My Ex’s Roommates: Chapter 45

When Silas got home later that night, he wasn’t alone. His dad was with him. Dylan had made soup for me since I was still feeling queasy so I was at the island sipping at the broth when I saw Terry. I’d been waiting on a conversation with my three boyfriends about me running and hiding from them. I hadn’t expected Silas’ dad to show up. It made me want to run and hide again, but I knew I couldn’t drink that heavily two nights in a row if I wanted to continue living.

Silas walked straight to me and pressed his lips to the side of my head. “How are you feeling?”

I shot a nervous look at his dad and put my spoon down. “I’m okay. I was just finishing up my soup so y’all can have the kitchen to talk or whatever. I’ll head upstairs.”

Silas put his hands on my shoulders, stopping me from moving, but it was Terry who spoke up. “Stay there, Harper. I owe you an apology.”

I was too hungover and close to my period, I decided. That was why I felt like crying; no other reason. “You already apologized. It’s fine.”

“It’s not. I hurt your feelings yesterday and I made you feel uncomfortable around me. I made you feel not good enough for Silas. I’m really sorry. I went into protective dad mode and didn’t stop to think that Silas is a grown man now. He knows what he’s doing and what he wants. I also trust that I helped raise him well enough to know that you must be a pretty great woman for him to care about you the way he does.”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt like I’d messed up the morning before by being open and honest about my family but I also didn’t want to go back to hiding everything, including my feelings. I stared at the counter in front of me for a few more seconds while I sorted my thoughts.

“That’s all I wanted to say. I hope you can accept my apology. It seems like you’re going to be in Silas’ life for a while and I’d like us to get to know one another better.” Terry forced a smile and looked at Silas. “I’m going to go back to the hotel with your mom and brothers. I-”

“I’ve spent a lot of my life not feeling good enough. The past two years with my ex were spent that way, never being enough and having to hide who I really am so his rich friends and family could stomach me. I don’t want to do that anymore because it just creates a deep-seated shame over who I am. I know that I’m not what you’d probably choose for your son but that doesn’t mean I’m not worth being chosen. I would never do anything to risk Silas getting into trouble or hurt. I care about him, too.” I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “You did hurt my feelings yesterday because although I’ve gotten used to people not seeing my worth, I wanted your approval. It’s a new day, though. I appreciate you apologizing even though you didn’t have to. If Samantha and the boys want to come over and hang out, I think it would be a lot of fun getting to know each of you.”

Dylan stepped into my side and stroked my back. “If anything, you’re too good for the three of us, Harper.”

I smiled up at him. “That’s what Casey said, too.”

Terry cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “Your ex sounds like an asshole.”

Laughing as the tension in the room broke, I nodded. “He was the worst.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about anyone’s approval, Harper. You seem like a good girl with a good head on her shoulders and I appreciate anyone who can be open and honest, even in awkward situations like your boyfriend’s dad being a dick.” Terry turned a genuine smile on his son. “You want us to come hang out for a while?”

Silas looked down at me and then smiled at his dad. “Actually, I think I need to spend some time with my girlfriend.”

I started to interject but Terry laughed and held up his hands. “That’s fair. We’ll be back in the morning to say goodbye. I’ll be the one limping from sleeping on the couch for the second night in a row.”

When the door closed behind Terry, Silas turned to me and cupped my face. “You’re in so much trouble.”

“Tell your dad to come back. You shouldn’t prioritize time with me over them.”

He scoffed. “You’re just trying to get out of being lectured.”

Dylan lifted me up and put me down on the counter facing them. “I’m pretty sure that’s it.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned at both of them. “Don’t I deserve a pass from whatever lecture is coming my way? I’ve suffered enough. My head still feels like crap.”

“You ran from us.” Silas started counting on his fingers. “You hid from us.”

“She lied to us about going to work.” Dylan added, oh so helpfully.

“You went out to a skeezy bar with Casey in a tiny dress.” Getting to his thumb, Silas scowled darker. “You put yourself in a situation where you were without us there to protect you while other men were trying to close in around you.”

“You got so drunk that you passed out in bed with Casey instead of us.” Dylan frowned. “I never thought I’d be jealous of Casey.”

“This doesn’t work if you run and hide from us, princess.” Silas stroked his thumb over my bottom lip. “I know you were upset yesterday but I feel like we deserved a chance to take care of you and to let you know that you’re worth the fucking world. Yeah, there’s a risk of what we’re doing here coming out, but it’s a risk that we all thought about and decided that you’re worth it. We deserved to say it and you deserved to hear it. Yesterday.”

All of my indignation about being lectured fell away. Staring at the two of them, I gripped the counter tighter and nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry for running away. I care about you both, and Carter, a lot. It’s scary sometimes.”

Dylan pushed my hair behind my ears and smiled. “We care about you, too. If shit like that happens, we deal with it together. Okay? We made the decision to do this together and that means we do everything together. Even the awkward shit like facing each other’s families.”

I snorted. “I think I’m done with meeting the families for at least a few months.”

“Yeah, that’s going to be an issue.” Dylan winced. “The USC game is this coming weekend and all of our parents are coming.”

“No, no, no. That’s too much. I can’t do it. I’m too weak. You’ll just have to do it without me.” I fell back on the counter, dramatically throwing my arms out on either side as I stretched out across Dylan’s precious island. “Leave me and remember me fondly.”

Silas wedged himself between my legs and hooked his thumbs in my shorts, quickly tugging them down. “Seems like maybe we’ll have to show you that we’re worth it.”

I went up on my elbows to watch him stare hungrily at my lace panties. “Is the lecture over that quickly?”

Dylan ran his fingertips up my thigh. “Doesn’t have to be.”

I went flat again. “No, no. It can be over. I’ll just lie here and be quiet.”

Silas growled. “No one said anything about being quiet.”