Chapter 291: Little Secrets
** Harper ** "He’s got nothing to do with you, Harper." Eli took half a step forward, blocking her from Emory’s mother. "You don’t need to go see him, whatever he might think he has to say to you."
"Oh, of course she doesn’t have to. That was by no means a request, just something he mentioned while I was in there." Emory’s mother smiled again. "Anyway, I will be heading out now that he’s feeling better. Don’t come home too late, Emory."
As if knowing that her presence was making the new visitors uncomfortable, she left quickly, leaving only the three young people standing in the waiting room and staring at each other in somewhat skeptical silence.
"I doubt my dad has enough energy right now to say anything harsh or mean to you," Emory offered at last with a shrug. "If you want to hear him out, shouldn’t hurt to go in. We’ll be right outside anyway."
"I wasn’t saying Harper needs to be afraid of him." Eli raised an eyebrow at Emory’s proposal that suggested too much caution. "I simply don’t think he deserves her time."
"It’s alright, he’s just a patient we stopped by to see," Harper cut in before the half siblings started arguing over how to protect her from their father. An interesting situation that she might find fascinating or even pleasing on a different day. At the moment, however, she was more intrigued by the person in the treatment room — what could he possibly want to talk to her about, out of all the people waiting out here?
"I don’t mind talking to him. It shouldn’t take long." Upon further thought, Harper added, "If it turns out that he’s the soap opera type of parent trying to write me a check so that I can break up with you ... Hmm, guess I’ll just take the money and use it to pay for our next vacation together."
"Oh come on you two." Emory rolled her eyes.
The joke brought a smile to Eli’s gloomy face. After only a brief hesitation, he nodded. "Come right out if he dares make you feel uncomfortable. I’ll be right here."
Well, Harper was more concerned about whether the half-sibling pair would feel uncomfortable if she left them alone again, but she didn’t voice that thought out loud. Trying to keep her high heel clicks as quiet as she could, she made her way to the patient room and knocked.
Then, as she carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside, it really hit her how long it had been since the last time she actually met Eli’s father in person.