Sacrifice (Heart of a Wounded Hero)

He struts in the door, unfazed by my unwelcome attitude. “Really? I literally work in the next building. I needed to get my steps in anyway.”

I resist rolling my eyes at him. “Right... so how’s it going?”

He sits in the chair next to me. “I think I should be asking you that. You get to go home today, right?”

I shrug. “That’s the word on the street, but I’m not going to believe it until I see it.”

Tommy is watching me closely, and I know what his next question is going to be, so I figure I might as well just get it out in the open. “Harper’s coming.” I drop the bombshell and then shrug like it’s not a big deal. “I mean, she texted and said she was.”

He tilts his head to the side and doesn’t even blink as if he’s trying to read my thoughts. “How do you feel about that?”

I laugh because I know exactly what he’s doing. “Quit trying to psychoanalyze me.”

He just continues to stare at me, and I shake my head. “I don’t feel good about it. I mean, I’ll be honest with you. If she had shown up the day I got flown into the States and was waiting for me, yeah, I’d be a little happier now, but...” My voice trails off, and I think about the last month and everything I’ve experienced.

Tommy leans forward. “But it’s been a month, and this is her first time coming to see you.”

I blow out a breath. “Yeah, that about covers it.”

I barely get the words out and there’s a knock on the door before it opens. “Hello,” Harper says as she pushes her way into the room.

Tommy and I both turn to look at her. Before now, I wouldn’t have wanted to take my eyes off her because of how beautiful she is. But looking at her today, she seems to have lost some of her shine. We stare at each other, and Tommy stands up. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later, man. Let me know if you need anything.”

Without taking my eyes off Harper’s, I tell him, “Thanks, Tommy.”

He walks out of the room without even a glance at Harper, and I almost smirk. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t start talking to her because I know Tommy, and he’d say something to her for deserting me the last month.

When the door shuts behind him, I motion to Harper and point at the chair. “Have a seat.”

She walks toward me quietly. “Uh, you look good. I thought you were, uh, you know...”

Her voice trails off, but I’m not letting her off the hook. “You thought I was what?”

She looks at the machines I’m hooked up to and then back at me. “They said you’d survived a bombing.”

I gesture to the marred and mangled skin on my arm. I had thought about hiding it before she got here because truly, no one wants to look at that, but I already figured out I don’t owe her anything.

She blinks at me. “Right, uh, I’m sorry about Noah.”

I flinch as if she’s hit me and then shake my head, not wanting to think about that. “Yeah, so let’s get to it. Obviously, our wedding is off.”

She leans forward, reaches for my hand which is lying in my lap, and then draws back quickly. She’s looking at the marred skin that has only recently had the bandages removed. It’s ugly, but it does look better than it did a month ago. “Look, Logan, I know I should have been here before now. I just can’t... I’m not strong enough to deal with... you know...”

I shake my head, not understanding. “Deal with what, exactly? An injured fiancé that you said you loved? A month, Harper. I’ve been here a fuckin’ month, and all you’ve done is text me. That’s it. No calls—hell, you couldn’t even be bothered to drive the hour here to see me. So yeah, the marriage is definitely off.”