Faking It With The Hockey Star

Harper’s POV

By the time I got home, the house had settled into its usual evening rhythm. Emma and Noah were in one of their rooms, arguing loudly about something completely unimportant.

I smiled to myself. It was strange how comforting ordinary things had become. After everything that had happened at the hospital, I had started appreciating these little moments far more. The background noise, the bursts of laughter, my mother calling out from the kitchen, and the warm certainty of knowing exactly where I belonged.

I found Mom sitting in the living room, resting on the couch. She looked up when I walked in. "Hey, baby."

"Hey, Mom."

She studied my face carefully for a moment. "You look tired."

"I am."

She shifted slightly to make room. "Is Justin okay?"

"He is okay. He is resting."

"Good," she nodded, her shoulders relaxing.

I hesitated near the doorway. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you?"

Her expression shifted instantly into full attention. "Of course. Come sit."

I sat beside her, and she reached out to take my hand. "Are you okay?"

I offered a faint smile. "Yeah."

"Is your father bothering you again?"

"No," I squeezed her fingers. "It is not Dad."

"Then what is it?"

I took a deep breath. "My internship. I have been offered several positions."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "That is wonderful!"

"It is," I looked down at our joined hands. "That is the problem."

Mom frowned softly. "How is that a problem?"

"Because they are all really good opportunities," I sighed. "But most of the best ones are out of state."

That wiped the playful smile from her face. "How far?"

"Some are really far," I admitted, listing them quietly. "California. Texas. New York. Washington."

Mom listened carefully, processing each location. "And you have an offer here as well?"

"Yes."

"How good is the one here?"

"Good."

"Just good?"

I thought about it for a second. "It is a really good opportunity. But the ones out of state are much bigger."

She nodded slowly. "And you want to leave?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. "I do not know."

Mom did not rush me. She simply waited in patient silence.

"I think that is what scares me," I finally admitted. "I do not know what I truly want."

She squeezed my hand gently. "Then let us start with what you do know. Do you want to leave?"

"No," the answer came out instantly.

Mom noticed how fast I responded. "Why?"

"I do not want to leave you."

She smiled softly. "That is not the only reason."

I looked away, my cheeks warming. "Justin. I do not want to leave him either."

Mom nodded without a single trace of judgment in her eyes. "Okay. Now we are getting somewhere."

I laughed quietly, feeling a bit of the tension drain from my shoulders. "But I do not want to make a decision just because I am scared of losing him."

"Good."

Her firm response caught me off guard. "Good?"

"Yes," she turned toward me fully. "Harper, I am going to tell you something I wish someone had told me when I was your age. In love, you use your heart, but you also use your head."

I smiled. "That is very Mom of you."

"I am serious," she insisted, her voice soft but steady. "You love this boy, and from everything I have seen, Justin loves you too. He has shown it. But love does not mean you stop thinking about your future. Your career matters. Your dreams matter. Your happiness matters."

She counted each point gently on her fingers. "You need to look at the whole picture. The company, your boss, the people you will be working with, and what you will actually learn. Most importantly, where will you actually grow?"

I listened intently as she continued.

"A big, prestigious company is not automatically the best choice," Mom explained. "You could move across the country for a famous name and end up with a terrible boss who makes you hate the work. Or you could stay somewhere smaller, learn from people who care about teaching you, and come out ten times better."

"So I have to evaluate everything," I said quietly.

"Everything," she smiled. "Look at the entire picture, not just the title or the salary."

Silence settled between us for a moment before Mom spoke again. "What did Justin say about all this?"

I smiled, feeling a surge of affection. "He told me to go. He basically told me to choose whatever opportunity is best for me."

Mom’s eyebrows rose. "He did?"

"Yeah. He said he would make it work, and that he can fly out to see me whenever he needs to."

She laughed softly. "That sounds like Justin." Her tone grew a little more serious. "But Harper, that means the two of you have to actually put in the work. If he starts playing professional hockey, his life is going to change too. Crazy schedules, travel, games, training, and media. You will both have demanding lives. You cannot build a future assuming one of you will always have free time."

"Do you think we can make it work?" I asked softly.

"I think that is something only the two of you can answer," Mom replied, squeezing my hand tight. "Are you both willing to make sacrifices? If you are, you will figure it out. Just do not choose somewhere simply because Justin is there, and do not choose somewhere else simply because it looks impressive on paper."

"That feels like a lot of pressure."

"No," she shook her head gentle. "It is responsibility. You are graduating, baby. You are stepping into your own life now, and I am so proud of you."

I felt my eyes sting. "Mom..."

"No crying."

"I am not crying."

"You are," she laughed warmly. "You are my daughter, I know your face."

I wiped quickly under my eye as she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"You do not have to be afraid of growing up," she whispered, rubbing my back. "And you do not have to be afraid of leaving us, because wherever you go, you will always have a home here."

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat. "What if I make the wrong decision?"

"You might," she said simply.

I pulled back to stare at her, and she smiled. "That is life. You make the best decision you can with the information you have. If it does not work out, we adjust. If you hate it, you come home. If you love it, we celebrate you."

I laughed through my tears.

Mom kissed my forehead gently. "Your siblings and I are always going to be here."

I looked toward the hallway where Emma and Noah were still making noise. My family, my home, my heart.

"Thank you, Mom."

"Always."

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