After the awkward coffee with Catherine, Harper headed to the nearest grocery store. The other night she'd noticed her cupboards and refrigerator were quite lacking. Her last shopping trip was months ago. Then she drove back to her apartment. She pulled into the parking in front of her door and cut the engine, then hopped out.

She walked around to the back door and pulled it open. She grabbed the grocery bags in both hands, then used her foot to close the back door. It was hard, figuring out how to get in the house. But she used a combination of feet, elbows, and teeth to push it open. Darcy bombarded her at the door.

Eventually, she got inside. She shut the door behind her and plopped the bags down on the counter, next to the sink in the kitchen. With a sigh, she reached down to pet the nearly-psychotic dog at her feet. "You're worse than a herd of five-year-olds," she said, scratching behind his ear a moment. She turned back to her grocery bags, and Darcy made a small wheeze of a sound before trotting back to the couch.

After unloading everything, she put in a load of laundry—another thing to add to the list of chores she had not done. She vacuumed, she scrubbed counters and dusted shelves, she started a load of dishes, and she straightened many things that were out of place.

She was physically drained after all of it was done. So, she did what any girl in her situation would do. She took a quick shower and changed into some comfortable clothes—pajama shorts and a T-shirt—with her hair in a loose ponytail, then she got the Nutella out of the cupboard and camped out in front of the TV in her bedroom with the lights off.

Darcy lay stretched out in front of her, while Harper sat leaning against the wall and her pillows. Her knees were to her chest and her eyes were fixed on the screen. She was watching 27 Dresses. Again. She'd watched it almost more than 27 times. But for some reason, she enjoyed 'chick flicks'. They were her guilty pleasure. That and the Nutella.

She shoveled a spoon-full into her mouth just before a knock on the front door sounded. A small groan-sounding sigh escaped her, and she climbed off the bed. She hurried out to the living room and opened the front door. Her mouth nearly fell open. "E-Ellie?" she asked.

Ellie smiled lightly. "Hi," she said.

"What are you doing here?" Harper asked, confused. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're supposed to be in jail."

"I was," Ellie nodded. "But they don't have evidence that I'm involved. My lawyers are saying I can plead coercion." Harper clenched her jaw to keep from spewing words of hatred she'd only regret later. "What do you want?" she asked.

"To apologize," Ellie said.

"It's a little too late for that, El," Harper said, bitterly. Ellie's expression dropped at the tone Harper used. But she kept her chin up, not showing she was fazed for more than a second. Harper wished she could say something really spiteful and hurtful to Ellie. Just to make herself feel a little better. But that wasn't the best thing to do for this situation.

"Harper, I swear, I only knew you were there for a couple of days," Ellie said. "I found out when I was underground. I couldn't really tell the police." Harper scoffed and rolled her eyes, then leaned into the door frame on her hand, a fist on her hip. She narrowed her eyes at Ellie as she spoke. "Read my lips," Harper said. "I. Don't. Care."

"I know you could never forgive me. But I just wanted to say it. I'm sorry. I truly am," Ellie said, conceding defeat.

"Good for you. Excuse me, I have to go throw up now," Harper spat. She stepped back, closing the door forcefully as she went. Harper exhaled a deep breath and she rubbed her temples, momentarily closing her eyes. Suddenly, Darcy yipped a bit, startling her. She shook her head as she hurried back into the bedroom with Darcy.

She patted his head and sat back where she had been before. "Don't worry, boy. It was just a really big bug," she said. Darcy made a sound between a whimper and a growl as his head dropped back down onto the bed. Harper didn't feel like eating, so she skipped dinner. The buzzer on the washing machine went off just as her movie ended. So she moved along the laundry and the dishes.

By the time both were finished, it was late at night. Almost one-thirty AM, to be exact. She was able to keep herself awake long enough to put away the clean dishes and fold the clean laundry. But then she was even more exhausted. She turned off the lights in the living room and kitchen, and then she went back into her bedroom.

She slid into her bed under her covers, pulling out her ponytail, and turned off her lamp. A frantic ringing of her cell phone from the nightstand jolted her awake. She groaned as she looked up at her alarm clock. It was four AM. She sighed and grabbed her phone. She answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Harper, it's Josh. I know it's really late," Josh said, with a somewhat panicked tone. Harper rubbed her eyes and sat up, instantly concerned by his tone. "Um...Layla's at the hospital."

"What? What happened?" Harper asked, quickly. She swung her legs off the bed and flicked her lamp on. "She went into early labor, or something- I'm not really sure," Josh said. He seemed a bit flustered and stressed on the other end. Harper stood and groggily started changing. "Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes, alright?" she said.

"Okay," he said, sounding relieved. Harper hung up her phone and finished zipping up her jeans. She slid her phone into her jean pockets and pulled a grey hoodie over her head, then grabbed her keys. Her feet slid into her sandals and she hurried to the front door. Darcy tried to follow, but Harper kept him inside.

She half-jogged, half-ran to her van and jumped into the driver's seat. She drove as fast as she could without being pulled over. As she drove, she had her window down and the radio on—anything to calm her down. But her mind raced with what could have happened to Layla.

She pulled into the parking and cut the engine. She hurried in the emergency entrance, and spotted Josh almost right away. He was pacing in the small waiting area across the room. He glanced in the direction of the door and stopped pacing as he saw Harper. Harper jogged over to him, panicked. "What happened?" she asked.

After asking the obvious, she put her arms around him in a hug. "She called me at two AM," Josh began, parting from her. "She said she wasn't feeling right—mainly because of a pain in her side. So I went over there and the pain just got worse, and she started a bad fever..." He was partially rambling, obviously too worried to think straight. Harper nodded understandably. "Okay, um...have the doctors come back yet?" she asked him.

He shook his head. Harper sighed, with yet another nod. Her heart was racing and she felt a bit sick to her stomach. She fought to keep her breathing even and her voice from shaking as she spoke. "She'll be okay," she said, and she wasn't sure who she was trying to reassure most—Josh or herself. Josh nodded in a sigh, and he sat in the chair to his left.

Harper stepped over and sat in the chair to the right of his. She couldn't help thinking, in the silence of the waiting area, and her mind went wild. She wasn't particularly religious, but she said a silent prayer—pleading, begging whoever was up there to please spare the baby.

Let Layla be alright. Harper wouldn't be able to handle any more tragedy in her life. That and she truly worried for her sister. Layla was there for Harper when she needed her, but Harper couldn't be in there with Layla now. Josh crossed his arms over his chest with an exhale and couldn't stop tapping his foot.

They sat for a long time before a doctor emerged from the double doors. Harper and Josh shot up to their feet as the doctor made her way over to them. "You must be the siblings?" the female doctor said.

"Yes. How is she?" Harper asked, her voice shaking.

"She's stable for now," the doctor answered.

"And the baby?" Josh asked. Harper held her breath, her pulse skyrocketing as she waited for the answer. The doctor inhaled before speaking. "We had to perform an emergency C-section, and at the moment the baby—a boy—is doing better than expected. But with the level of prematurity we're dealing with...that could change overnight," she informed. Harper's heart dropped, but she tried to be optimistic.

At least the baby was alive, and so was Layla. Josh remained silent, most likely in a small bought of shock. "When can we see Layla?" Harper asked, trying to find her voice again.

"She's resting now, but you can come back to the room if you'd like," the doctor said. Harper nodded and the doctor started leading the way through the double doors. Harper took Josh's hand and he glanced at her. "Come on," she said, lightly. "Let's go see Layla." Josh nodded and they followed after the doctor.