“You can lie to yourself and the whole goddamn world that you don’t love me, but this...” I point between us, lines from the script materializing before my eyes. “This gave you away.”
21
Carter
“You’re going and that’s the end of the conversation, Hailey.” Chloe’s voice rings through the cafeteria.
The place is nearly empty compared to any other day. It’s still early. Not many people wake up early for breakfast on Saturday morning. Neither do I, but I didn’t sleep last night.
Or any night since I kissed Hailey on Thursday.
The fact I broke into her room that night didn’t help. The curve of her ass drove me half incoherent, so I’ve stayed out of her way, taking time off from invading her space at night and hanging out with her during the day to get my shit together.
My thoughts don’t stop circling around Hailey or that fucking kiss for one goddamn second. I watch her any chance I get and catch her watching me too, a hint of curiosity clouding her features whenever our eyes lock.
Today, she’s two tables away with Chloe and Jensen, her breakfast untouched save for three bites of an apple. She doesn’t eat nearly enough, visibly losing weight. It drives me crazy... Ihave half a mind to force feed her until she gains back every pound she lost.
“It’s not my scene,” she says, scrunching her nose in disgust as she pokes about her plate.
The wrap is good, I polished off mine but Hailey’s staring at hers like it’s infested with worms.
“Go without me. I’ll be fine with—”
“With a book, right?” Chloe mumbles, her mouth full of cereal, milk trickling down her chin. “You’re in college, Hailey!” she adds once she’s swallowed. “Parties are a rite of passage, babe, and this one will be epic!”
“Yeah, I know, I’ll think about it, okay?”
Rachel drapes her arm over Hailey’s shoulders with a soft smile. “It’s not until next Friday but the seniors are heading out for booze tomorrow, so if you want anything—”
“She does,” Chloe pipes in, staring Hailey down. “You’re coming with us. I won’t takenofor an answer.”
Hailey’s phone interrupts their conversation. With visible relief she pulls it out of her bag, making apologetic faces at Chloe, Rachel, and Jensen as she presses the phone to her ear.
“Hey, Dad,” she says, catching my gaze as she saunters across the cafeteria.
It’s like she can’t help but look...
Neither can I. The sexual tension between us is wound up so tight it’s a miracle neither of us have snapped.
“Why would I call? I can’t tell you the things I remember or ask you any questions. There’s no point in calling.”
That’s not news to me. I planted a bug on her phone the first night I broke into her room. All calls are recorded, and I listen every morning. She only talks to Vaughn, their conversations vague and growing strained.
He’s as paranoid as ever, which is a good call all things considered. He doesn’t let Hailey talk about her memories, he refuses to answer any questions, and only asks how her day was.
She answers in monosyllables, her frustration mounting, and right now, she lets an ounce of it out as she shoves the cafeteria door open with all her might.
It swings back and forth, slowly coming to a halt.
The sound of a scraping chair and apprehensive footsteps alert me to Jensen’s presence even before his shadow falls over my table.
“Hey, man, can we talk?” he asks, his confidence increasing when I point at the opposite seat. “It’s about Hailey.”
“You don’t say.”
“Listen, I remember what you said by the lake but it’s been a while and you don’t seem interested anymore, so...”
He pauses, probably hoping I’ll save him the trouble of elaborating, but I enjoy his squirming too much to cut his misery short.
