My chin lip began to tremble and I pressed my lips together.

There was immediate regret in his eyes and he ran a frustrated hand across his face as he moved back to his chair.

He reached for a pen and pulled on a stack of papers, dipping his head to review them. “I can’t imagine why you’d be coming here again, but if you do, I’d appreciate if you waited outside like everyone else—until I’m ready to see you.”

A burning ache swelled in my chest, but my face was perfectly still. The tears I knew I’d eventually shed were swallowed down hard. “I can’t imagine why either.”

26. Harper

26

I turned off The Little Mermaid late Sunday night when the credits started rolling. “Love that crab.”

It was five days since August threw me out of his office and four days since I’d stopped crying over it. Over his harsh words, icy glare, and complete disregard for everything we’d been through together.

I allowed the tears to shed for one day. He wasn’t worth more than that. Instead, I woke up the next morning, brushed myself off and went to work. Nic let me make the specialty coffees for a few days while she handled customers. I realized I’d been missing out all this time. The hands-on labor of mixing drinks was much more satisfying and helped keep focus on the task rather than everything else.

Proud of my progress to self-heal, I treated myself to one more scoop of ice cream and chopped some Twizzlers over it as I reexamined my mother’s list.

“How many times can I check off watching a Disney movie?”

There was a knock on my door that made me jump. Checking my appearance in the hall mirror, I rubbed a hand down my chocolate-stained t-shirt, straightened the bun over my head and checked the peep hole.

I pulled the door open with a smile. “You don’t see me enough during the week?”

Nic eyed me and let herself into my apartment. “I wanted to come by to see how you are…and I have my answer.”

“I’m great. I’m showered, I’m eating—like a lot. My apartment is clean and I’ve even meal-prepped for the entire week.”

“Impressive. Too impressive.”

“Please, won’t you come in and judge me some more?” I closed the door behind her.

“With pleasure. What are we drinking?”

“I can’t drink, I’ve got to be up for work early.”

She rubbed my head. “Aww, you’re cute.” She turned to my kitchen and poured herself a glass of red I had sitting on my counter. “This’ll do.”

“What else have you done all weekend? Scrub the neighbors’ tiles maybe?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Harp, it’s okay to let yourself sit and wallow.”