Searching for Harmony (Boston Love 1)

“Harmony, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Jake asked as he approached the side of my bed.

My mouth was so dry I couldn’t talk. Pointing to my mouth, I looked into Jake’s eyes.

“Water?” he asked. “You need water?”

I nodded as Jake leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Shit. Let me go grab some.”

Watching Jake open the door, I strained to see if he w

as still there. He was. This time he walked up to Jake and spoke to him. Nodding, he took the water pitcher from Jake and walked away. The door almost closed but Jake pushed it open.

“Just one second, sweetheart; Preston’s going to get you some water.”

Preston.

Preston is taking care of him.

Opening my mouth, I attempted to talk but Jake shook his head. “Shh, Harmony, let’s wet your whistle, okay? Don’t try to talk just yet.”

The door opened and Preston walked in. Pushing his hand through his brown hair, Preston set the pitcher down, but not before looking into my eyes. Something happened between us. Words couldn’t describe it, but I knew he felt it too because his mouth dropped open and his eyes pinched together as he poured a glass of water and handed it to my brother.

Jake reached behind me and lifted my head as I took a drink.

“Small sips, Harmony. We don’t want you getting sick from drinking too much.”

I couldn’t pull my eyes off Preston as I took a few small sips.

“Um…I’ll just wait outside.”

Jake turned to him and said, “Thanks, Preston. You’re not leaving, right?”

Pulling my lips from the plastic cup, I spoke. “Wait.” My voice sounded strained. As if it had been months since I last spoke a word.

Preston froze, as did Jake. Preston stood with his back to me. “Please tell me. TJ, is he okay? Is my baby okay?”

Jake’s lower lip trembled as he pulled back and set the water on the table. My heart raced, nearly exploding. I began to gulp in breaths…the feeling of not getting enough air was beginning to scare me.

Jake’s expression turned slack as his eyes began to get wet.

“Jake…where is TJ? What about Trey? Is he okay?” Tears fell freely from my eyes as I watched my brother turn white as a ghost.

My eyes darted to Preston’s back. “Preston. You…you saved him, right? It was you? I remember…you saved him, right?” My body shook as sobs took over. I didn’t even care that everything on me hurt.

Preston slowly turned around, his movements lacking the energy to even move his body.

The moment his eyes captured mine, I knew. “Please tell me you saved him. Please.”

Jake’s head dropped as he cried. Preston looked at Jake and then back to me. As he took a step forward, his eyes never left mine.

“Harmony, I tried with everything I had…but…I couldn’t…I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to…to…”

Shaking my head, my lower lip trembled as I whispered, “No.”

Closing his eyes and dragging in a deep breath, Preston whispered, “I wasn’t able to save your son.”

Covering my mouth with my hand, I let out a scream as Jake quickly wrapped me up in his arms. Pushing him away, I began getting out of the bed. “No! I don’t believe you. Please take me to him!”

Preston grabbed me before I fell to the floor. “Harmony, please get back into bed. You can’t be getting out of bed.” Looking into Preston’s eyes, I saw his pain and it about destroyed what little hope I had left. “I’m so sorry, Harmony. I’d give anything to take this away.”