Chapter 20: Thunder and Heartbeats

 

"It's called... 'high fashion layering'," Harper tried to explain, combing the long hair over the bald spot.

But as soon as she let go, the hair flopped back down, revealing the shiny white patch of scalp.

"Pfft." Harper covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. I really don't want to laugh, but..." She burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! It looks like a crop circle!"

Sebastian sighed, looking at her teary eyes. He couldn't help but smile too. "Laugh all you want. You did this."

"Okay, okay," Harper wiped her eyes. "There's a salon two blocks away. Let's go fix my masterpiece."

Outside, the rain had stopped, but the sky was still a bruised purple. Sebastian refused to go out looking like a monk, so Harper found him a black baseball cap.

They walked to the salon. Harper walked beside him, eyeing his wheelchair with envy. "25 km/h top speed," she muttered. "No traffic, no helmet hair. Boss, your ride is better than my first car."

---

[The Misunderstanding of Tony]

The salon owner, a man named Tony (because of course his name was Tony), greeted Sebastian like royalty. "Mr. Sterling! It's been a while!"

Sebastian sat in the chair. Harper sat on the waiting sofa, pretending to read a magazine.

"Same style as usual?" Tony asked, reaching for the cap.

"Not exactly," Sebastian said. "Just... fix it."

Tony took off the cap. He gasped. He looked at the bald patch. He looked at the jagged ends. He looked at Harper, who was whistling innocently in the corner.

Tony leaned down, whispering urgently into Sebastian’s ear. "Mr. Sterling... blink twice if you are in danger."

Sebastian: "..." "I'm fine, Tony."

"Is she abusing you?" Tony hissed, eyeing Harper with suspicion. "We have scissors. We can protect you."

"She's my caretaker," Sebastian sighed. "She just... had an accident with some scissors."

"An accident?" Tony looked unconvinced. "It looks like she attacked you with a lawnmower! Don't worry, sir. We are on your side!"

Sebastian rubbed his temples. "Just cut it, Tony."

Tony went to work. He was a master. He trimmed the sides short, blending the bald patch perfectly into a stylish fade. The long, gloomy hair was gone, replaced by a sharp, clean cut that highlighted Sebastian’s strong jawline and high cheekbones.

He looked younger. Sharper. Like a bamboo shoot after the rain.

"Done!" Tony announced proudly. Then he glared at Harper.

Harper walked over, clapping. "Wow! Tony, you are a magician!"

Tony huffed. "Hmph!"

"What's his problem?" Harper whispered as they left. "Why is he looking at me like I kicked his puppy?"

"He thinks you're a villain," Sebastian smirked. "He thinks you torture me."

Harper laughed. "Me? Torture you? Next time I'll bring my grooming kit and show him a real haircut!"

---

[The Storm]

They were halfway home when the sky opened up. CRACK! BOOM!

Rain didn't just fall; it poured. It was a deluge. Harper whipped out the umbrella she had brought. "Ha! I knew it! Prepared!"

But the wind was strong. The umbrella shook violently. Harper struggled to hold it over Sebastian, getting soaking wet herself.

"Move the umbrella," Sebastian said, seeing her wet shoulder. "You're getting soaked."

"I'm waterproof!" Harper shouted over the rain. "But your chair isn't! If this $200,000 baby shorts out, I'm dead! I can buy medicine for cheap, but I can't afford a new chair!"

Sebastian frowned. He tried to push the umbrella back to her. "I can buy a new chair. I can't buy a new caretaker."

Just then, the rain turned hard. Thud. Thud. Thud. Hailstones the size of eggs began to bombard them.

"OW!" Harper yelped as one hit her arm.

Sebastian reached out to pull her closer, but she was faster. In one fluid motion, Harper jumped. She landed right on Sebastian’s lap.

She curled up into a ball, tucking her legs onto his, and pulled the umbrella down low, creating a shield over both of them.

Sebastian froze. His brain short-circuited. He couldn't feel his legs, but he could feel the weight of her warm body pressing against his chest. He could smell her shampoo—jasmine and rain.

"GO! GO! GO!" Harper screamed into his ear. "Full speed! 25 km/h! Drive, Boss, Drive! Or we'll be beaten to death by ice!"

Sebastian snapped out of his trance. He slammed the joystick forward. The wheelchair surged ahead, cutting through the storm.

"This weather is crazy!" Harper yelled, burying her face in his neck to avoid the hail. "Why is there hail in summer?! Nature is trying to kill us!"

Sebastian didn't answer. He couldn't. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might crack his ribs. Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was louder than the thunder. Louder than the hail.

He felt her small hands clutching his wet shirt. He felt her breath on his skin. He wasn't cold. He was burning up.

"Charge!" Harper shouted, raising the umbrella slightly like a shield. "We will not surrender to the ice!"

A hailstone bounced off the umbrella. She ducked back down. "Okay, maybe we surrender a little bit!"

They burst through the front door of the villa, dripping wet and breathless.

The hail stopped as suddenly as it had started.

Harper scrambled off his lap instantly. "My flowers!" She threw the umbrella aside and ran to the garden to check on her jasmine and roses.

Sebastian sat alone in the hallway, water dripping from his new haircut. He watched her running around in the mud, trying to save the crushed petals.

The house was quiet again. But inside his chest, the storm was still raging.

He touched his heart. It wasn't the adrenaline. It wasn't the cold.

It was her.