Second Chances

by Younker, Tracy

  “Then what's in your truck?” I must look as confused as I feel. “I found a bag filled with a white, powdery substance in your glovebox.”

  My heart sinks and my stomach drops to my toes. I don't have a clue what she's talking about, but it can't be good. “I just picked that truck up from the airport an hour before I got to Griff's to surprise you. I put the rental papers in that glovebox and there was nothing like that in there.” What the hell is going on here? “Wait, what made you look in my truck? It's fine that you did, I'm just wondering why?”

  “After I ran out of Griff's and came up the hill, Lexi was still parked up on the side of the road. She called me over and told me that she had tried to warn me that I wasn't enough for. . .” Her voice cracks and so does my heart, “. . .someone like you and that I should look in your glovebox. . .” She trails off, tears sliding down her cheeks. I want so badly to reach out and pull her into my arms, but I can tell she isn't ready for that yet.

  “Why would Lexi know what was in my glovebox? Unless she put it there herself.” I slam my fist down on the coffee table harder than I realize, and Haylee jumps. “Sorry, but Lexi is here trying to get me back, even though I was never with her, and she is obviously trying to make you end things with me. She must think that if I don't have you, I'll come back to California and to her. That will never happen, Haylee.” My voice is determined now. “Lexi is showing her true colors and I hope none of us ever sees her again, but I don't think she's done. We can't let her do this to us. Haylee, please tell me that you believe me.” I realize that it's a fairly crazy story, but it's the truth. I know now that Lexi is certifiable, and I want to tell her exactly what I think of her, but I also don't want her messing with Haylee anymore.

  “You slept with her,” she whispers, and I drop my head into my hands. I was afraid that was what she was going to focus on. “How do you think you would feel if the situation were reversed? What if we'd just had sex and I went downstairs to answer the door, and what if you happened to glance out the window just in time to see Parker kiss me, and how would you feel when I told you later that he and I had slept together a while back?” I feel bile rise in the back of my throat and my core temperature spikes.

  “Honestly,” I start, my voice thick with the emotions swirling around inside of me, “I'd freak out. I can't even stand to see him put his hands on you, and what you just said about you and him. . .I know it's not true but I felt sick when you said those words. So, yeah, I'd lose my shit for sure, but once I calmed down and you explained what was going on, I would believe you, because it's you, Hayles. My best friend and so much more.”

  Her head drops into her hands, and she is wracked with sobs. Her whole body shakes, and I feel the pain that she is feeling. I can't stop myself. I get up and drop down on my knees in front of her and wrap my arms around her. I know she has asked me not to touch her, but she's bawling because of me and I can't just sit here and watch. She feels so cold and tiny against my now overheated skin. I hate that she even used Parker as her example. I hate what Lexi has been up to behind my back. I hate that I ever hired her in the first place. I don't know how I'm going to make this all right again, but I will die trying.

  A few minutes later she pulls back and wipes her cheeks with the bottom of her t-shirt. Her bronzed, flat stomach is exposed right in front of me, and I swallow and push that image aside for the time being. “I don't know what to think right now, Chase,” she says quietly. “I think I need some time to process everything.” She stands up then, so I follow.

  “Please go back to Griff's and get some sleep in an actual bed or something,” she says, and I could swear there is the ghost of a smile in the corner of her lips.

  I nod and walk toward the door. I turn back to say, “Every word I said is the truth. I'm right where I want to be, and I love you.”

  I push the front door open and walk back to Griff's in a daze. Haylee hadn't pushed me away when I'd held her. I'll have to hold onto that and hope for the best. Griff must have been sitting in the kitchen because he comes out the door as soon as I start walking up the steps to the back porch. I walk inside, into the living room, and slump down onto the sofa with Griff and his dog at my heels. My whole body aches inside and out.

  “Please tell me you did not spend the night dressed like that on Haylee's front porch,” Griff says as he flops down into the recliner. I just nod. “You are out of your mind! Out of your mind for that girl, huh? Did you get to talk to her?”

  I nod again and fill him in briefly. I'm too tired to talk much longer. I tell him all about Lexi's little tricks and he doesn't seem too surprised. Haylee told him about Lexi's first visit. I don't know why no one seemed to think they should tell me.

  “Wow, you sure picked the spawn of a demon for a manager,” Griff replies, and I press my lips together and nod. “Look, go get some sleep and I'll go check out your glovebox and keep anything as evidence.” Griff watches too many police and detective shows on TV. “I've gotta go to work in a bit, but I'll check on Haylee before I go in.”

  “Thanks, man,” I mutter as I amble up the stairs and flop face down onto the bed. Big mistake. The last time I was in here is the day before when Haylee and I made love. Those images come back, followed by the look on her face in the stairway right before she'd run out the front door. The bed still smells faintly of her shampoo and the lake, and I am crying all over again. I miss her terribly and she is just across the street.

  Chapter 24 - Haylee

  My body collapses as though I am boneless onto the sofa after Chase leaves. I'm supposed to work at Dr. Michaels' in a little while and I want to, I just don't know how helpful I'll actually be in the state I'm in. I lie here staring at the ceiling for a while just thinking about everything I've seen and everything Chase has just told me. I don't know who to believe and I can't just let go of it all because I can't allow anyone to hurt me like that again.

  Griff stops in before he goes to work. He sits down in the chair and just looks at me for minute. He isn't really known for his silence, so I turn to look over at him. He's smiling! I want to slug him! I am miserable and he's smiling! “What?” I demand.

  “That man just spent the night on your porch because he physically couldn't stand to be all the way across the street from you. He came back here after everything he's been through and wants to start over again. I'm very confident that he wouldn't throw that all away the same day he arrives to surprise you by sucking face with some bitch and having drugs on him. I think Lexi is a master manipulator and I think she wants your man. I know you're hurting right now, but I don't want to see you lie down and let her walk all over you,” he finishes and I'm just stunned. Griff is always goofing around and making people laugh. I'm not sure I've ever heard him speak so firmly before.

  He stands back up and steps closer to me. “I gotta get to work. We're all going out tonight and it's not optional,” he says as he starts toward the door.

  I shoot up on my elbows on the sofa. “What?! Who's 'we' and where?” I say, shocked. Why would he think that I would or even could go out tonight? That's probably the last thing I want to do, and what ever happened to asking? Oh, yeah, this is Griff.

  “Whiskey's. You, Me, Chase, Brynn, Max, Parker, Max's new chick,” he rattles off as though it's all no big deal.

  “I can't. . .” I start to argue, but he holds his hand up and cuts me off.

  “The plans are already made, my girl! Be ready at 8:00 and don't argue or I won't let you keep your strays in my barn anymore.” I'm about to unleash on him when he deftly slides out the door and disappears. I'm livid that he would even threaten the animals like this. Who the hell does he think he is? Does he honestly think Chase and I will want to be in the same club partying it up tonight?

  I am fired up now, so I jump in the shower and get dressed to go to work at the clinic. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this had probably been Griff's motive all along. To get me so angry with him that I got up and stopped obsessing a
bout everything else.

  All of a sudden I hear someone coming up the stairs and I freeze until Brynn walks right into my room as though we hadn't spent the last three years as enemies.

  “Good morning, Cuz. I'm glad to see you up and clean,” she snickers at me. “So, did you talk to him yet?”

  No time wasted there. “He spent the whole night on the porch,” I start and she interrupts.

  “No way!” Her eyes are huge with shock.

  I nod. “I figured I should at least hear what he had to say after he could have gotten pneumoia,” I tell her and fill her in on everything Chase and I talked about that morning. When I finish she just sits there on my bed grinning at me.

  “What the hell is that look for?” I practically shout. She's the second person who has grinned like a fool at me after one of the worst days of my life. I'm really not liking it.

  “That boy spent the night on your porch, Haylee! I believe every single word he said! If he is just looking to hook up with you and have a little something on the side, he wouldn't have moved across the country and surprised you with his arrival, and spent the night half naked on your freakin' porch! I'd also bet my eyelash collection that it really is Lexi who put the dope in his truck. She wants Chase and she's willing to fight dirty. You're gonna need to fight back,” she says matter of factly, like this is just another day in the high school cafeteria. I cringe at the thought.

  “Do you know that we're all going out tonight?” I ask her with a scowl.

  “Of course! Who's idea do you think it was?” she grins and my mouth falls open. It's a coup and I am the victim.

  “What the hell are you thinking, Brynn? I don't want to go out tonight, and I don't want to go to a club with Chase!”

  “I know, silly! That's why we're doing it,” She's now checking herself out in my mirror and I am absolutely stupified. “If we don't do something, you're just gonna sit in here and mope and overthink everything. You and Chase need to be thrown together and get it all out there.”

  I just stand there staring at her. I really have no clue how she believes anything good is going to come out of this ridiculous idea.

  “I'll be back here at 7:00 to help you get ready, so be a nice clean slate for me,” she says and then she's gone. I feel as though a tornado just ripped through here. I guess I'll worry about all that later. I need to get to the clinic soon.

  Working is somewhat of a nice distraction. I keep busy doing something I love, but I have a few hours with animals who let me spend too much time with my thoughts. I don't come to any actual decisions on where to go from here, but I've at least come to terms with everything that's happened. When did my life get so dramatic? It's not what I want or even asked for, but it seems to be what I've got.

  I'm nervous on the drive home. I have no idea what to expect tonight and I'm racking my brain for an excuse that will get me out of going that Brynn and Griff will actually buy. Trouble is they are totally expecting my excuses. When I get home I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. I don't remember if I'd even eaten anything earlier in the day, I've been so preoccupied. I shower again and put on a pair of jeans and a sparkly tank top. I figure that will do. I've been to Whiskey's before. It's sort of an upscale club that we don't usually go to. One of the guys will most likely know one of the bartenders. Brynn and I have fake ID's to use just in case they don't.

  Mom comes home and wants to know why Chase spent the night on the porch. I just tell her that we had an argument and I needed some space and this is apparently as far as he'd wanted to go to honor my request. She tells me that she'd invited him inside, but he'd said something similar about wanting to respect my wishes. The fact that he'd stayed out there and had refused to come inside when it was offered absolutely melts my heart. I'm still not ready to forgive and forget yet though.

  “That was a pretty amazing and selfless thing he did last night. I don't know too many boys, er, men that would have done what he did,” Mom adds with a bigger smile than I can ever remember seeing on her face.

  Brynn comes bounding in with a big bag over her shoulder, and finds Mom talking with me in my bedroom. Mom's eyes go wide. “Brynn, it's so good to see you here again. Things are certainly changing around here. What are you girls up to tonight?”

  I'm about to make something up when Brynn steps right in. “We're just going out to listen to some music with a few friends,” she smiles and heads over to my closet.

  “Well, have fun and be safe,” Mom replies as she stands to leave. “I can't tell you how glad I am to see you two together again.”

  Brynn is quick to close my door as soon as Mom has stepped through and I worry that it will cause Mom to turn around and ask more questions. I'm pretty sure she would't be okay with us going to a twenty-one and over club. I can't exactly tell her that we've been a bunch of times before.

  “Okay, I brought you something to wear,” she replies and flops her giant bag down on my bed. I look down at what I have on, perplexed.

  “What's wrong with this?” I ask her. I'd worn something similar the last time we'd gone to Whiskey's. She raises her brows at me and motions for me to strip. I am downright scared to see what she thinks I should wear, since it has obviously come from her closet. We are similar in size; she's slightly shorter than me and her curves are a bit fuller than mine, but we'd been able to share clothes back in the day.

  “Here we go,” as she pulls out a shimmery piece of emerald green fabric. I honestly don't know if it is a top or a bottom, followed by what looks like a denim mini skirt. I catch her glancing at my bra and panties and I wait for her to say something. They are a matching lavender silk bra and hip hugger panties. There's nothing wrong with them and I am standing by that! I slide the skirt on and button it. I look down and try to pull it lower on my waist to cover my ass, which I'm sure is hanging out it's so dang short! Brynn swats my hands away and shoots me a look. What are we doing tonight? Standing on the street corner outside the place?

  I pick up the green thing that I know now has to be the top but I cannot figure out which is up or front or. . .Brynn grabs it and holds it up the right way for me. “You're gonna have to lose the bra,” she tells me, holding the shirt in front of me to cover that area.

  “Why?” I ask. They match and everything!

  “You'll see,” she smiles, and I sigh as I remove my pretty bra.

  “Should I grab a strapless one?” I ask, as she turns her head to the side to give me an ounce of privacy and slides the top over my head and arms. She walks me over to the mirror and turns me around so that my back is facing it. I won't be wearing a bra at all. The top has tank straps and then the sides plunge all the way down to just around my waist where there is finally a band of material. It's completely backless. I turn to look at the front and am relieved at least that there is enough material there. It's a cowl neck, and even though it dips down to between my breasts, the way the material lays makes it not too indecent.

  “Jesus, Brynn, are we really going to Whiskey's? Have you actually worn this before?” I'm turning around in the mirror again to make sure my ass is actually covered. It is, but I won't be bending over at all. So much for being comfortable!

  “Relax, Haylee, you look smoking hot and I'm not even done yet.” I cringe. How much more clothing can she take away before I'll be arrested for indecent exposure? She slides out of her jeans and t-shirt and quickly into a tight black mini skirt and pink top with only one shoulder. Once she has her clothing situated, she sits me down in the chair and starts putting makeup on my face.

  “Please don't make me look like a clown,” I plead as she swipes something that looks awfully close to black on my eyelids.

  “Seriously, Haylee, do I ever look like a clown?” she asks as she continues her work.

  “No,” I say softly. Brynn is the picture of a cosmo girl. Always dressed to impress, never caught without her flawless makeup and her hair always seems to be perfect no matter what the weather is like. I honestly have
no idea how she does it or why she cares so much.

  “You see, I don't have the natural beauty that you do, so I've had to get good at faking it,” she says with a smile on her face, and although I'm flattered by her compliment, I'm sad for her. She's beautiful as well, but maybe what happened to her has changed the way she feels about herself.

  “You're just as pretty as me, if not more so, Brynn,” I tell her but she shrugs and says, “Nah,” as though it doesn't bother her.

  She finishes with my makeup, but won't let me see it yet. She's onto my hair now, which I almost never style. I'm in the water so much that I just never bother. Style for me is wadding it up on my head or tying it in a ponytail. First she smoothes my long, blond hair out with a flat iron, and then she's using a curling iron. Seems strange to me to straighten and then curl it, but what do I know?

  “So what's really going on tonight? Because you're going to an awful lot of trouble for a night out with friends.” I ask and look up. She breaks out into a huge grin.

  “This is operation Smack That Bitch Down,” she replies and my eyebrows shoot up.

  “WHAT?” I screech and move my head while she's doing her work. She puts her hand on my shoulder to steady me again.

  “You see, I found out from Chase that Lexi is staying in the motel in town for a few days until her flight.” My stomach drops. I had not known that, but I do remember Chase saying that he is afraid that Lexi isn't finished yet. “So, I have every reason to think that she is watching Chase and probably you too. I planned to go out tonight because I will be willing to bet that California Bitch Barbie will appear wherever we are.”

  I'm feeling sick now. I don't want to go out tonight in the first place and now finding all this out. . .”Why is this a good idea? Are you out of your mind? Why would we want to be anywhere near Lexi again?” I ask her quietly. What the hell is Brynn thinking?

  “Because, Haylee, you are not gonna sit back and just take her shit. You are going to go out looking smokin' hot and you are gonna show her that she doesn't stand a chance in hell. Chase will have his beautiful blue eyes glued to you and Lexi will see the truth for herself. I wrote the book on being a bitch. I'll be right there to help you with everything.”