Free HARDER by Olivia Hawthorne, Olivia Long Page B

so just to get to know him. In spite of some rough patches it seemed like Gary and Addy were going to be together for a while.
    He was a nice guy, good looking and hard working and let’s face it…for being a random bar hookup, Addy had really scored with him.
    I let them make fun of me for being old and bored as I said my goodbyes and headed to the parking lot.
    I made it home in time for the late night news and a bowl of ice cream on the couch.
    It was weird without Lucy around. Even though she was usually asleep by this time of night, I couldn’t feel her in the house and that made it feel too quiet, too sterile.
    I passed some time looking up Rolland on Facebook and was beyond pleased to see him posing with a young, gorgeous blonde woman. He’d always been stupid and cocky about his privacy settings so I was able to determine that they’d been dating for a while, in fact they’d started before Lucy and I had left.
    Good riddance to bad rubbish as they say. I was just glad that he might end up too distracted with somebody new that he forgot about us and let us go once and for all. All I had to do was file for full custody and hope that he let it happen without a fuss.
    On a whim I looked up my mom and dad to see if they’d joined in on social media like a lot of people their age these days.
    My heart skipped a few beats when I found my mom. I hadn’t seen her face in so long, but there she was laughing with my brother and my dad.
    I dug through every bit of public information but unfortunately she was more private than my ex. There wasn’t much to see beyond shared motivational posts and Candy Crush achievements.
    My heart hurt seeing her there, so close and yet so far.
    I don’t know what came over me; I clicked on the button and let the message screen pop up. I was incognito with a fake name to hide out from Rolland, but I had to message her.
    I kept it short and sweet.
    Hey mom, I hope you guys are doing well. Lucy and I left Rolland and we’re living down south. I’d sure love for you to meet her, she has Grandma’s smile and stubborn personality. Love, Brooke
    I must have read it a thousand times over looking for things to rewrite or things to improve, but finally hit send.
    I half expected her to reply right away, but knew she’d either be in bed or up watching some late night action movie with dad. I hadn’t realized how much I missed my family until I’d seen her face and now my heart felt empty and hollow somehow.
    Rolland had given me Lucy, and I wouldn’t change a thing because of that, but he’d taken so much from me I couldn’t even begin to add it all up.
    I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I woke up with a start with my phone buzzing and the TV blaring some infomercial for a vegetable cutting system that was guaranteed to change my life.
    I looked at my phone and saw Addy’s number.
    “Addy?” I said sleepily. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
    “You gotta get down here,” she said with her voice slightly slurred.
    “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine but you gotta come get him.”
    “Who? What’s going on?”
    “Caleb. He’s lost his fucking mind. It’s the anniversary and he’s drunk off his block.”
    “Caleb Harder?”
    “Yes, Caleb Harder! He’s trying to start fights and he tore up the jukebox. Just get down here now! He’s asking for you!”
    She hung up and I was left holding my phone and staring at it like it was an alien object.
    Caleb Harder was drunk and asking for me? And what the hell did Addy mean by an anniversary?
    I slipped on an oversized jacket and flat sneakers, grabbed my purse and key and headed to Murphy’s pub.
    When I got there the parking lot had thinned out quite a bit but I recognized Addy’s SUV.
    I walked inside and found the place a maelstrom of activity with Caleb Harder in the center of a group of people.
    They were all trying to get him to calm down but he was holding his fists and his face was an almost unrecognizable mask