Faking It With The Hockey Star

Harper’s POV

By the time we reached my house, Justin had barely said a word. He had spent the entire drive staring out of the side window, his head resting heavily against the glass, his eyes red and swollen.

Mason was driving us with Ava following behind in his car, and every few minutes, I checked the side mirror just to make sure she was still there. I didn’t trust Justin to be alone tonight. Not after everything that had happened.

I asked Mason to pull into my driveway for a moment. For a few seconds, nobody moved. Justin just sat there with his shoulders slumped and his hands resting loosely on his thighs. He looked nothing like the confident hockey player everyone knew. He just looked like a son who had lost his father, even though his father was still alive.

Justin slowly lifted his head, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "Can I stay at my place?"

His voice was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him.

I turned toward him immediately. "Of course. Let me grab a few things."

I quickly got out of the car and ran inside. Mom was sitting in the living room when I walked through the door, her head snapping up the second she saw me.

"Harper?"

"I’m going to Justin’s," I told her, my voice urgent.

Her expression changed instantly. She didn’t ask unnecessary questions, having seen enough from my face to know something was terribly wrong.

"Is he okay?"

I shook my head, feeling a fresh lump in my throat. "No."

Mom sighed softly, her gaze softening. "Then don’t leave him alone."

"I won’t."

She stood up and walked straight toward the kitchen. "Take some food with you."

"Mom, I’m not—"

"Harper." I stopped in my tracks. She gave me that look mothers gave when they had already made the decision for you. "He needs to eat."

I let out a soft breath. "Okay."

She quickly fixed a plate for me, covered another one for Justin, and handed them over in a tote bag. "Take these."

"Thank you."

"And call me when you get there."

"I will."

I rushed upstairs to grab a few clothes, my toiletries, and my phone charger before hurrying back outside. Mason was standing beside his car with Ava, both of them looking deeply worried.

I held up the bag of food. "Mom packed this."

Mason nodded once. "Good."

Justin was already back in the passenger seat of my car. I got inside, and a few minutes later, both vehicles pulled away from my house into the dark night.

The drive to Justin’s apartment was completely quiet. When we finally arrived, I turned toward him in the dim streetlights. "You ready?"

He nodded, but he didn’t move.

I reached across and squeezed his hand tightly. "You don’t have to talk."

His eyes met mine, raw and exhausted. "Thank you."

"Come on."

I helped him out of the car and guided him toward his apartment building, staying close beside him the entire time. Mason and Ava followed us inside up to his floor. Justin unlocked the door and stepped into his quiet apartment. For a moment, he stood in the middle of his living room like he didn’t recognize the place.

Then he looked at me. "I need a shower."

"Okay."

He disappeared down the hallway, and a few seconds later, I heard the bathroom door close.

Mason dropped his phone onto the couch with a heavy sigh and exhaled. Ava immediately pulled me into a tight hug.

"You did the right thing bringing him here," Ava whispered.

"I don’t know what else to do," I confessed, my voice trembling.

"You don’t have to know."

Mason stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both of us. "Call us if you need anything."

"I will."

"Anything," he repeated firmly, meeting my eyes.

I nodded gratefully.

Ava squeezed my hand one last time. "We’re only a call away."

"Thank you guys."

They gave me one last supportive look before turning to leave. The front door clicked shut behind them, and suddenly, it was just me and Justin.

I stood there for a moment, staring down the dark hallway. The shower was still running, the sound of water hitting the tiles echoing softly. I picked up the food Mom had packed and placed it on the kitchen counter, then walked toward the master bedroom.

I stopped right outside the bathroom door as the sound of the running water filled the air. My heart tightened in my chest. I knew he didn’t want to be alone, and I didn’t want him to be alone either.

I quietly pushed the door open and walked inside. The room was warm and thick with steam. Justin was standing under the spray with his back turned toward the entrance, his broad shoulders tense and his head lowered. He looked completely broken.

I slowly undressed and stepped into the glass enclosure with him. He didn’t even turn around at first, numb to his surroundings until he felt my arms wrap around his waist from behind.

His entire body went completely still. "Harper?"

"I’m here."

He turned around in the spray. The moment his eyes met mine, whatever little strength he had left seemed to evaporate entirely. He pulled me into his arms, and he cried.

It wasn’t quiet. It wasn’t the kind of crying where someone wipes away a few stray tears and pretends they are fine. He cried like he had been holding everything inside for years and finally couldn’t carry the weight anymore.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him with everything I had. "It’s okay."

His wet face pressed hard against my shoulder. "It’s not."

"I know."

"I trusted him," he sobbed, his voice breaking into pieces.

My heart shattered for him. "I know."

"He was my father."

"I know."

"I spent years thinking..." His voice cracked so badly he choked on the words. "I spent years thinking I wasn’t enough for him."

I rubbed his back in slow, steady circles under the warm water. "You were always enough."

"He chose her." His fingers tightened desperately in my hair. "And she hurt me."

I closed my eyes tightly, feeling tears of my own mix with the water. "I know."

"And my mom..." He couldn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.

I pulled him closer, anchoring him to me. "I’m here."

He buried his face against my neck again. "I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now."

"You don’t have to figure everything out tonight."

"But everything is different."

"Then we’ll take it one day at a time."

He was quiet for a long moment, the water cascading over us. Then he whispered,

We stayed underneath the water for several more minutes without speaking.

Eventually, I helped him out of the shower and dried him off. He barely said anything as we changed into clean clothes and climbed into his bed. He lay down beside me, and I pulled the heavy comforter up over his shoulders.

For a few minutes, he just stared up at the dark ceiling. Then his eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes slowly closed. I watched his breathing become steadier as the harsh tension in his face finally began to ease. He was exhausted: completely, emotionally drained.

I reached over and ran my fingers gently through his damp hair. "Sleep," I whispered softly.

He didn’t answer, already drifting into deep exhaustion. I thought he was completely asleep until his lips moved again.

At first, I couldn’t understand the faint mumble. Then I heard it clearly.

"Harper..."

I leaned closer to him. His eyebrows pulled together in a subtle frown.

"Please don’t leave me too."

My heart shattered completely. I froze, unable to breathe for a moment. He wasn’t fully awake, and he didn’t even realize he had spoken the words out loud, but I knew exactly where they had come from.

I moved closer, wrapping my arms tightly around him and pulling his head against my chest. "I’m not leaving you."

I pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "I’m right here."

I held him tighter against me. "I don’t care what happens tomorrow." I pressed another kiss to his skin. "I’m here tonight."

He shifted slightly in his sleep, his hand searching beneath the blanket until his fingers found mine. He curled his hand tightly around mine, and I squeezed back, holding on as tight as I could.

As I lay there listening to the steady, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, one truth became painfully clear. Justin didn’t need me to fix the broken pieces of his past, and he didn’t need me to find all the right words to say. He just needed someone to stay.

So I stayed. I held his hand, I held him close, and I stayed.

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