by Kate Stacy
“Oh!” She brings a hand to her chest. “I wasn’t expecting you, honey.”
“Did you really think that I’d leave town without seeing you first?” I start to cross the large kitchen.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t, but I wasn’t sure.” She looks up at me when I get to her.
“Darlin, you will always be the last person I see before I leave and the first I see when I come home again. Never doubt that.” I lean down, cup her jaw and kiss her.
Her eyes flutter open as she breathes out a soft, “Okay.”
“I don’t have long, but I wanted some sugar before I hit the road.”
“And by sugar you mean…?” She leaves her question open, waiting for my response.
“I mean kisses from my favorite girl. I’ll take any kinda sugar you wanna give me, baby.” I give her a slow wink just to get her to smile again.
“Be glad you stopped by then. I’ve got something set aside for you.” She wipes her hands off on a towel before walking to the other prep table. She turns back to me with a fairly large cake box.
I raise my eyebrow in question as she walks toward me, slowly opening the top of the box. The box makes the bag in my hand completely insignificant.
“A variety of donuts and muffins. I threw in some brownies and cookies, too. Figured it’d be a nice treat while you’re out there.”
I snatch a chocolate glazed donut from the box, taking a huge bite. I groan loudly. “So damn good, baby. You’re going to spoil me.”
I lean down to kiss her again. “Thank you, darlin’.”
“Of course, honey.” There’s that bright smile of hers again.
I finish off the delicious donut and talk to her for a few more minutes. I tell her that I spent some time with Elijah before coming to see her. I love seeing the light and happiness in her eyes when I talk about spending time with my little buddy. We talk about a few things we want to go do when I come home again, but I’m pushing it now on time. As much as I hate leaving her, it’s time to go.
“I don’t want to leave you, baby, but I gotta get on the road. I don’t wanna be late picking up my load.”
She pokes that bottom lip out in a pout, so I lean down, gently biting it.
Keeping my mouth close to hers I whisper, “I told you what you biting that lip does to me, baby.”
She smirks.
Little shit. She knows exactly what she’s doing.
I close the distance between our mouths, kissing her deeply. She tastes like sugar and vanilla. So damn good.
I end the kiss long before I want to. “I’ll talk to you tonight before you sleep. Have a good day, sweetness.”
I liked the sound of it earlier when Madalyn said it. It fits.
“Alright, honey. Be safe out there.” She lifts up on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against mine again.
This girl has me so damn deep, she doesn’t even know it.
HAILEE
Two weeks of missing Drake.
Have I mentioned that sometimes I really hate his job? It makes our relationship really hard. I know that nothing really good in life comes easy, but it fucking sucks only seeing him a couple of days a month.
Something unexpected came up because something or the other broke on his truck and he had to put it in the shop. He was supposed to come home this weekend, but now he has no clue when it might be. I’m not angry, just pretty bummed.
I’m sure he knows how I’m feeling, but aside from telling him that I miss him and can’t wait until he’s home again, I don’t dwell on it during our conversations. He has enough to worry about out there without me adding unnecessary stress. I knew what his job was like before we decided to be together. I can handle it. I’ve dealt with worse.
I have the day off tomorrow, but no plans now that Drake won’t be coming home. I got off work a little early today, so I could finish a paper before the afternoon deadline. Elijah is down for a nap, and I just submitted my work to the online drop box.
I’m dropping Elijah off with my parents in about two hours because I have plans with Madalyn for dinner and drinks later. We used to have a girls’ night every other week, but it’s been less often since I got together with Drake. I miss our girl time.
I gather my books and laptop, so I can take them to my room and hop in the shower before Elijah wakes up, but I’m stopped in my tracks when I hear a knock on the door. I can’t think of anyone that would come by without at least texting first, so I head to the front door, thankful for the peephole.
I look out, seeing a woman that I don’t recognize standing there. I almost ignore it, but she starts knocking again even louder this time. I don’t want her to wake Elijah, so I open the door and politely ask, “Can I help you?”
She lifts her sunglasses from her eyes, puts her hand on her hip and raises a brow. “Who the hell are you? Where’s Drake?”
She steps up, trying to push past me into the house, but I raise my arm to the side, blocking her entry.
She scoffs, “Excuse you! Let me inside. Where’s Drake?”
I don’t respond right away. Instead, I take my time looking at her from head to toe. She’s a bottle blonde—there’s no way that’s her natural color. She stands taller than me, but it’s probably the heels she’s wearing. She’s dressed in skinny jeans, a low-cut top that her boobs are practically spilling out of, and she’s clearly not wearing a bra, though she absolutely should be.
I look back to her face. She’s wearing so much makeup I couldn’t even begin to guess what she actually looks like underneath. She’s scowling and presses, “Well? Are you going to answer me?”
“I’m not sure it’s any of your business, to be honest, and I’m not letting you in the house.” I cross my arms in front of my chest. I’m not going to let this girl bully me.
“Look, bitch. I don’t know who the hell you are, but this is my boyfriend’s house. I’m welcome here whenever I want. Move.” She glares at me, but I keep my expression relaxed.
Who in the hell does this girl think she is?
“Drake isn’t here. He hasn’t told me he’s expecting anyone, and I wasn’t told that anyone had permission to come and go as they please, so until I’m told otherwise by him, you’re not going inside.”
“Ugh, whatever. You still haven’t told me who you are and why you’re in his house.” She scrunches up her nose like she smells something awful.
I don’t know what the hell her problem is, but she’s really starting to piss me off. “I’m Hailee. I live here.”
“Bullshit!” She spits the words with venom. “You’re lying! I don’t believe you! Where is he?”
“I already told you he’s not here. I would think his girlfriend would know where he is.” I look at her pointedly.
She rolls her eyes at me. “He doesn’t tell me where he is every minute of the day, but he told me to come over and wait for him to get home.” She tries to push past me again.
I step forward, closing the door behind me. “I already told you that I’m not letting you into the house, and if you would lower your voice, I would appreciate it—my son is asleep.”
There’s a glint in her eyes when I mention Elijah, but she doesn’t acknowledge what I said.
“Look, I still don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but I do know that you aren’t his girlfriend. You’re not coming inside. If you want to tell me your name, I can let Drake know you came by, but I can’t help you otherwise.”
I turn to go back inside but the words she speaks next stop me in my tracks and shoot ice through my veins.
“He’s only with you because you have a child. He feels sorry for you. He’s always wanted a family, and you come with one ready-made. He wouldn’t look twice at you if it weren’t for your little bastard of a son. You’re not good enough for him. You’re just a pity fuck. A temporary fling. When he gets tired of you, he’ll walk away, and I’ll be waiting.”
I take a deep breath. She’s just laid all my fears out there in the open. I ca
n’t let her see how much her words wound me.
I turn just my head back, looking her in the eyes. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Leave.”
I open the door and take a step inside, but she won’t let it go.
“You’ll see. He always comes crawling back to me when his little flings start to bore him. Don’t get comfortable. You don’t belong here.”
I refuse to acknowledge her again. I close the door, leaning back against it when the first tear breaks free. I know, deep down, that nothing she said is true. She just hit on all of my insecurities one right after the other. I can’t stand it. Even if her words aren’t true—they hurt like hell.
I hear her car door shut and the crunch of the gravel as she drives away. As much as I don’t like what just happened, I’m going to have to tell Drake about it. Later, much later.
A few hours later, Madalyn and I are at Jaxson’s bar. I have every intention of getting wasted so I can drown the ugly words she spoke earlier.
I told Mads what happened while we had dinner. I repeated the conversation word for word. To say she’s pissed is an understatement. At least I know who the girl is now—Drake’s ex-girlfriend, Angie. As soon as I started describing her to Madalyn, she knew exactly who I was talking about. Apparently, Drake broke things off with her a few months before we met. She cheated on him, and he caught her in the act. Stupid girl.
Her loss is my gain, but every single thing she said is running through my head on repeat.
Bastard child.
Pity fuck.
Wouldn’t look twice at you.
Feels sorry for you.
Not good enough for him.
Temporary fling...I’ll be waiting.
Ugh. I push the words back with another shot of tequila. A few more, and I won’t be thinking about much of anything.
I haven’t talked to Drake yet. I was supposed to call him before leaving for the night, but I didn’t. I silenced my phone. It’s buried at the bottom of my purse, where I plan to leave it for the rest of the night. He’s probably called, but I won’t look. If I do, I won’t be able to resist calling him back, and it’s just not a good idea. I need to clear my head before I can talk to him about this.
About an hour later, Mads and Jax are watching me closely, both obviously worried. I want another shot, but they cut me off. The alcohol didn’t make me feel better.
Stupid tequila.
“Alright dollface, let’s get you home.” Jax wraps his arms around my shoulder as he steers me out of the bar, toward his car. Madalyn walks on my other side, offering silent support.
We get to the car and I get buckled in the back seat. I rest my head against the seat, closing my eyes. Jaxson and Madalyn are having a hushed conversation up front. I can’t hear everything they’re saying, but I know they’re talking about me.
“...drink so much? She’s fucking trashed!”
“Angie...called Elijah a bastard…”
“...fucking kidding me?!”
“...not good enough for him...other stuff.”
“...get home...everything. Every single word.”
“...okay.”
“You know...tell Drake about this.”
That’s the last thing I hear before sleep pulls me under.
DRAKE
I’m woken from a dead sleep.
I don’t even remember falling asleep. I was sitting here waiting to hear from Hailee, worrying that something was wrong because I couldn’t get ahold of her. I sent her yet another worried text. I guess my exhaustion took over because I don’t remember anything after that.
It takes me a minute to realize that my phone is ringing. I reach over and check the screen. Jax is calling me...at...fuck, three in the morning. I answer quickly.
“Jax, what’s wrong? Is Hailee okay?”
“Calm down. Physically, she’s fine, but she’s a mess, man.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I sit up, reaching for a bottle of water.
“I’m sitting in your living room right now. Mads is taking care of Hailee. She’s trashed.”
“You’re telling me that she hasn’t answered her phone all night because she’s fucking drunk?”
“I don’t think that’s the reason.” He sighs, hesitating at whatever he’s about to tell me. “She met Angie, man. It wasn’t good.”
“Whoa. Whoa. Wait, back up. How did she meet Angie?!”
What is she doing talking to my ex?
I’m so confused. I haven’t talked to Angie since we broke up except that phone call...fuck. The phone call I ignored. “Jax, start from the beginning.”
“The girls showed up at the bar after having dinner tonight. A planned girls’ night out like they usually do. Hailee seemed a bit off, but I didn’t think too much of it.” He takes a deep breath and continues, “Mads only had a few shots of tequila, but Hailee was throwing them back like water, man. I cut her off after five, but apparently, she got at least one of the other guys to give her more. As soon as I realized that...I made sure to let them all know not to serve her. I don’t know how many shots she had, but she could barely stand.”
“Fuck. She’s usually too responsible to get drunk like that.” I say it more to myself than to him, but he agrees.
“Yeah. Anyway, I put them in my car and drove them here. I made Mads tell me what the fuck was going on because I have never seen Hailee drink like that.”
“I have a feeling I’m not gonna like what comes next.” I close my eyes and wait for it.
“Hell no. From what she told Madalyn, Angie showed up at your front door today claiming to be your girlfriend—“
“That’s bullshit!”
“Drake! Chill, man. Let me finish.”
I stay quiet, so he continues.
“Hailee knew better than to believe that shit. Angie was really pushy though. Kept trying to get into the house. Mads said that Hailee held her own against Angie and didn’t take any shit...until Angie started saying some really ugly shit to her, man.”
Fuck. Angie can be a total bitch when she’s not getting her way.
“What did she say?”
He hesitates before giving me a rundown of what was said.
Son of a fucking bitch.
I don’t believe in hitting women. Never have, never will...but I have the overwhelming desire right now to punch that bitch in the throat. I can’t believe she had the nerve to say that shit to my girl, especially calling Elijah a bastard. That crossed a serious line. None of it was okay, but that wasn’t even fucking necessary.
Jaxson stays quiet. He knew I’d be pissed and need a couple minutes to calm down.
“How’s she doing?” I need to make sure my girl is okay first. I’ll deal with the rest later.
“She passed out on the way home. I carried her inside and put her to bed. Madalyn was in the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water and some pills to leave beside her bed, but Hails jumped up and ran to the bathroom.”
“Damn.”
“They’ve been in there for about twenty minutes. She’s been puking pretty much the whole time. Mads said she’d let me know if they need anything.”
“Christ, man. Thank you for taking care of my girl. I sat here all night worried that something was wrong because she wasn’t answering her phone, and she didn’t call me like she said she would.” I shake my head, running my fingers through my hair, pulling at the roots.
“Something was definitely wrong...just not in the way you thought.” I hear Madalyn call for him in the background.
“I heard her, go on and take care of the girls. Hopefully, she’ll be willing to talk to me tomorrow, so we can deal with this mess.”
“Right. We’re gonna crash here for the night. I don’t want to leave her alone.”
“Absolutely, man. Thank you for looking out for her. I owe you.”
“Nah, she’s family. I would be here no matter what. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I let the phone drop from my hand when the cal
l ends.
Fucking shit.
I take a deep breath and rest my elbows on my knees, head hanging low. I can’t believe this shit. Angie screws me over, then she comes out of nowhere months later trying to fuck up my life. Such bullshit.
Hailee has enough to deal with already without Angie causing her added stress. Not to mention I know that Hailee is extremely insecure. I’m sure that a lot of what Angie said hit her deep even though none of it is true.
I really hope she’ll listen to me enough to let me reassure her that Angie is fucking insane and has no idea what she’s talking about. Hailee is everything to me. I can’t lose her.
HAILEE
I’m going to kill whoever is banging on shit at the crack of dawn.
I open my eyes with a groan.
I start to sit up, so I can go investigate the annoying pounding, but a wave of dizziness washes over me.
“Fuck.”
I grab my forehead and it dawns on me that the pounding I’m hearing is the throbbing in my head. My mouth is dry as a desert, and it tastes like I ate something dead and decayed. Disgusting.
I look at the clock on my nightstand to see that it’s eleven in the morning. Shit! I never sleep this late. I notice the bottle of water and a bottle of pills. Bless Madalyn for always being prepared. I uncap both bottles, shake a couple of pills into my palm and swallow them down.
The dizziness has eased, so I slowly stand and make my way to the bathroom. I take care of business, then start washing my hands. I look up and see my reflection. Holy shit. I’m still wearing my clothes from last night, my hair is a mess, and my makeup is all over the place. I think I’ll call this look zombie chic.
I chuckle at my own randomness, but my amusement fades as my head throbs harder.
As I’m brushing my teeth, everything from yesterday comes flooding back.
Harsh words.
Ignoring Drake’s calls and texts.
Entirely too much tequila.
Fucking hell. I’m never drinking again.
I leave the bathroom and head to the kitchen in search of coffee. As I leave the hallway, I see Madalyn and Jaxson sitting on the bar stools at the island. They made coffee. Awesome.
