Chapter 28
Sienna's POV
Hayes stared at me for a long moment. Then his voice softened, just barely. "And you know what the funny part is? I'm still here. I still showed up. Even after you threw me away like I was nothing."
He took a breath, his shoulders sagging. "So yeah, Sienna. I don't know why I care. But apparently, I'm still stupid enough to."
I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I just stood there with my hands clenched at my sides, my throat tight, and let the silence swallow us both.
Then Hayes pulled out his phone and made a call. "Yeah, there's a Honda Civic broken down on Old Harbor Road. I need it towed to the nearest repair shop. No, the owner won't be waiting here. Bill me."
He hung up and looked at me. "Get in my car."
I shook my head. "I can wait for the tow truck—"
"You're not staying here another minute." His voice left no room for argument. "Get in the car, Sienna."
"Hayes—"
"Don't make me carry you."
I stared at him. He stared back, his jaw set, his eyes unyielding.
I gave in.
I walked to the passenger side of his SUV and climbed in. The interior was warm, the leather seats soft, and the faint scent of cinnamon gum filled the air. I buckled my seatbelt and stared straight ahead.
Hayes didn't start the engine right away. Instead, he turned to face me, his voice low and rough. "From now on, if you're in trouble, you call me. I don't care what happened between us. I don't care if you think it means something. You call me."
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
But my fingers tightened around the seatbelt until my knuckles turned white.
---
The silence in Hayes's car felt like a living thing, heavy and suffocating. Outside, the dark road stretched endlessly ahead, streetlights casting fleeting shadows across Hayes's profile.
I wanted to say something—anything—to break the tension. But every word that formed in my mind felt wrong. Thank you would sound weak. I'm sorry would invite questions I couldn't answer. So I said nothing at all.
Hayes's jaw was locked tight, his left hand resting on the wheel while his right tapped against it in that familiar rhythm—three beats, pause, three beats. I'd seen him do it a hundred times before, back when we were together. Back when I could reach over and still his hand with mine, tease him about his nervous tic.
Now I just stared out the window and tried to ignore the ache in my chest.
The city lights blurred past. We were heading toward my workshop. Toward the place I'd built from nothing, the place that had been my refuge for the past two years. The place I was being forced to leave temporarily.
I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath.
Get it together, Sienna. This is just another night. Just another problem to solve.
Fifteen minutes crawled by. Twenty. Finally, Hayes pulled up outside K&C.
The workshop was dark except for the security light above the entrance. I immediately reached for the door handle.
"Thank you for tonight," I said, my voice flat. "You can go now."
I didn't wait for a response. I pushed the door open and stepped out into the cold night air, my movements quick and stiff. I needed to get away from him, from the suffocating closeness of that car, from the way his presence made my chest ache.
Behind me, I heard his door open.
"Sienna—"
I kept walking, fishing my keys from my pocket. My hands trembled slightly as I unlocked the door.
Behind me, Hayes's footsteps stopped. I could feel him standing there, could feel his gaze burning into my back.
I stepped inside and let the door swing shut between us without looking back.
---
The workshop was empty. Reina and the others had long since gone home. I leaned against the door for a moment, pressing my palms flat against the cool metal, and forced myself to take slow, steady breaths.
I flipped on the overhead lights. The familiar space materialized around me—workbenches cluttered with tools, half-finished sketches pinned to the walls, the scent of leather and adhesive hanging in the air. My refuge.
And I was leaving it temporarily.
I grabbed an empty box from the storage corner and started packing mechanically. Heat gun. Leather shears. Pressure gauges. Each item went into the box with careful precision, my hands moving on autopilot while my mind spun in circles.
Then I saw it on the shelf near my drafting table.
The crystal ball. Engraved with our names.
My breath caught. Hayes had given it to me senior year, when I'd been working in our secret spot at school, practicing shoe construction while the overhead light kept flickering.
"So you can see what you're doing even when everything else goes dark," he'd said, with that rare shyness of his.
I'd kept it through everything. Through the past six years of trying to forget him. But I'd never been able to throw it away.
I picked it up now, the glass smooth and cool against my palm. For just a moment, I let myself remember—his smile when he'd handed it to me, the way the dim light had caught in his eyes, the kiss he'd pressed to my temple before leaving me to work.
My eyes burned. I bit down hard on my lower lip and carefully wrapped the crystal ball in bubble wrap before placing it in the box.
I couldn't think about this. Couldn't let myself feel anything right now.
I finished packing quickly after that. When the box was full, I hefted it up and headed for the door.
Outside, Hayes's car was still there.