Chapter 17
Lucy
Harris wouldn’t let me go to the airport with him. He had been lucky to find a flight out that night, but the plane left immediately, giving us no time to argue over me going or not.
I’d known it would be hard to say goodbye to him when he left me at Georgetown, but this was worse than I had ever imagined. I missed him the second he left the hotel suite. I’d thought I’d hurt when I’d left California in January, but that was nothing on how I felt right then.
He’d left me a few of his shirts to sleep in and I pulled one on as I took a blanket and sat out on the balcony. I didn’t get much sleep that night, as I waited for him to text me that he’d landed at LAX safely. I tried to be strong and kept reminding myself that I’d be back with him in six weeks, but six weeks felt like six years right then.
Mom and Dad had both been asleep when Harris had left the night before, so when Dad got up to make his usual coffee, he wasn’t prepared to find me crying on the balcony.
“What’s wrong, baby?” His voice was almost scary as he crouched down beside me, his big hands reaching for my ice cold ones. “Where’s Harris?”
I shrugged, trying to keep my voice from cracking but failing. “There were problems at First Bass. He didn’t tell me what was going on, but apparently it was a PR thing that he had to deal with himself.”
“Ah, Lu. I’m sorry.” He sat down in the chair beside mine and pulled me onto his lap. Tucking me close like I was still a little girl, he kissed my temple and hugged me tight. “It’s going to be okay, though. Six weeks is nothing. You guys have gone longer than that without seeing each other…” He trailed off, remembering exactly why I’d spent so much time away from Harris. Blowing out a harsh sigh, he tightened his arms even more. “It’s going to be fine.”
I could only nod as I rested against his big chest and welcomed the steady beat of his heart. If I couldn’t be in Harris’s arms right then, this was the second best place. My dad meant the world to me. Maybe it didn’t make things better, but having him hold me and make me feel like no matter what I’d always be his baby, made the pain a little easier to bear.
By the time Mom and the twins got up, I was no longer crying. We had a quick breakfast and then got ready to leave. Our flight to D.C. left at noon and we had to wait an hour in the airport. The first-class lounge wasn’t crowded and I found a corner to text Harris. He’d told me Nate was picking him up from the airport and that he was going to go home for a few hours of sleep before he went into the club to deal with everything. First Bass wasn’t open on Sundays but this would require him at the office.
Miss you already.
It was still early in California, so I wasn’t expecting him to text me back. When my phone buzzed with an incoming text less than ten minutes later I was surprised to see his name pop up. Miss you more, sweetness. Miss you more.
Knowing I wasn’t the only one hurting made it a little easier to get on the plane.
The flight to D.C. was just as bad as the one to Panama City Beach with the boys. Luca spent the majority of the time with his head in one of the airsickness bags or in the bathroom, despite the motion sickness meds Mom gave him. Lyric passed out halfway through the trip, which left me free to help with Luca.
We were all happy to be on the ground, although Mom and Dad would have to do it all over again the next day when they went back to California. I felt bad for all four of them, especially Luca. There was nothing more anyone could do to help him through his fear of flying and his airsickness. It was crazy seeing him so vulnerable like that when I was so used to seeing his fearless, mischievous personality any other time.
Marcus was waiting on us with the SUV that Aunt Emmie had leased for me while I was in the area. In no time he and Dad had our luggage packed into the back and was ready to drive us to the campus. I had a private suite in one of the girls’ dorms. It had two bedrooms, which gave Marcus and me our own personal space to unwind when we needed to be away from each other.
I wasn’t the only one who had a suite all to myself, but I was the only one with a guy who could pass for secret service bunking with me. I’d gotten envious and dirty looks throughout the spring semester for it, and there had been plenty of whispers whenever I was around. I didn’t care about that stuff, though. It was no different than how it had been for me in high school and I doubted it would ever change. It came with the role of being the daughter of a rock star.
I wouldn’t trade my dad for any other father in the world, though, so I could live with the looks and whispers.
Marcus had arrived a few days before us and had gotten the suite in order for me. I had no idea what he’d been doing the last few weeks while I’d been with my parents and Harris, but I figured he’d had a nice little vacation of his own from the tan on his face and arms. His shoulders weren’t as tense as they had been before we’d gone to California the month before and I realized that he hadn’t had a real break from me in years.
The pantry was well stocked in our little kitchenette and I saw all my favorite drinks in the fridge waiting on me. My bed was already made up and my books were sitting on the desk in my bedroom with my laptop already waiting for me to get to work. The summer term was only six weeks, which meant I had to cram twice the amount of information with less than a third of the time I would normally have to do it in.
It was going to be a tough semester, but I needed the extra work to keep my mind from wandering. Staying busy would make the next six weeks pass quickly.
I hoped.
Once the rest of my things were unpacked, we all went out to dinner and then I went to the hotel with my parents. I wanted to spend one more night with them before they left the next morning. Marcus went back to the dorm, and I settled in to watch a movie with the twins and Mom while Dad took a few calls that needed his attention.
It wasn’t until the twins were asleep that I finally pulled out my cell and pulled up my text messages. I only had one text from Harris that he’d sent when he’d gotten up earlier.
Love you, Lucy.
That text had gotten me through dinner and the movie, but now as I lay down to try and sleep, I started missing him even more. I should have been able to fall straight asleep since I’d gotten zero sleep the night before, but it eluded me.
Swiping my thumb over his name, I lifted the phone to my ear, needing to hear his voice just once before I could close my eyes.