Invisible to My First Love (Harper and Maddox) novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Harper

When Grayson had told me about Anna wanting to see me, I had so many hopes but after we made it to Los Angeles and he took me to where she was supposed to be, I was disappointed when we were told that she had already left as the people who had been looking for her were getting closer to finding her.

I sat by the nearest bench on the sidewalk as I held back my tears. It hurt.

Grayson sat right next to me in silence and I could feel him watching me in my peripheral vision.

He wrapped his arm around my body to comfort me and feeling his embrace, I immediately rested my head on his shoulder as I sighed deeply.

Once again, I felt incomplete as I hadn’t yet met Anna. It didn’t hurt as much as it did when Tiffany and Kate tricked me because this time, my sister wanted to see me for real. Grayson had met her and spoken to her.

His embrace was so warm and comforting that I held onto him and didn’t want to let go, especially when I felt the vibrations of his voice as he spoke to me.

“I’m sorry, Harp. I feel awful that I brought you to Los Angeles for nothing. I really wanted this to be a special moment.”

“Thank you for making so much effort.” My voice trembled with emotion. “I just wonder what type of trouble my sister keeps getting herself into.”

“She wouldn’t tell me no matter how many times I told her that I could help. I wish we could call her or something, but it’s just as I told you, she currently doesn’t have a cellphone.”

It broke my heart to think about my sister living such a life.

“We should get going now,” he said in a cheerful tone to brighten up my mood. “We can spend the night at my dad’s hotel. Don’t worry about Tiffany. I told her I had an emergency work trip here in Los Angeles and will be back home before I head to Brazil tomorrow.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Brazil? Wasn’t it Japan?”

He chuckled. “Right, it’s Japan. I mixed them up because I have so many meetings in both countries.”

I nodded in understanding.

He was about to pull me up when I said, “Actually, I prefer going back to San Francisco right away. It’s only 8 PM.”

“Is everything okay?” He gave me a half smile.

While I was grateful that Grayson had done so much for me in just a few hours, I didn’t want to go to the hotel with him. It was best for me to return home as soon as possible so I could get away from him.

“Everything’s fine,” I said. “I just don’t want to be here in Los Angeles. It’ll be a constant reminder that I came here for nothing. Can we please go?”

“Well, I preferred going back in the morning because of the weather over there tonight. There’s going to be a heavy downpour, but whatever you want. Before we leave, let’s grab something to eat.”

His lips curved into a charming smile and I was trying so hard not to let it pull me all the way in.

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Vouchers

When we arrived back in San Francisco, the downpour was already getting heavier by the minute and it began to be a little difficult to see the road ahead even with the windshield wipers activated.

“In a few minutes, I won’t be able to see shit,” he said. “I can’t drive all the way to your place in this rain and we still have a long way to go.”

“This is my fault.” I shook my head as I huffed. “I’m the one who wanted to come back here as soon as possible.”

“Don’t worry about it. We have two options right now. We can wait in the car no matter how long it takes, or drive for about a minute to get to my childhood home and spend the night there. For me, being inside the house sounds better.”

“I think we’re safer just parking and waiting here.”

“No.” He firmly shook his head. “We’re safer in that house. We’re very close and I can get us there.”

No matter what I said, he kept driving there. I couldn’t understand why he was determined to get to the house. I swallowed hard, thinking about how I was going to be alone with him probably for the whole night.

Grayson brought me to one of the bedrooms I used to sleep in whenever I slept over and so many memories came flooding back.

“I think I understand why you didn’t want to sell this house,” I said as I looked around. “If it’s this nostalgic for me, I can only imagine what it’s like for you. I can’t wait to check out the treehouse tomorrow.”

He chuckled, stepping closer to close the distance between us. “I’m just glad to see you smile. I’m really sorry about what happened in Los Angeles.”

He cupped my face, his warm hands sending a pleasant shiver down my spine. I knew that he was just trying to comfort me and I shouldn’t think anything else of it.

“It’s really not your fault. Just look at you, still in your suit and not yet home because you wanted to reunite me with my sister. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome.” He still didn’t drop his hands from the sides of my face. “Harp, I know you’re smiling and all, but deep down, you’re still disappointed. I’m just in the next bedroom, but I can stay a bit longer with you if you’d like that.”

Even though I’d thought about it so many times in the past and liked the way it rolled off his tongue, that was the last thing I needed. It was just the two of us in that house, far away from everyone else and that wasn’t the time for me to slip back into my old ways.

“Thanks.” I forced a smile as I gently pushed his hands away and took a step back. “But I’ll be fine.”

His eyes narrowed, like he couldn’t believe I had just said that. “Are you sure?”

He scoffed, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the same hand that had his wedding ring. “Nope. I just happened to pass by at the right time when I heard you chuckle. The weather’s lovely outside and I thought it was a good idea to go jogging. We should leave in the next thirty minutes.”

I nodded in agreement as I really wanted to check it out.

Making my way up the ladder, I gasped when I pushed open the door. The treehouse had undergone major renovations on the outside and inside, yet it still felt the same and everything was still in its place.

I smiled as I touched the hat I used to wear a lot. “I can’t believe this hat still looks so good.”

“I’ve taken good care of this place. It’s only you and I who know how special this treehouse is. I knew that if I didn’t look after it, no one would.”

He picked up a baseball bat, reminding me of the one time I pretended to hit the ball and accidentally smashed something

else.

His description of other unforgettable moments when we were younger made me laugh so hard that my ribs hurt. I wanted

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him to stop because I couldn’t take it anymore.

I was just in the middle of reminding him of something too when the phone in his hand rang. He looked down at the caller ID and the way he smiled instantly broke my heart because he only smiled like that for one person.

“It’s my wife. Just a second,” he said to me, then began to make his way out the door as he said, “Hey babe.”

As he got further and further away until I couldn’t hear a thing, I clenched my jaw hard at how the two of them seemed to still be so happy together. I could never forget how I’d exposed her affair with Josh and he still took her side. It hurt that he loved her that much.

I shut it out, telling myself I couldn’t change what had happened, so I continued to look around at everything and in just a minute, I giggled. Every item had a memory attached to it.

Then, I spotted a box on the top shelf that made me tilt my head. It had never been there before, so I reached for it.

The box might have been new, but when I looked inside, most of the stuff was familiar. There were toys, some cards and bangles.

Right at the bottom was a notebook that I was unfamiliar with but there was a picture between some pages. Because the edges of the picture were sticking out, I could already tell what it was, so I lifted the book and opened it just to confirm. I grinned because I was right. It was a picture of Grayson and I on my 14th birthday. We had our cheeks smeared in the chocolate cream from the same large cake he’d bought for me.

While I had terrible skin and was in my ugly and baggy clothes, there he was, looking so cool in his trendy style and clear skin. He hugged me tightly, like we would always be inseparable.

I stared at him first for a while, then looked at my old self and was so proud because I’d come so far.

When I looked away from the picture and my eyes landed on the page I’d opened, not only did my smile instantly fade, but my heart shattered as I read what Grayson used to write about me. It was so awful that tears blurred my vision quickly.