Page 8 of We Will Conquer

It’s another couple of hours before Harlow begins to stir, and I’m back in bed beside her, Ezra still sleeping on the other side.

“How are you feeling?” I ask quietly as her bleary eyes meet mine. She thinks about it for a minute as she stretches and rubs her face.

“Better,” she mumbles sleepily. “Bit of a headache still.”

“Do you want some painkillers?” I doubt she’ll take them again if she’s feeling better, but I offer anyway.

“No thanks.”

We lapse into silence, but she doesn’t go back to sleep. She also doesn’t cuddle into me, keeping her distance, no matter how small that is with the three of us in the same bed.

“Harlow,” I start, although I’m not sure what I’m about to say. Anything to make this better.

“I was coming back to you,” she says, her eyes sincere. I frown slightly, not sure what she’s referring to. “I wasn’t running off or punishing you. I was on my way back. To you.” I reach out for her, cupping her face gently in my hand and running my thumb along her jaw. “I remember that, and I don’t know why I changed my mind.”

“None of this is your fault. Not one second. Okay?”

“Okay,” she says quietly, but she doesn’t seem convinced. “I’m going to take a shower.”

I blink at the change, then sit up so she can shuffle out of the bed between us and head to the bathroom. Do I follow her? Does she want space? Fuck, I don’t know how to act right now.

“Let her work it out,” Ezra says softly from behind me, startling me, as I didn’t even realize he was awake. I look over my shoulder to see him watching the door Harlow just left through.

“You think that’s for the best?”

“I don’t think either of us knows what that is right now, but she didn’t have to say that to you, yet she did. I say we give her time to process.”

I lower my voice in case she’s not in the shower yet. “And if she doesn’t? She didn’t mention the baby at all.”

“Then we rethink our strategy when it comes to it.” That doesn’t sound like a watertight plan, but what else can we do?

“Okay. We wait for her to come to us.” I just hope she actually does.

CHAPTER SIX

Harlow

“What are you doing here?”

I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome from Nico, but jeez, I wish he didn’t sound so put out. I’ve just walked into The Grind at the crack of dawn, where he’s setting up for the day, so I thought it’d be obvious. Clearly not.

“I work here,” I say. His attitude makes me want to match it and be a smartass back.

“I thought you were taking time off?”

My brows bunch. “You spoke to the guys?”

Sawyer just walked me to work and didn’t mention it, although maybe it was when Nico found me outside the apartment. The fact that he’ll speak to them and not me stings way more than I let on.

“Yeah—”

“Well I’m not. I’m fine.”

Not that he asked, and not that it’s true. Unfortunately for me, I’m still feelingoffand vulnerable, and as much as I don’t want Nico’s disdain to affect me, it really does. It’s only been a day since everything happened, and it’s been tough. I’ve fallen into my usual defense mechanism of holding Ezra and Sawyer at arm’s length, and as much as I want to not be that person, it’s hard to go against habits that have been ingrained in you for so long. I’m also not letting myself feel the myriad of emotions that come with waking up to find there are two hours missing from your life, which I’m sure is super healthy and will turn out great for me in the long run. Yep.

I hate being that way with Ezra and Sawyer, and this way with Nico. Even before, when I had my secret unrequited crush, it was easier to be around him than this. Now, it’s like he’s here but he’s not. Or at least he’d rather not be, and for some reason, that makes me miss him before he’s even left.

Nico doesn’t say another word to me. Not while we’re getting ready to open, not when the steady stream of customers comes through, and not when Celeste arrives to relieve me for the morning. I run out of the coffee shop, determined to keep my emotions under wraps. I need to keep busy, and now that four hours alone stretches out in front of me, spending it with just my thoughts is the last thing I want. The guys made me promise to Uber home straight from The Grind, but I order one to the gym instead. I message Sawyer to see if he can fit me in a PT session while I’m there, and fortunately, he messages back quickly to say he’s free for the next hour.

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