Things were great. I suspected the energy and good vibes were also helping Harley focus more on school. Vanya had brought it up when I’d run into her on campus. She was stunned that he’d been going to class regularly, and she’d caught him studying a few times in the food court.
But, like I’d predicted, the good thing we had was doomed from the start. Or maybe it was a sign that it was time to stop fucking around and grow up. Whatever the case, something happened that threw a wrench into the good thing that had developed between us.
It was a Saturday afternoon. We’d been at Harley’s dorm all day. I’d spent the night since Tate had gone home for the weekend. We were lost in our bubble of privacy and didn’t expect anyone to show up. At least when the knock came, we were dressed and lounging around, watching a movie.
I glanced at my brother, brow furrowed. “You expecting someone?”
“No.” Using the remote, he hit pause and rolled off the bed.
It wasn’t suspicious for me to hang out with my brother—although the thick scent of sex lingered in the air, and his blankets were rumpled. Our debauchery would be evident if anyone cared to look close enough. But why would they? We were brothers.
Harley wrenched open the door, and some skinny, dark-haired girl stood on the other side. She was pale. Tension marked her face, and she worried her lip.
“What the hell, Shianne? Seriously? What are you doing here?”
So this was Shianne. Harley had told me about her weeks ago. As far as I understood, she wasn’t in the picture and hadn’t been able to take a hint.
“We need to talk, and I knew if I called, you wouldn’t answer.”
“Because I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Well, that was fine and dandy a few weeks ago. Whatever, I got over it. You can’t blow me off this time. It’s important. Let me in.”
“No. Get lost.”
She didn’t listen and shoved her way past Harley, entering the room. She startled when she found me there on his bed. “Oh. Hi. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Hey.” I waved. “I’m Denver, Harley’s brother.”
“Oh.”
“You can’t barge in here. For fuck’s sake. Like I told you before, we aren’t dating, okay? We aren’t anything. We slept together one time. It didn’t mean squat. I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but that’s not my fault. I was clear. I know I was.”
My brother was not always clear. He would do anything to get into someone’s pants, including lying. This woman had likely been misled, but I wasn’t about to interject my opinion where it didn’t belong.
Shianne let Harley vent. She didn’t cut in or protest or tell him he was wrong. She just let him talk until he ran out of air and stood with his hands on his hips, seething at her invasion.
“Close the door,” Shianne said with all the calmness in the world.
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Please. You might want privacy.”
Harley slammed it. “What. Do. You. Want?”
She looked him straight in the eyes, chin high, and said the last thing I expected.
“I’m pregnant.”
Given the expression on his face, it was the last thing Harley had expected too. He stood frozen, barely blinking, his jaw unhinged. He didn’t move or speak or react in any way. It was like the news had broken his ability to think straight or register anything at all.
“Harley, did you hear me?”
Nothing. No response. I shifted my gaze between my brother and Shianne, unsure what to do.
“Are you sure?” I cut in when my brother didn’t answer. I realized too late it was a stupid question. Shianne wouldn’t be standing there, facing off with Harley, if she wasn’t sure.
I deserved the sneer she aimed in my direction.
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
No response.
“And before you tell me it’s not yours, it is. You’re the only person I’ve slept with since school started this year. Contrary to what you think, I’m not some slut like you, and PS, you did make it sound like you wanted more. You hurt me when you ignored me, Harley. Now I’m pregnant, and I don’t know what to do because this baby’s father is an asshole, but I felt he deserved to know.”
The shock had rendered my brother numb.
I jumped off the bed and touched his shoulder, but he was unresponsive.
“Maybe you can come back later after you give him some time to absorb the news,” I suggested.
Shianne crossed her arms. “Fine, but I won’t be put off like before.” She looked at Harley, who had stopped blinking altogether. “I’m not getting an abortion. I don’t believe in it. Just don’t shut me out, okay. Call me when you’re ready to talk.”
She left without argument, and I guided Harley to sit on the bed. His whole body was stiff and unyielding.
“Hey. Talk to me.”
He came back to life with a shuttering gasp. “Did… did that just happen?”
“Yes. Didn’t you use a condom? What the hell? How is she pregnant?”
“I hate condoms. I use them with you because I knew you’d freak out otherwise, and I didn’t want to rock the boat. She told me she was on the pill, so I didn’t bother.”
“What are you going to do?”
He dropped his face into his hands and leaned over. “I don’t know. Shit.”
The bomb Shianne had drop rippled through the two of us as we sat there in silence for the following hour. I rubbed Harley’s back, but he refused to uncover his face. I got the sense he was doing all he could to ensure he didn’t fall apart.
In no universe would I ever tell him that it was his own fault because he’d made the choice to sleep with her without a condom. Maybe she was on the pill like she’d said, but you couldn’t trust a stranger’s word with something that serious. But that was Harley, a reckless risk-taker. It was only a matter of time before it bit him in the ass.
Harley knew he’d made a mistake, and rubbing it in wouldn’t do him any good. He needed support and reassurance. If I knew how to guide or direct him through this, I would have done all I could, but I was just as lost as he was.
Tate wasn’t going to be back until the following day, so I encouraged Harley to lie down with me, and I held him for all it was worth.
“No matter what, I’ve got your back. I promise.”
He clung to me, and when he couldn’t hold himself together any longer, he buried his face in my neck and cried.
That evening, Harley told me he needed space and sent me back to my dorm. It was agony. I knew he was struggling, and I hated that he was doing it alone. All it had taken was two simple words to turn my brother’s carefree life on its head.
Chapter Seven
Harley
My head was busy over the following week. It was filled with voices from my past. It was my dad’s stern reminder saying, One of these days, this reckless behavior is going to come back and bite you in the ass. It was my teachers’ constant warnings that, If you don’t take responsibility for your future, you’ll regret it. I couldn’t concentrate in class, and it felt like I was moving through a dream everywhere I went.