Emma tailed me in her car and looked for a place to park while I pulled into my driveway. Thank god she had that instinct, because I didn’t want Emma getting wrapped up in whatever the fuck Greer was up to. I opened my phone as fast as I could.
“Hello?” Emma answered.
“Hey, stay in your car. Turn off your lights. I’m serious. I think we need to go to your place, but I’m going to park my bike.”
“Who is that?” Emma asked.
“Harlan,” Greer called. “I didn’t expect you to be out so late. I’ve been here for hours.”
What was better? Engage? Convince her to go away? Or was it all bait, and I should just avoid her altogether? I didn’t hang up the call with Emma, hoping I’d be able to have another witness to whatever was about to go down.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Harlan, we need to talk,” she said.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “About what?”
“I just . . . really miss you. It’s been a few months, and I’ve had some time to think.”
“That’s nice,” I said flatly.
“I was wrong to doubt you so much.” She rounded her eyes at me, going for her best puppy dog routine. I’d always have a soft spot for her, and I hated to see her struggling. But she had hurtme and there wasn’t any coming back from it. I wasn’t falling for it.
“Correct.”
“And I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “Apology accepted. Please leave.”
“But, I think what we had was it for me.”
“Yeah? Well, it wasn’t for me. Leave.”
“Harley,” she started to cry, stepping closer. I tensed, knowing she was looking for a hug. A hug would lead to a kiss. A kiss would lead to sex. Sex would lead to her in my bed. My bed would lead to her never leaving again.
It wasn’t happening.
I balled my fists at my sides, slipping my phone into my back pocket. “No. That wasn’t love. I don’t want it.”
“You don’t get to tell me who I love,” she whimpered.
“Ha! That’s ironic, considering how much time you spent obsessing over who I did or didn’t love.”
“What?” She sniffled, leaving her tear trails on her face for dramatic effect. She looked thin and frail, like she hadn’t been eating. When she got obsessed about stuff, that’s what she did.
She wasn’t okay, but that didn’t mean I had to fix it. If I got involved, it would only lead to my own downfall. I had a right to stick up for myself.
“You didn’t trust me because I’m bi.”
“That’s not how it was!” she objected.
“That is exactly how it was. Because I can be attracted to anyone, you felt threatened.”
“That’s not true. I do trust you, Harley.”
I cringed at her nickname for me. Only my mom was allowed to call me that. Maybe my sister when she was making fun of me. That was it. Greer always used it to talk about how I ride motorcycles, which, ironically, I didn’t even have a Harley.
“My sister is engaged,” she sobbed. “It should be us.”