Page 153 of The Guy in the Middle (The Underdogs 3)

Lance shrugs me off effortlessly, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Get her home.”

“You bastard,” I cry as Tony wraps around me, tugging me away. Sobbing uncontrollably, I let the anger win, and the floodgates open. “Lance!” I scream at his retreating back. Something in my voice has him pausing to turn and look at me. “You’re becoming what you hate!”

Physically, I see him flinch at the truth. “And you win,” I choke out. “I made a mistake. I should have never left Texas! I should have never left you! I didn’t want to! I didn’t want to leave! I had to!”

“What are you talking about?”

; “This is what you wanted, right? Well, I’m admitting it.” An eerie calm overtakes me, and I go limp in Tony’s hold before he lets me go. My boots crunch on the gravel beneath my feet before I stop to face him head-on, lifting enraged eyes to his. “I had to leave. They ran me out. They terrorized my sister, my family, me, that’s how my dad found out about us, he was worried about your motives. I was fourteen all over again. But the breaking point was when they assaulted me at the Amhurst game.”

Lance visibly sways, as if struck, while Tony swears behind me. “Jesus Christ.”

“If I hadn’t left, you would have fought them all. I came here to commit to you. I love you, Lance. You. Fucking. Idiot. But being with you made me a target. I fought them then as hard as I could, and I was willing to fight them now to be with you…but now…God,” I sob out, “I hate you.”

His voice is barely a whisper. “They—”

“They—as in your teammates and their girlfriends—they came after me, blaming me for their losing season, or maybe it was just for sport. If Troy—”

“Troy knew?”

“Don’t. I begged him not to tell you. And if he wouldn’t have stopped it that day, it would have been a whole lot worse. You were worth it, then,” I shake my head in disbelief. “I don’t know you anymore.”

“Harper,” he whispers hoarsely, searching my eyes. “They hurt you?”

“Jesus, Lance, despite what you think, you’re one of very few who think I’m beautiful. Your teammates didn’t share the same opinion. Did you not hear that man just call me ugly? Maybe you recognized a part of yourself when you looked at me the first time, or maybe you just loved me too much to see it. But that made you worth it.”

He stands stunned as I wipe my face free of years of humiliation.

Unable to deny it anymore, I admit my truth. “I didn’t want you to be ashamed or be in the position to defend me. You would have blown your shot. And when you came to New York, I got scared. I got so scared that when you again get caught in the spotlight, I will be too. Being with you would, without a doubt, hurt me.”

He stares at me, jaw slack, absorbing the truth.

Body trembling, I fight to get the words out. Words that are too late, words that are the crux of us. His words from years ago. “You see, my love, it’s a cruel world without you in it.”

His face falls as I lift, so my truth hits his lips. “My leaving had little to do with dancing, despite what I promised myself. I wanted your love so much more than the look on your face right now. But what you just did to me…” I lift my chin in defiance, showing him his mirror, “makes you the bully.” All the fight leaves me as I utter my defeat, “no longer worthy of this ugly girl’s love.”

For the first time in my life, my legs fail me as Tony sweeps me into his arms and drives me back to the ranch.

Lance

“Lance, man, it’s late.”

“What the hell happened to Harper?”

“She finally told you?”

“I was halfway to the highway when I realized I had no idea who I was going to murder.”

“You’re talking crazy.”

I uncap my bottle. “I’m feeling a little crazy, brother.”

“I’m not telling you shit until you can handle it. But I’m glad she told you.”

“Why didn’t you?” I grit out. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”

I drain some of the whiskey sitting in my truck parked behind her rental. I refuse to let her go, though she hasn’t walked out of the house since Tony brought her in. I’m lucky she had too much to drink or else she’d be long gone.