Unsung by Shannon Richard Page A

and took another deep breath, reminding herself that she loved her mother. Really she did. But sometimes the woman tried every ounce of her patience. Today was no different. But she could get through this. She had to get through this. And really this was just the calm before the storm when it came to what was going to happen. Because when the truth came out, all hell was going to break loose.
    So Harper went back to protocol number one in regards to Delilah Laurence: she locked her jaw tight and stared straight ahead, counting down to her escape.
    Thirty-two minutes, twenty-nine seconds…
    Twenty-eight seconds…
    Twenty-seven seconds…
    She looked across the circle of chairs to find Mel’s amber eyes on her, eyes that very rarely missed anything. You okay? She mouthed.
    Harper nodded. Twenty-five seconds…
    Twenty-four seconds…
    You sure?
    Harper nodded again, forcing a smile that just made Mel’s eyes narrow. She turned away from the speculative gaze of her friend just in time to catch Hannah stick a massive pink bow on the top of Trevor’s head.
    Twenty-three seconds…
    Twenty-two seconds…
    Trevor ran over to his aunt Grace who was bouncing Rosie Mae on her knee. Rosie was nine months old and giggling up a storm as she watched everything going on around her. Her strawberry blond hair, a gift from her redheaded father Jax, was held back with a green headband.
    Twenty-one seconds…
    Twenty seconds…
    Trevor took the bow off his head and put it on his cousin’s before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, causing another collective aww from around the circle.
    Nineteen seconds…
    Yeah, she could get through this. She would get through this.
    The countdown continued in her head for the next half hour, and she kept up with her steady breathing all the way through the rest of the shower. She stayed strong when she said good-bye to her mother, not flinching under the final Delilah once-over.
    Must. Not. Show. Weakness.
    Because any sign would be spotted and latched on to.
    But Harper’s downfall was when she was helping clean up. She went to throw something in the trash and a plate of half-eaten food was sitting on top. The second she lifted the lid, the scent of fried chicken mixed with that pungent smell of eggs hit her like a punch to the face…or to the stomach. Really it was all things poultry that were enemy number one on the not-so-friendly list.
    She got to the bathroom just in time, dropping to her knees and ridding herself of the tiny cup of fruit and few crackers she’d managed to eat earlier. Her stomach cramped painfully, apparently hell bent on proving to her just what was going to happen if she continued to try to put anything in it.
    Her skin broke out into a sweat, her eyes watered, and her head pounded. It took her a minute to catch her breath, but the disorienting ringing in her ears was going full force. Her head spun as she stood up, forcing her to grab on to the wall for balance. She stood there for a couple of seconds, holding on to the wall as she attempted to pull herself together.
    It took a lot longer than she’d imagined.
    When she got her breathing under control she cleaned herself up as much as she could in the tiny stall, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. What she really wanted was to rinse her mouth with water.
    Well, if she was being honest, what she’d really like was to drink some water, but she wasn’t all that sure if her stomach would be kind enough for even that at the moment.
    She opened the door and took one step before she registered that she wasn’t alone. She stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted Mel and Grace who were both leaning against the counter, their arms folded across their chests and their eyes focused on her.
    “So are you going to start talking?” Mel spoke first.
    “Or are we going to have to force it out of you?” Grace finished.
    Now Harper wasn’t much for losing her shit. Really, she was more the suffer-in-silence type. But as she