Chapter 52 – November 5th

Trevor knows. Living here is not safe anymore.

I don't know if I should ever tell my mom or not. I need to. I have to because it's the right thing to do, right? But, I don't want to destroy their wedding. Especially when my mom and Cayden's dad are planning on getting married by the end of the month.

Our homecoming is coming at the same time. We have a few days to prepare for the dance, and I was thinking of not going because homecoming dance sucks. Plus, I don't have anyone to dance with.

God, I hate thinking about my mom and the guy I love’s dad are getting married. I guess Cayden and I aren't really meant to be for each other, and I think I just wasted my tears on the wrong person, even though I wish he was the right person.

My mom has been planning their wedding since last week. I haven't spoken any word about Trevor's existence here since last week because I was scared. Scared of leaving this town and scared of seeing my mom sad again.

Then, we'll be off somewhere, repeating the things that we are doing. Back to square one, where my mom dates every new guy and as I try to blend in with my own surroundings.

"Mom, I need to tell you something—"

"Me too. So, I was thinking. Should I wear my old wedding dress, the one I wore at your dad's wedding, or should I wear the dress Liam will buy me? Which is so so beautiful," She said, "See."

Mom puts her phone in front of my face, seeing the dress Liam is going to buy her widens my eyes. "Oh my god, how much is it?" I said, grabbing her phone, swiping through the pictures of the white lace princess wedding dress.

I look at her, "More than sixty-five thousand dollars," my jaw drops as I look at her, dumbfounded.

"Mo-More.. more than six-sixty-five thousand dollars? Isn't that too much?" I asked, and she shrugged, taking her phone from my hand.

"So what do you think should I choose?" She asks, and it's my turn to shrug. I looked at her and gave her a sad smile, "Whatever makes you feel happy, I guess," I said, flashing her the sad smile I formed.

My mom starts typing on her phone. When she finishes typing, she locked her phone, placing it on the coffee table. She removes her reading glasses, "So, what is it you want to tell me?" She asked as she sat down on the couch.

Almost lying, tired because of the planning for the wedding. I gulped down the lump that was stuck in my throat I sat down beside her. I still don't know if I should tell her or not because I don't want to wipe that smile off of her face, even though I hate the fact that she's engaged with Cayden's dad.

"Honey, what is it? You can always tell me anything," She said as she sits down properly, grabbing both of my hands and taking a good squeeze. She flashes me a smile.

"Well, it's about the—"

The doorbell rings. She stood up and bolted towards the door. I hear her open the front door and made an 'aww' sound. I stand up on the couch, walked towards the door. Seeing Liam, Cayden, and his little brother, Will, three of them holding a bouquet of 5 red roses outside the house.

"These are for you," Liam said as he grabs the bouquet that Will is holding. My mom grabs the 2 bouquets of roses from Liam. "Thank you," My mom says as she pecks Liam's cheek, and I can't help but roll my eyes.

"Come in," She said as she steps aside to let them enter the house. "And who is this for?" My mom says, and I look at Cayden. His eyes landed on me.

My mom, Liam, and Will entered the living room, leaving Cayden and me in the hallway. He closes the front door behind him as he walked towards me, "This is for you," he said as he hands me the rose.

I accepted it. "Thanks, I guess," I said. His smile doesn't leave his face. "I'm going to leave," I said as I start walking upstairs.

"Hailey," Cayden calls me out, making me stop in my tracks. I turned around and looked at him. "I love you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you that before," he said.

"Yeah. But, it's too late," I said as I continue walking up the stairs, ready to head inside my room. I hold the doorknob, ready to twist and open, but someone stops me.

"I know you're still mad at me, but can we just talk about it. Please. I want to prove to you that I love you, no matter what," He said, and I take a deep breath, shaking my head with his response.

"You can't. We can't do this anymore. My mom is happy already, and your dad is happy. Aren't you happy that they're happy?" I said.

"I'm not happy because we're not happy," He said, and my heart starts to sink in.

"Cayden, I—"

He suddenly pressed his soft lips to mine. I miss the feeling of his lips on mine, it feels like I'm in heaven, and the butterflies inside my stomach never fail to seize the moment. They're still there. I broke off the kiss, opened my door, and entered, shotgun.

I locked my door and pressed my back against it, falling to the ground. My heart is beating rapidly fast, unlike before. But, this isn't right. What I'm feeling isn't right. Being in a relationship with my going-to-bed stepbrother isn't right.

I stood up from the floor and walked towards my working table. I stepped into the silver trash bin beside my working table, ready to throw the roses he bought me. But I wasn't able to throw them.

Instead, I went inside the toilet, grabbing a vase sitting on the rack. I rinsed it with water first and added water. I retrieved it from the toilet. Removing the wrapping paper around the roses. After successfully removing the wrapping paper, I placed the roses in the vase.

Placing it on my working table. I plastered a sad smile on my face and walked towards my bed, laying down. Trying to remove the scene from my head. I can feel my cheeks heat just thinking about what happened.

My phone vibrates. I grabbed my phone, sitting on my bedside table, seeing a message. I opened my messages and saw Cayden and Amelia's messages. I clicked on Cayden's message first.

Cayden <4:47 PM, Monday> I still love you.

I roll my eyes, typing something but erased it afterward. The three dots appear on my screen, and I waited for him to send what he's typing.

Cayden <4:47 PM, Monday> I want you to want me, again.

I started typing a message for him but then erased it again. I don't even know why I'm so shy and stupid for falling for him, even though I shouldn't be.

Cayden <4:48 PM, Monday> I'm ready.

My eyebrows quirk. I started typing and sent him a message, saying, "Ready for what?" I locked my phone and looked at the ceiling. Still seeing the scene inside my head. I grabbed my pillow ad started screaming.

"God, can you just go away, feelings?!" I screamed as my face is buried in my pillow. I ran out of breath because of all the screaming and burying my face into my own pillow, suffocating myself.

My phone vibrates again, and I saw Amelia's name pop out on my notifications. I opened my iMessage and saw tons of messages that I haven't replied to from Amelia since yesterday and the day before. I scrolled up and started reading about her story time with Noah.

I rolled my eyes and skipped reading. I got to the bottom and was bored of the story she's sent me. I started typing a message to her as I shake my head at the same time. Well, I guess Noah and Amelia are officially dating.

I sent her the message. My phone vibrates again, and I looked at a message sent by Ethan. I clicked, open his message, and saw a picture of him smiling with his boyfriend, I guess. The three dots appear on my screen.

Ethan <5:02 PM, Monday> This is Taylor. He really wants to meet you soon. I hope you're free next week so we can schedule the meeting?

I smiled at his reply and started replying. I sent him the message saying 'Sure' as I locked my phone again. I stood up from my bed and looked out of the window. My phone vibrates twice. I walked towards my bed.

I grabbed my phone and saw Amelia and Cayden messaging me again. I opened Cayden's message first as I walked towards my bedroom door. I opened it and saw Cayden sitting on the floor, waiting for me to come out, I guess.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked. He stands up from the floor and smiles at me as I plaster a serious face.

"I'm ready to prove to you, and I'm not going to stop until you've seen it all," He says as I take a deep sigh once again. I tilted my head to the side and looked at him.

"I already told you, we can't—"

My phone vibrates, seeing a message from Amelia. I locked my phone and looked at Cayden as I shake my head, "We can't—." I was cut off again by Cayden, suddenly hugging me. A hug that I wasn't expecting, especially from him.

He broke off the hug and looked at me, "I'm ready to fight for what is ours." My phone vibrates again, but I didn't bother looking at the message. Instead, I looked into Cayden's brown eyes that pierce through mine.

Amelia <5:19 PM, Monday> There was a guy in my house, said his name was Trevor and was looking for you.

Amelia <5:19 PM, Monday> He said he needs to talk to you, pronto. So, I told him your address, you're welcome! :D.