Page 58 of Secret Baby With My Brother's Best Friend

“I had to live with the shame from my family, and most of all my brother barely spoke to me again. I had to bust my ass and get a college degree and actually make something out of myself. My dreams were put on hold, Logan.”

Seriously? I couldn't fathom how she expected me to know what she had gone through. I frowned. "How was I supposed to know that?" I retorted with much irritation. She needed to stop before I said something we would both regret.

"Let me tell you then. I spent the last six years of my life being a teenage mother. I never even got to enjoy my life because it was less of mine and more of raising a kid on my own. It was scary!”

I could see the pain in her eyes. I could only imagine the horrors she had faced, especially from her brother, and it made my heart twist in my chest. But then again, nobody told me. Why should I be guilty of all this when I didn't know?

She continued. "You have no clue how hard it is to raise a child. You've never had to be responsible for anyone besides yourself. You couldn't possibly fathom what I went through at that age! I never even got to explore my life!" She yelled, her voice filled with anguish. The veins in her forehead threatened to pop at any second.

"How is that on me? I never knew you were pregnant. You never fucking told me anything. You cannot blame me for that! I wasn't there!" I yelled in my defense.

"Exactly! You left! That was your choice! You chose to abandon your old life without a word or a reason. You just left, and I didn't even know or understand what happened or why you had to leave, and somehow you think I could have reached out to tell you I was pregnant."

Her words hung in the air, dancing above my head like a sword. There was no excuse.

"How? Does that make any sense to you? Because it doesn't make sense to me," she continued, her tone defiant.

"I already explained to you what happened. Caleb—" I began but didn't let me finish.

"Yes now, I know!" She cut me off. “I know what happened now! Not six years ago. Six years ago, I didn't know anything. I had no information. All I did was wonder why. I explored every possible reason and just concluded that you had bigger things. Things that were clearly more important. Then I saw the headlines, saw you on television, and read the articles. You were this “star”. So tell me, how was I supposed to email you and inform you that I was pregnant when I didn't know the truth of why you left so suddenly or how you'd react to the news?"

I was quiet—guilt-ridden. I admit I had loads of faults. She had a point, but still…..She could have tried.

"It's a fucking baby, Logan. It's not the kind of news you can tell someone over the phone. You weren't here, and there was nothing I could do about that."

There was a stretched silence between us. I stepped back, raking a hand through my hair. "Still," I muttered, breaking the silence and meeting her gaze. "What about when you did see me again? Why didn't you say anything then?"

"At the airport? Seriously? Should I have told you then?"

I paused, gathering my thoughts. "I don't mean then. I mean the last few weeks."

"We were always fighting," she replied defensively.

"The last few days, then. We were not fighting, were we? I told you everything that happened with Caleb. The whole truth. Why didn't you tell me then?" I raised a brow.

Harper didn't reply. She was probably racking her brain to find some plausible excuse she could pull out of a hat, as always.

"I guess you don't have any excuse this time, finally," I said, cocking my head to the side slightly.

"No, it's not that. I…" she sucked in a breath. "...I was terrified. I didn't know where to start or how to start. I wanted to, but I froze."

"You froze?" I repeated, my anger spiraling out of control. "Is that my fault too? You, freezing? Is that my fault?" I queried.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously! Don't tell me you're surprised. You always manage to make everything my fault, but this isn't. This is your fault now. You made your choice to keep her a secret from me even now. You probably would have never told me if she hadn't just shown up like that."

"No. I would have—"Harper began, her voice tinged with desperation.

"When? When exactly, and don't you dare say eventually!" I interjected aggressively.

"Logan—"

"No!" I didn't want to hear any of her petty excuses. I was done listening to all this nonsense. "You were planning to leave a week ago. Weren't you? Were you planning to tell me then too, and not just run away, huh?" I quizzed.

Harper looked away. Silence echoed between us. "Why won't you answer? Would you have told me then after you got on the plane?" I furrowed my brows, my gaze fixed on her face. I searched her gaze carefully and from the look on her face. I could tell she hadn't planned to tell me. "You weren't going to tell me, were you?"

Her lips quiver. "No. I—"

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