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HARLEY
Harley stared at her computer, although there was nothing that needed her attention at the moment. She had made sure to finish all her classwork for today with the hope of spending the evening with Spence. But that wasn’t happening now, and she kind of wished she had a shift at the diner instead of the day off; it would at least have kept her mind occupied. Her phone buzzed for the fifth time in ten minutes. Looking at the screen notification, she saw that it was another message from Isaac. Ignoring it, she tossed her phone back onto the couch. This had been happening all evening—again. She didn’t want to talk to him; she had no reason to.
And she certainly wasn’t interested in getting back with him.
But she was certain that he knew he’d messed things up for her and Spencer, and she assumed he was ready to gloat. The simple fact that she had left Isaac for Spencer gave him enough reason to want to come between them.
“Harley, are you even listening to me?” Lily whined.
Harley began folding some clothes that were on the couch. “Lily, this really isn’t a good time.” She was in no mood for Lily to come at her. Sorting out what went down at lunch today was taking more energy than she’d like. Meanwhile, she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“You’re really mad at Spencer for taking a shot at Isaac?” Lily asked, her face serious. She crossed her arms and stared at Harley with a grimace.
“Yes.” Harley insisted. “Wouldn’t you be, if Zane went all caveman on you?”
Technically, Spencer had gone caveman on Isaac, not her. But, Isaac hadn’t really said anything that warranted a punch in the jaw. So what if he picked on her sense of style? She had made peace with his crass comments the day she’d left him sitting in that restaurant. Was it possible that Spencer had been just waiting for the ideal time to take a shot at Isaac? Surely he’d fantasized about doing that the whole time she was dating Isaac.
Lily didn’t answer right away and made a face as though considering that question.
Harley looked around their apartment at the half-packed boxes. Her stomach twisted, but her gut knew she was making the right decision to move in with Spencer. Even though her brain was overthinking everything at the moment.
Yes, she was mad at him, but not enough to break things off. This was a small bump in the road for them. Couples fight all the time.
“Har, do you think Spencer may have had a good reason for punching Isaac? I mean, I’ve never known him to just walk up to someone and hit them. He’s not the violence type.”
“What exactly do you consider a good reason for assaulting someone, Lil?” Harley asked with a little bit of snark in her words.
Lily’s question surprised her. Her best friend was a non-aggression, save the animals, tree-hugger kind of person. So Lily’s defense of Spencer’s actions had her head spinning.
“I think you need to ask Spencer that,” Lily answered flatly. “But if I had to guess, I might think he was defending your honor, seeing as who the recipient was.”
“Isaac didn’t say anything to provoke that kind of reaction from Spencer,” Harley complained. Something in her gut made her wonder if that was the kind of relationship she needed? She didn’t need someone always being macho and clearing the way for her. She was strong and determined and able to fight her own battles. She needed someone that loved her, not someone to own her—that was one reason why she left Isaac.
Deep in her heart, she felt Spencer was not like that, and that maybe Lily was right. Isaac could’ve made anyone want to hit him.
“You’re not thinking about breaking up with him over this, are you?” Lily gasped as if she were reading her mind. “Because, sorry, but that’s ridiculous.”
“No. I don’t know.” Harley shook her head. “I honestly don’t know what I’m thinking right now.”
Lily pouted. “Har.”
“I’m supposed to move in with him next weekend, and now he shows this side of him—”
“Maybe it’s not a side of him,” Lily suggested. “You’ll never know what he was thinking unless you ask him.”
Lily was right, and she knew it. But Harley kept a poker face, not ready to give her roommate the satisfaction.
They hadn’t signed a lease yet, so nothing was set in stone. But the fact that she was using moving in with him as her rationale, and that she was still packing, made her believe that she wanted a reason to make this all okay.
“I have to go.” Lily grabbed her coat and purse. “I’m supposed to meet Zane. Will you be okay? I can ask him to come here if you’d rather me stay.”
“No. Go. I just have to think.”
“If it means anything, I’ve been watching, and you’ve been happier with Spencer than you ever were with Isaac. Your face lights up when you see him, and he makes you smile in a way you never have before. I really think you need to hear his side of things before you make any decisions. Spencer is no caveman. He’s more like a typical frat boy on the outside but with a cotton candy center.”
Harley looked at her best friend, scrunching her face up in utter confusion and holding back a laugh at her comparison. “What in the world does that even mean?”
“Well, the first part is self-explanatory. He looks like a typical frat boy, or jock, but inside, he’s sweet, and fun. Kind of like a trip to an amusement park, where everyone’s favorite treat is sugary cotton candy.” Lily grinned at her analogy.
Harley simply shook her head, amused at her friend, and now craving cotton candy.
“Talk to him,” Lily said, as she opened the front door.
“I’ll think about it.”
Lily grinned, confident she had won, and waved goodbye as she left.
Maybe Lily was right. Was it possible she was missing part of the story? She knew Spencer wasn’t like she was making him out to be—she was surely making too much out of this.
She continued to fold her clean clothes and stack them in a box marked CLOTHES.
A knock at the door startled her. “Lil, did you forget your keys?” she called, as she casually opened the door.
It wasn’t Lily.
Her body stiffened, because standing before her was Isaac.
“Hi Harley. I was hoping to talk to you.”
“That was evident from all the voicemails you sent me that I didn’t bother to return.” She scoffed. “Apparently, you didn’t get the hint.”
Isaac nodded and pushed his way into her apartment, then closed the door behind him. “That’s why I waited until Lily left. I needed to talk to you alone.”
“How’s your jaw?” she asked without looking at him. Instead she went back to packing her clothes.
Isaac moved in front of her and sat on the coffee table. Rubbing his jaw, he said, “I’m fine. But he sure does have a mean right hook. I never pictured that you’d go for such a thug.”
Spencer was hardly a thug, but she smiled at the mean right hook comment, knowing Spencer’s time at the gym was well spent.
“I’m kind of busy here. Can I help you with something specific?” she asked, making it known how annoyed she was at his presence.
“Sugar, don’t be mean. I’ve missed you,” he said, with a fake sweet tone that made her stomach turn. “Harley, what are you doing with that guy? He’s all wrong for you.”
“Really? Please, tell me more,” she said sarcastically, and added an eye roll for good measure. Of course Isaac thought he knew what she needed in her life.
Isaac stood up and grabbed her hands so she couldn’t continue to fold the pair of pants she held. “Stop. Hear me out. That Neanderthal is all wrong for you. There’s no way he can give you the kind of life you deserve. You belong with me. I can give you things he can’t. What do you say?”
Jerking her hands out of his and ignoring his words, she finished folding the pants and set them in the box. Her only response was, “Are you high?”
Just hours ago he was criticizing my clothes and calling me names. And now he thinks I would want to get back with him?
“You’re moving?” he asked, as he finally looked around at all the boxes, ignoring her question.
“What gave it away?” It was as if she couldn’t help the level of sarcasm that she spewed. She didn’t like his tone and she made that no secret.
“With him?” he asked flatly.
“It’s really none of your business.”
“What do you see in that guy? I just don’t get it. He isn’t right for you. He can’t give you a stable home, and in that dead-end job, do you really think he has a future? He might as well be a manager of a gas station. That joke of a company has no potential.”
A dozen things ran through Harley’s brain to respond to Isaac’s insults. She bit the inside of her cheek, narrowed her eyes, and pursed her lips. But eventually her quick temper won out, as she swiftly spouted out, “Don’t be a jerk, Isaac! That’s just plain rude to say. A job is a job, no matter what the title. I’ll have you know that managing a gas station is still a full-time paying job, and not as easy as you’re making it sound. And, by the way, I never once said I cared about a title. And I would love him even if he did work at a gas station. Manager or attendant. It wouldn’t matter to me. He could have a part-time job at a fast food restaurant, and I would still love him the same.”
“Yeah, right.” He scoffed. “But what should matter is how quick he was to react. Assaulting me in broad daylight in public. That wasn’t very smart. But I didn’t expect anything different from him. And you’re not fooling anyone. You can talk all day about not caring about job title, but Harley, you like to spend money. Just look at what you’re doing. Instead of getting a job and earning for yourself, you went back to school for two more years on Mommy and Daddy’s dime. You’ve always been a trust-fund baby, and you always will be.”
She really hated when people assumed that she spent her parent’s money like some spoiled little girl. Every miscellaneous payment they sent her was put into an account and she didn’t touch it. Their attempts to buy her love fell flat. Harley never wanted to turn into her parents. They were cold and uncaring. She’d made it a point to survive on her own, and Isaac knew this. And she didn’t need to justify anything to him; nor did she need to explain to him how she has been working two part-time jobs in addition to school. “How dare you say that! You don’t know anything about me.” Her temper took over, and she raised her hand to slap him.
Isaac grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand before it could connect to his face. He shook his head with a devious laugh. “Maybe you two really are meant to be together. Both hot-tempered with zero ambition.”
She jerked her arm out of his grip and walked a few steps away, turning her back to him. She couldn’t stomach looking this man in the face; the man she used to think she loved. “Do you have a point, or did you just come here to trash my boyfriend and me?” she asked. “Because I’m busy.”
Isaac chuckled. “I don’t have to try very hard to discredit him. He tends to do that all on his own. Assault and battery for one. I should file assault charges on both of you. I’m sure there were cameras, maybe even a witness or two.”
Spinning on one heel she glared at him.
“Speaking of that,” he said, while he rubbed his jaw. “Your boyfriend should learn how to control that temper. It is going to get him in trouble someday—if not sooner.”
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to not pass that on.” She sneered.
He scoffed. “Look, it’s not my fault that he can’t stand to hear the truth about his girlfriend.”
Titling her head, she asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you about our little chat at the office? I found it enjoyable. Probably not him so much. I’m actually surprised he didn’t deck me right there.” Isaac shrugged with a stupid grin on his face. “Well, no surprise he finally did, holding all that aggression in.”
And that’s when she knew Spencer wasn’t being a jerk or reactionary—he’d been defending her honor. He had managed to stay professional at the office and had brushed Isaac off, and apparently he had held back long enough. That moment outside the café was the last straw.
Lily was right. And her own gut instinct was right. She should’ve trusted Spencer. He was only being a good boyfriend.
“It’s time for you to leave,” she demanded.
“Gladly. You two have wasted enough of my time. I don’t know why I thought I needed you back. Too much time with these college kids has changed you, and not for the better. You’re just like the rest of them now.”
Her blood boiled at his words, as she slammed the door behind him. Maybe she had changed, but it was for the better. She hadn’t liked who she was when she was with him.
