in person at the show, it would get ugly.
Gannon worked with Carol and Lina, Awestruck’s publicist and social media manager, to post a picture of Lake Superior with a caption that read,The truth will set you free. I’m not in California and haven’t been since June, but I wish all my friends there a safe and happy summer.
Fans and skeptics battled it out in comments there too.
Tim was working with Carol on a more straightforward defense. Only time would tell if they could save the weekend’s booking.
“I don’t get how so many people are willing to believe I’d do that to her.”
Because Gannon had chosen the floor, John sat in the desk chair at the soundboard. “Domestic violence tends to be a well-kept secret.” John’s sincerity pulled Gannon from his own concerns long enough to focus on his friend.
The drummer didn’t talk about his childhood often, but Gannon should’ve realized sooner this would hit close to home. And John might be uniquely qualified to recognize someone who’d faced abuse.
“You think her boyfriend’s been beating her?”
John took a big breath as if to give an uncharacteristically long answer, but when Gannon’s phone interrupted, he let out the air without speaking.
“It’s her.” Gannon answered the call on speaker. “What really happened at my place, Harper?”
“Nothing.” Her voice came over the line, airy and carefree. “What do you mean?”
If his people were all over this, so were hers. The only reason to play dumb was to hide something.
Heaviness seeped into his limbs. “How did you get the bruises?”
“I told you.” Her voice grew defensive. “I fell on the stairs.”
“People say a man was there. Did someone hurt you?”
“Karina says the foundation of any relationship has to be trust. You should try it.” She’d avoided answering. Also discouraging was how quickly she jumped to quote Karina, the quack of a life coach Gannon had long been encouraging Harper to fire.
He got up and paced, holding the phone in front of his chest. “I did trust you. I gave you access to my apartment, but you got hurt, and I want to know how. Was Colton there?”
“Of course not. He was the whole reason I called you that night.”
“Someone else, then. Who did they see you with?”
“How should I know?”
Another evasion. Suspicion hummed like a malfunctioning speaker. “You were the only person who was supposed to be there.”
“We haven’t all taken chastity vows. You wanting to miss out doesn’t mean that’s the right choice for me.”
