Battle Wounds

ten.

It had been over a week since she'd returned, and Harper never once forgot just how lucky she was. She shuddered to think of what would've happened had the charges not been dropped. Or if the Hudsons hadn't wanted her back. Where she would've ended up or how much worse her life could've gone. But somehow, someway, everything had worked out. It was a first for her and she knew better than to question it.

News of Harper's arrest had spread like wildfire in The Valley. Whispers followed her as she walked down the street, and she tried her best to ignore them. It was obvious that people would talk but no matter how much she'd readied herself for the aftermath of her breakdown, it was difficult to deal with. Impossible to ignore. As used as she was to being talked about and judged, it felt different somehow. Perhaps because the San Fernando Valley wasn't some broken-down neighborhood that nobody cared about. People had money here. Prestige. Opinions. And news traveled fast when people had too much time on their hands.

What baffled her the most were the rumors of why she snapped. Talks of a date gone wrong reached her ears multiple times during her walk and even more over the last few days. It was entertaining to see what people would believe but where they were getting that information from, she didn't know.

She crossed the street and rounded the corner, eager to have her first group therapy session over with. While she'd rather not go, it was a set condition of her probation. Something she had to do if she wanted to remain out of juvie.

It's just an hour. All you have to do is listen, you don't need to talk, she told herself though knew that participation was strongly recommended.

Lost in her thoughts, Harper didn't hear the sound of her name being called at first. The voice reached her ears a moment later and she looked over her shoulder, smiling at Miguel as he walked toward her.

"Hey, Miguel" Harper said, matching his smile. "How are-"

"You're back!" He pulled her into a hug, his smile wide as if seeing her was the highlight of his day. "We were worried about you. I mean, we all heard what happened and - wow, that's just crazy! I'm sorry you had to go through that. So are you back for good?"

Harper blinked slowly at the number of words that had been thrown her way. And here she thought Cole spoke a mile a minute. "Thanks," she said, still trying to process his words. "But, yeah, the charges got dropped so I'm back." She wasn't sure for how long but chose to keep that part to herself.

After all, she was still a foster kid living with a random family and forever always had its ending.

"When did they... you know," he said, his hand going to the back of his neck as he left the question unfinished. Almost as if embarrassed to ask.

"Like ten days ago, I think," she said, having lost track of how long she'd been back for. Unlike the real world, time had moved slower in the juvie.

"That's great! Really. I'm happy things worked out for you," Miguel exclaimed. "You know, since your date ended so badly."

Harper started to agree but stopped, her head tilted at the word 'date'. "My what? No, I wasn't on - I mean, it wasn't a date. Who told you that? Because I keep hearing people saying that."

"Oh, sorry," Miguel said with a sheepish smile. "Hawk mentioned seeing you at the arcade with some guy."

Of course, it was Hawk, she thought with a sigh. Because of the chaos of that day, she forgot they talked. At least now she knew how the rumors got started.

"So, anyway," Miguel said, thankfully changing topics. "A bunch of us are going to get something to eat. Do you want to come with us? We can catch up and hang out for a bit."