~{Chapter 26}~

I find a way to stop gawking at her and turn to glare at Matt. He gives me a look as though he is sorry, but I scoot my chair out and stand up to leave.

"So that's what you couldn't tell me? Great move," I say, irritated.

I quickly walk away and hear someone calling out my name. I ignore the call and keep walking. I do not stop walking until I reach the edge of the event. I stop and take a deep breath, closing my eyes in the process. I slowly open my eyes when I feel myself slightly relaxing.

"You left pretty fast," I hear a voice state from behind me.

I turn around and find myself facing Harper Wilson. She has a crooked smile on her lips, and she is looking me up and down with a steady gaze. Her strawberry blonde hair is back in a ponytail, and she is wearing a structured dress that looks like it has a large price tag.

"I guess I did," I reply.

"We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Harper Wilson. You must be Kate Garner," she introduces herself as she holds her hand out for me to shake.

I hesitantly shake it. "Nice to formally meet you."

She releases my hand and sighs. "I take it Matt withheld some important things from you."

"Only a few," I say in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Listen, Kate, I know you don't really want to talk to me, but I think you need to hear the truth from someone else other than Matt or your friend," she tells me as she sits down at a nearby bench.

I walk over and sit down. "Really? You honestly think you have the right to come to me and say I need to listen to you."

"I don't have any rights. I just think you deserve to hear the truth from the person who screwed Matt over," she says.

"Fine."

She nods and starts. "I met Matt at his recording studio. I immediately saw him as an opportunity. My ratings for my last movie were down, and I needed a boost in my image. Here was a young and handsome up and coming musician really wanting to have a true hit. How could I pass that opportunity up? We started talking, and I got him to agree. I'll let you know that he was fully aware we were going to use each other, but he didn't know the full extent of what I was going to do or try to do."

"And what was that?" I ask.

"I was going to dump him as soon as I got what I wanted, not what he wanted. I was going to start rumors about our relationship and possibly cause him some trouble in his career. I acted like the sweet girl people thought I was. I tricked everyone into telling me things. When I got the information I thought I needed from Matt, I tried to start my plan. I never got to do that because information was released about me, and I was the one who got in trouble. Matt was portrayed as a victim, while my image was being torn apart," she explains.

I open my mouth to say something, but Beth walks up and asks, "You okay, Kate?"

I look at her and give her a small smile. "I will be. Though, I just want to know why you didn't tell me about any of this."

She sighs. "I was going to, but Matt convinced me not to. But, I guess you're getting all your answers right now."

I look over at Harper and say, "I am."

Beth nods and waits for a second before walking off, leaving me alone with Harper again. "I'm not sure about that," Harper says.

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell you a lot, but I can't tell you everything. Some of that should be left to Matt," she replies.

I nod. "Okay. Just answer one question."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here in South Hart?"

She sighs. "After everything went wrong, I approached him and offered an apology. He didn't want to hear it. All he wanted to do was run away from me and never see me again. He said I needed serious help."

"Which means?" I prod her.

"Which means his father decided we both needed to take a trip to a little town called South Hart. I didn't want to go, but Matt was pretty adamant about it. His father was too. I came to get them off my back. I forgot that the cute little book editor Matt always talked about lived here. He tried calling you multiple times on our way here, but he never had the courage to actually speak to you. Well, he said something to you the first time he called, but I know he hung up quickly," she explains.

"He always talked about me?"

She smiles. "Yep. When I told him to say I gave him inspiration, he almost flipped out."

"Wait. Hold on. You told him to say that?" I ask in a shocked voice.

"That was just the beginning of what I did. I do want to tell you that most of his interviews consisted of what I told him to say. Still, he did some things he shouldn't have," she says.

"Like what? And what the heck did you do that you won't tell me?" I ask, impatiently.

"Kate, the rest of it should be told by him," she says quietly.

"What did you do?" I say more firmly.

She sighs. "I stole money from him and introduced him to people who weren't good for him, and he got into the wrong crowd and started making bad decisions. He got hooked on alcohol and partying. He almost crashed a car one night. He could've killed at least four people if I hadn't taken over the wheel."

~-~-~-~
It it is safe to say that I have been avoiding Matt and Harper for the last couple of days. Okay, make that a week. Yes, I know that may seem ridiculous, but I learned that Matt almost killed four people because of Harper and his own stupid actions.

"Miss Garner, someone is here to see you," my secretary says from the doorway.

I inwardly groan. "Send the person in."

She nods, and she soon returns with Matt. I give her a small smile and gesture for Matt to sit down. He slowly sits down and looks at me with concern.

"You've been avoiding me," he states.

I sigh. "Yeah. I honestly have no idea who you are anymore."

"Kate, I promise I was going to tell you, but I just didn't know how. Telling you that Harper was here was hard for me because I knew that you really didn't like here," he tries to explain quietly.

"Do you think that's what this is about? It's not. It's about the fact that you didn't tell me that you almost killed four people. Why would you keep that a secret?" I ask.

His eyes widen. "That's what she told you?"

"Don't deny it."

He sighs. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't do it. The only people that knew were my parents and Harper. It's not something I'm proud of. Actually, the whole Hollywood thing wasn't what I expected. I thought LA would be great, but I was wrong. I screwed up, and I am so sorry."

I sigh. "You did. Thanks for the apology, but I don't think everything can go back to normal right away."

"Kate, please talk to me. I miss it. I miss being able to be who we used to be. Do you think we can ever get back to that?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders and quietly say, "I'm not sure. I hope we can, but I still don't know this new you. I knew the old you so well, and I liked the old you, but you've changed, and I'm not sure I'm used to this new you."

He sighs. "Please let me try to make things right. I just need someone like you around. You remind me of what strength is and what true faith is. I need some of that right now."

"I want to make things right, but it may take a little bit of time," I tell him quietly.

He nods. "I'm going to be here for awhile. Why don't we go to Mrs. Tucker's Diner tonight at around seven o'clock? Invite Beth and Sam and Josh if you want."

"I'll be glad to come, and I'll see what they're doing."

He gives me his small smile and stands up and leaves with a small wave. I sigh after he is gone and stare down at a paper on my desk, not actually reading it. That conversation was not as horrible as I had expected, but I do not know what to make of it.

Life is just confusing.

I work the rest of the day with questions swarming in my head. I am so distracted that I do not hear a knock at my door or a voice saying my name.

"Boo!" Beth exclaims as she jumps up to me and lightly pushes my shoulder.

"What the heck?" I say when I jump back and look at her with shock written on my face.

She laughs. "I knocked and said your name multiple times, and you didn't me hear me. I decided to try something fun!"

I roll my eyes. "You're acting like we're kids again."

"What can I say? I'm a kid at heart. Anyway, I just came by to tell you that it's almost seven," she says with a smile.

I quickly look at the clock and see she is right, so I jump up from my chair and hurriedly pack my things for me to take home. "Shoot!"

"What?" she curiously asks me.

"I'm supposed to meet with Matt at seven, and I was supposed to ask if you, Sam, and Josh wanted to come eat with us," I say as I finish packing my last few things.

She gives me a look mixed with surprise and irritation. "As much as I would love to eat with one of my least favorite people in the world and one of my favorite people in the world, I'm going to have to pass. Sam planned out a mysterious date tonight, and I have to go get ready for it."

I sigh. "Great. It'll be another awkward situation to put down in the books. Whatever, it's not like this isn't the first time. I'll see you later. Have fun!"

She smiles and walks out, leaving me alone to turn off the lights, turn the security system on, and lock up. I do all these tasks in record time and toss my things into my car before heading down the street to the diner.

I start off with a quick walk, but I find myself slowing down so I do not appear to be too eager. I look down at my watch as I pause in front of the door. I am about ten minutes late, which was what I was aiming for.

I walk in and immediately spot Matt in the back. I walk over to him and sit down across from him. He is too busy to know I have arrived because he is doing something on his phone. I clear my throat, and he looks up. When he sees it is me, he quickly puts his phone up and gives me one of his small smiles.

"I thought you were going to make me eat alone," he says, trying to lift the awkwardness.

I smile and sit down. "The thought crossed my mind."

He ignores my joke and asks, "Is anyone else coming?"

I shake my head. "No. Did you want someone else to come?"

"No, I didn't mean it in that way. I just thought you might bring them because you're not the biggest fan of me at the moment," he replies.

I sigh. "That's not entirely true. I still want the best for you, but at the same time, I hardly know you anymore. I just need to have some space and get to know you again. I think we've both changed, and I think that means we need to get to know each other again."

He nods. "Then let's start off with a little childish game. Twenty questions."

I laugh. "Okay."

"Favorite song?" he asks.

I pause before saying, "Probably Human by Christina Perri. Then again, I like the song I sang at the event. I also like Brokenness Aside. Darn, I don't think I can choose."

He laughs at my indecisiveness. "Okay, then."

"Hmm. Why did you choose music?"

He rakes his fingers through his hair and says, "It was a way for me to express my feelings without having to get up and make a speech."

"Was?" I ask.

"Yeah. I turned it into greediness, instead of focusing on the real reason of why I should be doing it. While I'm here, I want to get back to doing it just because I love it. I'm hoping to find inspiration here," he explains in a quiet voice.

I smile, and we spend the remainder of the evening talking and laughing. It is a good feeling to know that he is really trying. I just wish I could muster enough courage to tell him what I am really thinking about.