Harper's Rules 1 & 2

Chapter 9: Harper

A/N: slight amount of mature content.

"Get a fucking grip, Harper," I cursed myself out of my fixated trance as I stared at yet another one of Jake's billboard pictures like I recognized a criminal out of a lineup.

After an appropriately selected 'angry girl music' playlist selection blasted through my car's speakers, divine inspiration came to me before I peeled out of the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Before I'd left the gas station, I'd extended one more hand with a middle finger gesture in front of my phone and snapped a picture of the now tomato-smeared billboard behind my gesture.

A few more billboards later, I texted Ellie.

me: You could've warned me.
me: [ image attached ]

A few minutes later, when the fourth such billboard was just a rearview mirror memory, my phone chimed with a response and an alert came over my dashboard screen.

Ellie: Did you do that?

me: Possibly. 😇

Ellie: You're terrible... And I shouldn't have laughed. 😂

me: But you did!

"Sadly, I didn't," I mumbled at my phone, turned on the car, and moved to pull out but paused at Ellie's next text that popped up on the dashboard.

Ellie: Don't kill me.

"Already know you did it." I frowned and peeled around a slow-moving car that shouldn't have driven in the leftmost lane. "Better fess up, Ellie."

With my preference that I drove nine miles over the posted speed limit and Dad's strict 'two miles under' rule, he'd quickly fallen behind me. I knew even with my slightly diverted gas refill, he was still at least thirty minutes north of where I'd stopped.

While I stomped my foot down onto the accelerator on the entrance ramp, I texted Ellie back through the car's voice commands.

me: Nice of you to say this after I'm 6 hours south.

me: Let me guess. You told Jake.

After not even a full minute's pause, Ellie fessed up.

Ellie: Guilty as charged.

"Damnit." I rolled my eyes.

Like it would've been anyone else. Those two have no secrets.

me: Thanks for that. 😒
me: You've now been upgraded to next-level ex best friend status.

Ellie: Just thought you could use someone to look after you.
Ellie: Kieran and Josh are in LA too, although Kieran and Jake had a fallout.

I frowned for a moment at Ellie's message then shook my head.

Didn't know that about Jake and Kieran, but don't care.

me: You're assuming that I want anything to do with asshole football players. Do I really need to finish that thought?

Ellie: Please don't hate me for being concerned.

Of course she plays that card.

Ellie's heart was bigger and sweeter than anyone else I'd probably ever meet in my life. The fact she'd forgiven me after I slept with Jake behind her back in high school and we were still friends proved that. She hadn't even wanted Jake or her boyfriend Logan to pummel the shit out of Ryder that he deserved for what he'd done to her.