Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Harper’s POV

“Harper-wait.”

Ethan caught up to me before I reached the corner.

I didn’t stop right away. My steps stayed quick, like if I slowed down everything would catch up to me again.

“Hey,” he said, moving in front of me. “Slow down.”

His hand brushed my arm. “Look, I don’t know exactly what happened between you and them in there, but don’t let them ruin your whole day.”

My chest felt tight.

I slowed, the words sticking in my throat. “I don’t really want to go to the zoo anymore.”

Ethan tilted his head, his eyes searching mine. “Then we don’t go. We’ll do something else.”

Before the no could form in my throat, he reached out and took my hand. He started walking, pulling me along with a tug.

“Where are we going?” I asked, stumbling slightly to keep up.

“A smash room,” he said.

I slowed down. “A what?”

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“It’s a place where they give you a jumpsuit, a crowbar, and a room full of things that deserve to be broken,” he explained, looking back with a

lopsided grin.

My steps faltered.

The idea of controlled violence, of breaking things on purpose, sent a cold

ripple through me. It sounded too close to everything I had spent a year trying to leave behind.

Ethan must have felt the tension in my fingers. He slowed and looked at me. “It’s safe, Harper,” his thumb brushed over my knuckles. “And if you don’t like it, we leave. Anytime. Okay?”

I searched his face. There was nothing demanding in his eyes, just steady patience. After a long moment, I forced a deep breath and gave a single, tight nod.

We reached the curb to hail a taxi when a sleek black luxury sedan pulled up beside us. The screech of high-end tires made me flinch. The door opened and Ryder stepped out.

His face was a mess and his eyes bloodshot. He walked straight toward us, his gaze locked on me.

My heart plummeted

I stepped behind Ethan, my eyes darting to the tinted windows of the car, then to the corners of the street.

“Harper,” he said, voice low and careful, “I already sent Grayson and the others back. I won’t let them hurt you again.”

He shifted his weight, looking at the pavement. “I should have seen it. I should have stopped it years ago. I’m sorry.”

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I didn’t say anything. I didn’t believe in safe anymore. Not after everything. The word felt like a lie designed to make me lower my guard.

Before they showed up, I was fine. was the girl who fed squirrels. Now, I was a coiled spring. I was a girl waiting for the floor to drop out from

under her.

My hands began to tremble. I curled them into fists.

Ethan noticed. “Harper? What were you thinking about just now?”

“Nothing,” I snapped, pulling my hand back and stuffing it into my hoodie pocket. “I’m fine.”

Ryder winced, guilt visible on his face.

Ethan looked at the two of us and let out a weary sigh. He reached out, his hand hovering for a second before he lightly patted the top of my head.

“Alright. It’s fine,” Ethan ruffled my hair. “You can talk when you’re ready.”

An awkward, suffocating silence settled over the sidewalk.

“So,” Ryder said, trying to bridge the gap. “The park? I… I could walk with you? Just a walk.”

“No,” I said flatly. “We’re not going there anymore.”

Ryder’s face fell, the corners of his mouth twitching downward.

“We’re going to a smash room,” Ethan blurted out. The second the words left his mouth, his eyes went wide. He slapped a hand over his own mouth, looking genuinely horrified. “I mean-no, I didn’t-I wasn’t…”

Ryder raised an eyebrow, glanced at me, clearly skeptical, but he didn’t

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push.

“A smash room?” He looked at me, a flicker of hope reigniting in his expression. “I haven’t been to one of those in a while. Can I come?”

He looked at me expecting an answer.

Ethan glanced at me, his face a silent apology for being a loudmouth.

I looked at Ryder. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking at the time. I hated them-that much I was certain of. But at the same time, there was a part of my childhood self that had once longed to play with my brothers, just like any other normal kid.

Even though I didn’t need that anymore, the thought of rejecting him meant having to talk to him even more, so I chose to ignore him.

But it was enough to him.

Ryder’s face brightened, just a fraction. “We can take my car. It’s faster.”

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