No Escape

Chapter Fifty-One

Lily walked back into Harper's home with Charlie on her hip. She made her way back into the living room and noticed Harper was lost in her thoughts again. She must not be having a good morning. "Harper?" Lily called to her gently, so she wouldn't scare her, even though she knew that Harper should have been able to sense her presence, she assumed that she was too distracted to notice.

Harper turned her attention to Lily and again forced a smile, then glanced at the little girl in her arms. Harper's smile faltered a bit, but she didn't care enough to cover it up. "Harper, this is Charlotte. Charlie can you say hi to Harper?" Charlotte had nestled into Lily's shoulder a bit; Lily assumed that she was feeling a bit shy. "It's okay. Harper's my friend."

Charlotte turned towards Harper, "hi." Her greeting was short, as she turned right back into Lily's shoulder.

"She'll warm up to you quick. She's not used to meeting new people. She's been through a lot for a three year old." Lily told Harper.

Harper nodded, she knew what Lily had meant. The past couple weeks Lily had explained to her what she had gone through in her life and Charlotte was involved when it came to Nikolas. Harper smiled, "it's very nice to meet you, Charlotte. We're about to go for some breakfast! What would you like to eat?"

Charlotte started opening herself up more to Harper just a little by turning her head so that it was facing the direction that Harper was, but she still had it rested on Lily's shoulder. Lily turned so that when she answered she would be able to see Harper's reaction; "pancakes."

Harper acted like pancakes were the most exciting thing, "that's a good choice. Lucky for you, I know there's a place close by. And they have the best pancakes in the whole world!"

This caused Charlie to lift her head up and smile, "weally?!" Harper just smiled big and nodded, "let's go!!" She said as she jumped a little bit in Lily's arms. Harper and Lily laughed at her reaction. Harper grabbed what she needed and they made their way.

As they walked to their destination, Harper engaged in conversation with Charlotte. Lily paid attention for a little while, but got distracted with thoughts of Jackson. She still felt a little guilty for kissing him without his permission. He always asked her if it was okay when he wanted to kiss her, but she hadn't even done the same. He didn't seem upset by it, in fact it had the opposite effect. He was glad that she had kissed him even if she hadn't asked if it was okay. He even told her she could do it whenever she wanted. That caused her thoughts to go in another direction where all she could think about was kissing him. Whenever? She mindlinked Jackson.

Whenever and wherever, Jackson told her.

The thought made Lily shiver in anticipation, one p.m can't get here soon enough. She let some of her earlier thoughts slip into the link.

Jackson groaned and said, don't tempt me. I will turn this car around.

Lily giggled, easy killer. Patience is a virtue. She then closed their link and focused back on what Charlotte and Harper were saying. They were talking about their favorite ice cream flavors. Charlotte turned towards Lily and asked, "what's yours momma?"

Lily smiled and said, "Superman!" She noticed that Harper had stopped walking and was frozen in her spot. What happened?? She wondered, oh shit! Lily quickly made her way back to Harper at a pace that she knew wouldn't scare Charlie. "Hey," she said softly, then gently placed her hand on Harper's arm. She flinched and Lily held her hand up in the air, "it's just me. I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

Harper nodded, but said nothing. She didn't know why the word had affected her so much. She didn't even know that she had been pregnant, so it shouldn't have been a big deal. But it was. Unconsciously, she placed her arms at her stomach, but forced her tears back. It was a big deal because she wanted that so bad and it was ripped away from her before she knew it was happening. Lily's voice brought Harper out of her thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even think to tell you about that. Are you okay?" Lily told her, she knew that Harper wasn't okay in the slightest, but wanted to see how she was handling it.

"Um... I just wasn't expecting it. I will be okay." Harper said.

"Can I tell you something?" Lily asked her. Harper just nodded. "When I first got her back, I felt the same way too. She would say it, and another piece of my heart would break. Sometimes it still does. Seeing mothers with their babies crushed me and made me break down. This is always in the back of my head and the memory of the day I found out she was gone doesn't ever stop. I know it is still fresh in your head, but we are strong women and we are going to get through this. Together."

A couple of traitor tears escaped from Harper's eyes but she ignored them and hugged Lily. "Thank you."

Lily hugged her back and didn't let go until Harper did first. The three of them continued on their way to the restaurant for breakfast. When they made it inside and were seated, Lily asked, "are you okay with her calling me that? If not I won't bring her by again."

Harper thought for a minute, "I like spending time with you and her together. She's such a happy kid. I will get used to it."

Lily nodded, "if you change your mind you just let me know."

The three of them enjoyed their morning together. Charlie got her pancakes at breakfast and Lily bought her a couple of toys as they walked around the different shops. Lily treated herself to some new clothes and Harper to a new outfit. They then found themselves in an ice cream shop ordering their favorite flavors that they had talked about earlier in the day. By the time they had made it back to Harper's, Charlotte was asleep in Lily's arms and the two of them were worn out from the long morning. They turned on a movie and had fallen asleep before they got through half of it.

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TM