It quickly become obvious Alex didn’t pay Hailey a tenth of the attention he did my little sister. His messages were short, clipped, to the point. Downright rude. Few and far between.
But Hailey texted him a few times a day, occasionally getting a crappy response. Her vulnerability, how much she craved his attention and any shred of contact, bled from the electronic pages, tearing me a new one. The list of Alex’s sins has been growing for weeks, and in that moment, I seriously considered digging the fucker from his grave for the second time to stamp on whatever my men left of his skull.
I was in Ohio anyway.
It wouldn’t be the same as killing him, but it’d take the edge off the fury writhing inside me.
Hailey: I made your favorite pie. Will you come over?
No answer. Then hours later:
Hailey: Maybe drive by on your way home. I wrapped a slice for you.
Again, no reply.
Hailey: I’ll give it to Dad. He’ll pass it along to you tomorrow at work. I hope you’ll love it.
Alex: Don’t. He’ll ask questions. Stop texting. I’m busy.
Hailey: Are you with her?
No reply.
According to the date, it was June fourth. Almost three months before the accident. Three months before my sister tookher life. Hailey knew about Aalyiah... yet she still craved Alex’s attention, even though she was perfectly aware she wasn’t his first choice.
The messages carried on in the same pattern. Short, clipped answers, lack of affection. She did something nice for him, invited him over, tried every trick in the book to earn half an hour of his time, and he ignored her.
Until he didn’t... June sixth, nineth, fourteenth and seventeenth. On those days, Alex texted first.
And all messages went down the same way, word for word.
Alex: Is Charlie home?
Hailey: No, he’s at work. Are you coming over?
Alex: Yeah. Ten minutes. It’s been a hell of a week and I need you. I need your lips wrapped around my cock, sweetheart. Get ready.
I had to flex my fingers and push calming, steady breaths past my lips to stop myself throwing the laptop at the wall.
June seventeenth... he wasn’t fucking my sister then. That started on June twenty-sixth.
I doubt those dates will ever leave my head. Neither that one, nor all those days when Alex hurt Hailey, using her to get off, then leaving her alone and... sad.
She deserved so much better than she ever got from Alex.
So much better than she ever got from me.
Reading through the messages, I thought—I fuckinghoped—Alex had stopped abusing Hailey once my sister put out, but no.
Every next message I read hit harder. Her need for attention was so clear... as was the sadness.
It was just text on screen, but I felt how resigned she was. How lost. How fucking lonely.
They never mentioned Aalyiah by name, but every time Hailey askedare you with her, I knew that’s who they were talking about. Even when Alex repliedyes, she didn’t stop trying. She waited a day and tried to lure him in with something else. Cookies, dinner, his favorite pie.
It never worked.
And it hit me like a low blow when I got to the part where Hailey invited him over for a blowjob.
