AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She took him from me…again.
Much as I hate to admit it, this alfredo night seems to have relaxed her a bit. The invisible cinder blocks she’s carried on her shoulders have broken loose. A bouncy nimbleness taking its place in her posture.
“Do you really want your last words on this earth to be ones of sarcasm?” Cole drawls, directing his aggravation only toward Hailey. A mixture of boredom and unimpressed aggression has settled behind his pupils.
Another beat of hostility waves like a flag around the room and then, “It was only a joke.” The newfound color in Hailey’s cheeks not matching the challenge in her tone.
It’s almost impressive how easily Cole can put someone in their place. He’s as skilled in that as he is in ruining moods.
Unsurprising to anyone that knows my sister she jumps in. Further does she back Hailey’s claims and Cole’s mouth flattens to a disappointed line. He doesn’t say another word.
“We had a great macaroni night, in case anyone is wondering,” she refutes, pointing her nose. Mentally, I’m snapping my fingers, macaroni night, that’s what they called it.
“I’m gonna head out,” Eli says with a drawn-out yawn. He’s the least upset of us all, stretching his arms toward the ceiling before carrying himself to the exit.
Most likely, he’s going to crash at his parents’ house and I’m jealous he has such an easy excuse to leave. I would kill for one of those.
“Same,” Cole says, following his lead. He crosses the room and, in one swift move, picks Rory up and carries her bridal style. He works fast, more than halfway up the stairs, before she has the chance to argue differently.
Fuck. Him.
“Tomorrow,” Hailey warns, racing over to the banister once they reach the second floor. “Don’t forget, Rory,” she informs sternly.
I can’t decide what’s worse, heading upstairs and pretending I won’t be able to hear my sister and her fiancé fucking with only a door between theirs and mine or being stuck down here alone with the girl who single-handedly destroyed me.
Debating it, I go with option three. Cleaning is something I’ve never particularly been a fan of, but it beats the other two options, so off to work I go. At least by clearing up some things, it’s put some distance between us, not much, but inches are miles.
“Aiden is with your dad,” I hear Hailey mention softly from behind me after several horrible moments of silence stretch out. I don’t bother lifting my head from packing the mostly unscathed diapers back in the bag.
My tongue slicks my teeth. I figured that much, but it says a lot that she’s finally answered my question from eons ago.
It doesn’t mean I forgive her for not letting me know when I asked.
I ram the bag at her chest once it’s stuffed full. The blanket she’d been folding falls between us. “You don’t think of us as equals.” My jaw works on either side. “If you did, you would’ve respected my request and informed me as soon as I asked.”
A puff of air leaves her mouth from the unexpected force. Her eyes seem to glow with ire and chestnut as they flick in my direction.
“Can you blame me?” Hailey’s tone is all frost and spite.
Wrong move.
“Can you blameme?” I seethe argumentatively, not in the mood. I’m the one who was denied and am trying to play catch-up. Not. Her.
“This isn’t all my fault, you know?” she says, still not taking accountability for her own errors.
The thumping in my temples is almost as relentless as the pounding from earlier. My head feels as if it could split right down its center.
I bend down, picking and cleaning up more items from the room. I manage to make a small dent before the muscles in her throat seem to work again. “So, you’re what? Just going to ignore me?”
My eyes close on their own accord.If only it were that easy.
Forgetting Hailey wasn’t easy the first time around and that was before I realized how connected we were. We created a life. Our son is somewhere off safely with my dad.
A part of me knows, much as I tried, she never fully left either. She was only shoved down to the furthest parts of my mind and the even deeper parts of my heart.
Hailey fucked me in the one way I do not prefer.
The maddening but equally disappointing thing is I still know her. I know she’s reeling. Irked that I’m not giving in and answering her as she wants.
