“Then don’t. Stay with me, I have the room.”
She pulls back from our hug, drying her eyes, sounding defeated, she says. “I can’t, Hayleigh. You know that.”
I cross my arms, trying to hold my temper at our parents. “I know youcan,Thea.” I take a deep breath and relax my arms. “I don’t want to push you, but just know that when you’re ready, I’ll be here for you.”
I hug her once more, pouring into it every ounce of love that I have in the hopes that somehow she knows she has a home here, if she wants it.
**********
Thea left an hour ago, the house seems empty now that I’m alone, empty but not in a bad way. In a way that I’ve never felt before. These walls are my safe haven, a place of my own.My home.
Someone knocks at the door, and goosebumps prick my skin once more, but then I remember I asked Nate to come by with the letter I had given him all those months ago.
I answer the door to his smiling face, and instantly, I’m safe again. He strides forward and wraps his arms around me, murmuring into my neck. “My mum called. She told me about what happened earlier. Are you okay?”
I squeeze him back, thankful he’s here. “I’m okay. Did you bring it?”
He holds up the sealed envelope, and I take it from him, my hand shaking the whole time. My feet move, and before I know it, I’m in my back garden, walking towards the outside seating area where a steel bin for burning logs sits.
Taking a seat on the outside sofa, I hold the envelope in my hands as tears fall down my cheeks. Nate takes a seat beside me, his quiet strength seeping into my bones.
I look at him, sitting there so calmly. “I’m not crying for Pete.”
He nods slowly, raising a brow, and asks me. “No?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t hate him either; I don’t feel anything for him anymore. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No, it doesn’t, Hayleigh. You don’t have a bad bone in your body.”
I look down at the envelope. Maybe some people would want the closure; they would want to know what it says. Is it an apology or an admission of guilt, maybe? Whatever it is, I don’t want it.
So I stand up with it clasped in my hand, and I turn to face Nate, holding it up. “This doesn’t matter to me. Not anymore. I don’t care what he’s written; I don’t want to waste energy on him anymore, on anyone who doesn’t respect and support me. You taught me that, Nate, you and your family and Emmy, Lacey and Daisy.”
He stands up with me, his hands move to my hips, and he dips down, his eyes searching mine. "I support you with whatever it is you want to do, Hayleigh. I always have and I always will.”
A genuine smile blooms across my face. “I choose you, Nate.” Then I move from his grasp and pick up the lighter I keep outside. The flame flickers to life, licking away at the corner of the envelope, and once it catches, I throw it into the steel bin.
We take a seat, Nate’s arm around me as the last of Pete’s words drift off on embers into the night sky.
I feel weightless.
I feel free.
Chapter 25
Nate
Three weeks later…
Hayleigh’s been keeping herself busy these past few weeks. When she isn’t helping Emmy and my brother out with paperwork, she’s working on her house. Every day has been filled with decorating and buying things for her home. I’ve lost count of the number of times Archie has hit his thumb hanging pictures or trailed paint on the new, refurbished floors because, for some reason, he insists on painting with his tongue hanging out and has zero hand-eye coordination.
But yesterday, she was dealt a low blow: a message from Thea saying the wedding was postponed by four weeks, that she still wasn’t invited, and that she needed to delete her number and never contact her again.
I felt utterly useless when Hayleigh burst into tears, the kind of sobs that were gut-wrenching. There’s a part of me that wants to storm her parents' home and find out what the hell their problem is, but Hayleigh told me to let it go. So that’s what I’m doing, trying to find ways to let it go and keep her occupied.
Hayleigh’s List
· Dance at the movies
