This time, Hailey didn’t say a word. Instead, she reached over and placed a hand on my arm. The genuine empathy and concern etched on her face looked as real as I had ever seen in my life. She may have been stupid sometimes, but there was no doubt she was family.
Probably my closest family. Actually, there was no probably in that.
“I listened to you; I promise you that,” she said. “When my boss first came to me, asking to do an initial story on the Patriots, months before I ever got the chance to even consider Sam that way, I was so hesitant. You know why? Because your words, your advice, it echoed in my mind. It was a great professional opportunity, but I was so concerned that I almost didn’t take it.”
“So why did you?”
She sighed.
“Because I was afraid of losing my job or at least being placed on the path of no forward momentum if I did. I was more concerned with my career than listening to you. Which, funny how that works out, isn’t it?”
She gave a compassionate smile, looking half like she was on the verge of tears herself, and squeezed my shoulder.
“You’re my big sister, Melissa. You’re the one I’ve looked up to from the earliest days I can remember. You’ve always been a shining light to me, someone who has taught me everything she knows. I’m grateful.”
I smiled back, feeling a tear drop down my cheek.
This right here, this was what I came to Arizona for. Not the arguments over boys. Not the questions about her professional future. But a chance to reconnect, to feel loved with family. Mom and Dad were just…they did their best, I suppose, but their best left a lot to be desired. The two of us were as close as we were almost out of necessity.
“You’re right, you know,” I said, drawing a breath in for courage. “It wasn’t as simple as I’m describing it. I…as things got more serious, I felt a little unease. Nervous. I guess you could say I was terrified of winding up like Mom and Dad. But did I have the courage to bring it up to Corey?”
I didn’t need to answer my own question for Hailey to know the answer.
“It’s more complicated than that,” I said with a sigh, “but right now, it’s a bit much for me to talk about. Maybe after some wine.”
Hailey cracked a smile.
“I think we can do that tonight.”
“You can do that every night; you’re unemployed.”
“Funemployed.”
And just like that, the two of us were back to bantering and hanging out like we had been. Hailey turned on some pop music, we started dancing like we were a decade younger, and for at least a few minutes, the worries of the night receded into the mind.
When we got back to her apartment and she turned off the car and the music with it, some of the memories came back. I could recall the things I wasn’t willing to say to Corey, the things that would have made things a lot better. The refusal to be vulnerable…Corey’s faults were his own, but there was something to be said for realizing that I had not put him in the most comfortable spot ever.
I needed to do better.
“You know, I was thinking of going home tomorrow,” I said. “Especially after everything that went down at Sam’s house. But…”
“You want to stay longer. I knew it,” Hailey said without breaking stride to her door. “Well, luckily for you, I’m funemployed and you can do freelance work here. So stay as long as you want.”
“You sure? I’m not going to stay forever and not pay rent.”
“Of course not, but you’re my sister. I trust that at some point, if you really want to stay here, you’ll either pay rent or move someplace new on your own. For now, though, why not just enjoy being here and hanging out?”
Why not, indeed.
And for as stressful as everything had been, from coming here to hanging out with Hailey to meeting her Devil’s Patriot boyfriend, things suddenly seemed pretty good, all things considered.
“All right,” I said, moving my hand into my pocket to ignore a phone call coming to me. “I guess I’ll be couch surfing with you for a bit. Don’t get too upset if I steal some of your bacon in the morning.”
“Now that would be unforgivable.”
We shared a laugh at that as Hailey opened the door. I moved to the couch and sat down, ready to unwind from a roller coaster of a day. I reached for the remote when I felt my phone buzzing again.
Given how late in the day it was, this was certainly unexpected. I didn’t have any clients that worked this late, and I had no reason to believe anyone here or in Odessa would want to hang out tonight. Still, back-to-back calls…
