“Olivia—”
“Before you even start Dad, I’m sending you eighty percent of my pay.” I worked it out that I can live off twenty percent of my income, for food, and other things I may need. I had already paid the college fees, and accommodation so I don’t have to worry about anything like that.
“Thank you,” my dad says, and it makes me smile knowing I can help them with all this. “Have you seen him?” Dad asks, he’s not said his name to me once since what happened, because he knows I still hurt not having him in my life anymore. Again, I’m the only person to blame, no one else.
“I saw him today, and it went exactly the way I thought. He hates me, while the others are just being idiots, and trying to talk to me.” I can’t hide anything from my dad, he was just as worried as me about coming here, but we both know what this college can give me.
“I’m sorry, Honey. We got a letter about law school. If your college teacher can give you a letter to say anything about your work, and you finish with a top grade, then they have a space for you.” The happiness in his tone makes my heart ache, because he hates me being here, but we both know this is the best college to finish my education, so no matter what, I have to work through the next five months.
I was never meant to come back here. But then Mom got sick and the hospital we were at told us she needed to come back to this state and back to the original hospital we were at. It’s the best hospital in the state for cancer patients. Mom refused and said she'll go anywhere but here. It took us three weeks to finallyconvince her to come back. I told her I would be fine; it’s only five months. Now, I think the five months are going to feel like five years.
“I'll talk to my teacher tomorrow and see what they say. I have to get going Dad, it’s my first shift in the club and I have to leave soon.” It’s a lie, but I can’t keep hearing my dad being excited about law school, but worried about Hayden at the same time. My first shift isn't until the weekend, the best part is I know how to make all the cocktails on the list. Mr. Cain doesn’t seem like a man who gives many chances, so I can’t fuck this up.
“Promise to message every day, and call when you’re free. I'll let you know when mom is home so you can talk to her.”
“I will Dad, I love you.” Ending the call, I throw my phone on the bed and grab my headphones to listen to music while I read my book. I want to get out of my world and into someone else's. Forget my problems and stress over the characters' problems instead.
I glance up from my page as Abigail walks into my room. I paid extra to get a room for myself, mostly because I knew when people found out I knew Hayden I would get a million questions, and the look on her face tells me she has questions she wants answered. She puts her bag on the floor and sits on the bed.
“You know there are better ways to get yourself off, than a porn book. Like a man, and to be more precise Hayden Crawford.” She sits on the edge of the bed, and takes my book off me, and puts it to the side. “Or maybe even Leo, now they are both super hot. If I had to pick I’d go with Hayden. The stories about him have me wondering if he is crazy in the bedroom.” Abigail walks over to my closest.
“What stories?” I shouldn’t ask, but the question came out before I could even stop it.
“One thing they say is he never has sex while looking at you, from behind only.” She looks over her shoulder at me and raisesher brows a few times which makes me laugh. “Then one girl said he choked her until she almost passed out, another said he never chokes a girl. One said he slapped her ass until it was raw, but then another said he didn’t. No one really knows.” She turns around and shows me my outfit. “You’re wearing this.”
“To?” I ask her. But my mind wanders to Hayden. How many different stories are there about him? I shouldn’t care, but I do.
16 years old
“Are you ever going to tell Hayden you like him?” I listen to my mom as I read my book. It seems to be mom’s favorite conversation when we come to her chemo appointments. “He likes you, I can see it. The way he looks at you?—”
“Mom.” I finally look up at her as she’s smiling. “I’m his friend, don’t think he sees me as anything else.” I wish he did, but no he has to tell me about the girls he’s kissed. It’s like listening to nails on a chalkboard, it’s torturing. I hate it, so there's no way he sees me as anything more than a friend.
“Friends can always become more. He looks at you like there's nothing else in the world he loves more.” Not replying to her I read my book again and let her continue talking about Hayden like he’s my boyfriend.
I’m not really paying attention to my book, but instead listening to my mom, and wishing we could be more. The more time I spend with Hayden, the more my feelings change from friends to wanting more.
Present Day
“Are you listening to me? Now get ready?” I look at her, because I didn’t listen to one word she said to me.
“The party tonight, Hayden will be there, and so will Leo, maybe you’ll get lucky with one of them. So, are you going to tell me how you know them?” She grabs her bag off the floor and pulls out her stuff. I guess she’s getting ready here then, she knows there's no way I would have gone to the party, so she’s dragging me. “I’m waiting.”
What the hell do I tell her?
“My dad used to work for Hayden’s family, and well I was the poor kid, so that’s all there is to that story.” I hate I’ve had to say that he hated me, because he never once made me feel like I was anything less than him.
“And Leo?” My body shivers remembering him and his friends.
“I don’t really know them, they came into the place I worked back then a few times.” I get off the bed and pick up the outfit she’s picked for me. “It’s cold, I’ll freeze.” I turn to her, but she walks away from me to the closest again.
“I know you’re trying to get out of going to the party,” she shouts at me, while I continue to look at my clothes. A black mini skirt, and a black mini top which comes off the shoulder. “These will keep you warm. You’re going to the party, even if I have to take you kicking and screaming.” She hands me my black knee high boots, and leather jacket.
I could do a fake phone call and say that Mr. Cain needs me to come into work, but Abigail seems like the person who'd take the phone from me, and talk to him herself.
I take a deep breath, and take this as a losing battle, and get changed into the clothes. All the time I am also thinking of how I can stay out of sight from Hayden, and as far away from Leo as I can.
“Jen and the others will meet us there,” Abigail tells me, and I close my eyes. I don’t know them, but Jen is clearly with Hayden, which means he'll be close to me. Fucking great.
