91

91
HAYLEY’S P.O.V

She looked around in a panic, as if to ensure no one was watching outside before shutting the door behind her.

“So,” I implored. “Who is he?”

“He’s older, like Jake’s age.”

I hummed. “Where did you meet him?”

“At a club,” that had my brows rising. The club was not the ideal place to meet a guy. She must have seen the look on my face because she quickly added, “he’s not a typical club goer.”

“I’m not judging.”

“I know,” she ran her hands through her hair. “I know I should stop seeing her and I want to but,” she sighed deeply. “I know it is pathetic.”

“There is nothing pathetic about being in love with someone.”

“I’m not in love with him. I don’t think I am. He’s fun and nice but I don’t think he wants anything serious.”

“Do you?”

She went silent and turned away. “Can I get cleaned for a second then I’ll be back out.”

I waved her off. I knew that pushing for an answer wouldn’t yield any positive results so I watched her leave instead. I sat cross legged on her couch waiting for her to return. I texted Jake while I waited, assuring him that I was fine and I would be home soon.

Kate returned after about ten minutes, wearing a sweatshirt that was two sizes too large for her and leggings. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and her freckles stood out on her pale cheeks. She looked more like herself now.

“Is the shirt his?” I asked and she nodded. “Does he sleep here?”

“No, it would be very inappropriate.”

“About as inappropriate as fucking him, I assume.”

Her cheeks burned so bright that she resembled a tomato. “I am not having sex with him. He has been very clear about not wanting to cross that line.”

“Do you want to cross that line?” I asked and even though she said nothing, I could clearly see the answer in her eyes. “Do you need me to teach you about protection?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m good thanks.”

I could tell she was uncomfortable talking about him so I changed the conversation. It was surprisingly fun speaking to someone who wasn’t a direct family member. I liked Kate, she was smart and funny and I made a mental note to see her more often.

I had to force myself out of her house because I knew I couldn’t keep Nick waiting for so long. If I had come alone, I would have stayed until the last possible moment.

“I need to stop somewhere on the way home,” I told Nick and he didn’t protest, merely nodded and let me put in the directions in the GPS.

He said nothing when I asked to go into my grandfather’s home alone. I offered him the chance to go home but he just laughed and said that Jake would kill him if he left me alone. He told me he would be fine for a while and that was all I needed to hear before leaving him alone.

The door was open when I got there and I couldn’t help but worry that something had happened but I found my grandfather seated on the couch, he had a picture of my grandmother in his hands. His thumb traced her picture almost lovingly and I could have sworn that my heart shattered.

“Hello Hayley,” he whispered, not even looking at me. “Did you have something for me?”

“I just came to see you.”

He put the picture down and looked up at me. “Why don’t you take a seat and tell me what is really wrong.”

I hesitated but found myself moving over to him. I sat next to him and lay my head on his shoulder. His eyes were sad but for my sake, he pushed the sadness aside, willing and ready to listen to me.

“I miss her.”

“I do too,” he admitted. “But that isn’t why you are here. I have the rest of my life to grieve my wife, Hayley. What is wrong?”

“Andrea’s daughters,” I managed out finally. “I feel bad for them. I don’t know what is going on with her but she’s clearly insane and her children know it too. The oldest one came over and asked me to drop the charges. She said her mum was off her meds.”

“What meds?”

I shrugged. “I just feel for the girls.”

“They’re your sisters-”

“Look, we can talk about whether they are family or not later. For now, I just need you to tell me what to do. I can’t talk to dad because he doesn’t even want to hear Andrea’s name.”

“Your boyfriend can help, but you already knew that, so what exactly are you looking for here?”

I hated how easily he could read me. Growing up, I was convinced that my grandfather had special powers or something because no matter how much I tried to hide it, I just couldn’t keep secrets from him. He had his own way of uncovering the truth, and it was something I never learned.

“I don’t feel bad for her- Andrea, I mean,” I began slowly. “I feel for the girls but not her. Does that make me a bad person?”

“No,” he didn’t even hesitate before answering. “You have every right to feel angry with her.”

“I’m not even angry anymore, I feel nothing.”

“That’s good, she doesn’t deserve your emotions. You did well without her, Hayley and you will continue to thrive without her. Forget about her, focus on yourself, you have a beautiful life ahead of you.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you for coming here. It gets lonely talking to a picture.”

I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. Only he would make something so sad sound so funny. “You were the one who asked to move out. We didn’t mind having you there.”

“You aren’t even home most of the time. You’re with Jake and your father works always. I’d rather be here, in the home I lived in with her. Perhaps one day you’ll understand when you build memories in a house with someone.”

“Perhaps.”

There was silence and I knew he was going to change the subject before he finally did. “Have you given thought to her stipulation for your trust fund?”

“When and if I do decide to do those things, it will be on my terms.”

“She just wants you to be happy.”

“I want to be happy too but those aren’t commitments you make on a whim or by accident.”

“I would reckon that a lot of babies are made by accident. One thing goes wrong and-”

“My period is like clockwork, I haven’t,” I trailed off for a brief moment but quickly caught myself. “I’ll be fine.” I pressed a soft kiss to my grandfather’s cheek. “I have to go now. I have a guard waiting for me outside and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

I didn’t give him much time to bid me goodbye before I was rushing out of the house and into the car. Nick who had his chair reclined all the way back, shot up instantly and turned to me with worried eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I need to go to a pharmacy.”

“Is everything alright?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

I couldn’t have my face plastered over the cover of a tabloid with the news of me buying pregnancy tests so I asked Nick to go in for me. He didn’t seem fazed by my request, merely amused and a tad bit confused.

It took him far longer than it should have and I was five seconds away from going to find him myself when I saw him walk out of the pharmacy. The bag was bigger than it should have been and it was only when he returned to the car that I realized why.

“How many did you buy?” I asked, staring into the bag in shock. “Did you buy the whole pharmacy?”

“You didn’t say how many you needed and I didn’t know which to get, sue me,” he mumbled. “I didn’t even get a thank you. The cashier gave me the stink eye when I was paying.”

I sighed and mumbled a thank you before instructing him to take me back to Jake’s. I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was to argue with him.

“Are you going to tell me if it is positive?” he asked after a moment of silence. “I did the hard work by getting the tests. I think my curiosity deserves to be soothed.”

I turned to him with a bored look. “I am going through the worst crisis of my life and all you can think about is your curiosity?”

He shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

There was more silence for another stretch of time.

“It’ll be fine, no matter what the results are,” his voice was barely over a whisper. “You’re cool , you’d be good to your kid.”

“I know that.”

“He will be too. He’s a good boss and he seems to love you considering how he threatened my life if anything were to happen to you. He’d be good to his kid too.”

“Let’s find out if there is a kid first.”