“Look boy, let’s stop beating around the bush. Now I was told by the dorm manager,” he says, jerking his thumb in the opposite direction. He pauses, waiting for me to explain myself, what the hell does he wants me to say? Oh, no, please, anyone but the dorm manager. I snort, leaning against the wall. “He says he hasn’t seen my daughter in weeks. But you seem to keep showing up. I’m gonna ask you one more time. Where. Is. She?”
“I’m sure you’re concerned, but I don’t know where she is. Her roommate says she’s okay, and that’s all I know.”
He looks around and lets out a soft laugh. “Concerned? The only thing I’m concerned about is my daughter shacking up with a boy like you.”
“I can’t imagine what that would do for your reputation,” I say, chuckling.
When he looks me in the eye, he knows. I know everything about him, even things Taylor didn’t tell me. I’ve been around men like him. He stays in Taylor’s life solely to control her, and he knows she’s slipping through his fingers. He’s afraid. She doesn’t give a shit about him, she comes around only to see her mom. After the shit he pulled at Christmas and now his little intimidation game, it takes all I have to stay calm. I push off the wall and take a step away from him.
“This thing you have going on with my daughter, it ends now. You know it’s temporary. You aren’t someone she’ll end up with. Tell her you don’t love her, drag her out of your place, I don’t care what you have to do. Just make sure it’s done. Today. Tuition is paid for this semester, but I’d hate for this to be the last time,” he said, shoving his sausage finger at me.
I shove my hair from my forehead and take a few steps away. I have to talk myself down to keep from shoving his head through the wall. Who the hell does he think he is? I’d do anything for this girl, pay her tuition, move her in my place…Punch her dad in the fucking face if that’s what she wants.
When I know I can control my tongue, I nod my head.
“Like I said, I don’t know where she’s at. If you see her first, let her know I’m lookin’ for her. Nothing major, just wanted her to know she left her bra in my car.”
His eyes were wild and his face flushes with anger. He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t try to stop me; I know I’ve done too much, so I left. When I reach the dated glass doors, I shove them and collapse on the hard steps. He won’t come this way, if I know anything about a coward, he’ll go the back way.
I wonder how long it’ll take to get back to her. Smooth. She won’t even talk to me from the last fight. I walk over to a secluded picnic table and sit, facing the dorms. If she comes in either door, I’ll see her.
Killing time, I grab the folded envelope that’s burning a hole in my back pocket. I wish they didn’t include the inmate number in every attempt of contact. The mailman thinks I have a fucking pin pal. I don’t need to open it to know what it is. A pathetic apology, perhaps a new revelation in religion, whatever the hell he thinks will get him out. I’ve been carrying this damn thing around for two days.
I grip it with both hands before grabbing a lighter from my pocket. With a flick of my thumb, the corner lights and soon the whole envelope is engulfed in flames. I toss it down before it burns me.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to light fires on campus,” Lea says, approaching me.
“Mind your damn business. Where is she?” I ask, looking around her.
She’s nowhere in sight, but I notice Lea has changed her hair yet again. I look away, afraid the flaming red might burn a hole through my retina.
“Mind your own business,” she replies, attempting to mock me. I glare at her, if she’s going to mock me she could at least make me sound good.
“You picked up a sense of humor over break. Cute.”
She laughs and sits next to me. “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket? It’s freezing!” She rubs her hands up her arms and shivers.
I know what she’s doing and it’s not going to work this time. I’ve been putting it off too long.
“Did she transfer or something?”
She sighs, “No, Hayze, she didn’t transfer. I’ll tell you…But I don’t want you to go off and chase her down or even tell her I said anything to you. I’m only doing this because I don’t want you telling anyone else she left her bra in your car!”
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.
“What were you thinking? Do you even have a brain in there?” She knocks on my head and I slap her hand away.
“You should’ve heard what he was saying! I took up for her!”
“So you say she left her bra in your car?” She throws her hands up and gives me a strange look. God, she’s dramatic,
“Lea, fuck, you think I don’t know that? I just wanted to piss him off!”
She rolls her eyes at me. “That’s the best you could do?”
“How pissed is she?”
“She doesn’t know…yet. I ran into her dad and he told me. He also mentioned you were in our room. You don’t have a key, wanna explain that one to me?”
“I don’t need a key. Just talk her down. I was takin’ up for her! You should’ve heard the shit he said.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe next time think about what you’re about to say…Ya know? Use some common sense.”
“There’s no common sense option when Taylor’s involved. I keep fucking everything up.”
“She’s been staying with Scott. She’s coming back to the dorm today. That doesn’t mean you need to come over and hound her. Just give her some space, Hayze, that’s why she left….”
Damnit, “Fine.”
“I mean it, Hayze. Tone down the crazy,” she says, pointing at me with a stern expression. Her phone chimes and she waves at me before walking away.
I walk to my dreaded first class as the dead grass crunches under me. First up is American Lit, I manage to skip blow-off classes until this semester. Just a few more months of this…Then I start over again, but at least it’ll be something I want to do—something I’m interested in.
Lea stops in front of the dorms, waiting at the bottom of the steps. A heap of brown hair flies through the wind. Taylor stops and whips her hair back in place. Lea points to Taylor’s shirt and I can tell she’s talking about her clothes.
It takes everything I have not to go over and say something. She smooths down her pink, plaid shirt and tugs on her black, skin-tight leggings. Jesus, those pants again. It’s not really the pants, every girl on campus wears the damn things, but most of them are rail thin, fresh out of the bathroom from throwing-up; none of them fill out clothes like Taylor.
When my sight lands on her face, I find those green eyes watching me. Her face heats and she drops her head; strands of hair fall between us like a shield. I smirk, loving the affect I still have on her. Lea waves her hand discretely and mouths space. I flip her off and walk away.
Fucking space.
I take my time getting to class, the last thing I wanted to do is sit in a small, packed room, and think about Taylor in those damn pants. I walk up the stairs of the lit building, checking my palm before walking in; room 225. I write everything on my hand, I’m not walking around campus like the other dumbasses, with a map shoved in my face.
The room is already packed, I scan it twice, finding only one seat left. I refuse to let my gaze fall on her. She’s going to think I did this on purpose. It’s like I have weights on my feet as I take my first step. Taylor’s eyes cut over when I walked past her and I swear I heard her exhale once I’m seated.
Fingers tapped on my arm. I looked to my right, finding a blonde with too much makeup, smiling at me. I swear to God if I touched her face, her eyebrows would come off in my hands.
“Remember me?” She asks, biting her lip.
It’s not the innocent lip biting thing Taylor does when she’s nervous; it’s I wanna fuck you and I’m easy so I’m gonna bite my lip and stare at you. It’s not attractive. It might have gotten to me when I was drunk or high, but I’m neither and the girl I�
��m in love with is in front of me, shifting in her chair, pretending she’s not listening.
“No, I don’t,” I say, not hiding my displeasure.
Taylor turns around, she doesn’t even try to hide her smile. “Where’s your stuff?” She asks, looking over my desk, she frowns.
I sit up in my seat, leaning over the desk. My interest was piqued. Her face is free of makeup, yet she’s still the most beautiful girl on campus. Her full lips curve into a smile, crinkling the corners of her eyes. I love finding out little things about her, like jealousy obviously fuels her.
“It’s the first day of class,” I say.
“Why do I get the feeling you never bring anything?” She smiles as her eyes dance across my face.
I laugh once. “I do…Just paper.”
“No book?” She asks, brows raised.
“It’s at my apartment.”
Her eyes widen, she looks at me while dragging her bottom lip between her teeth. I swear she does it on purpose.
Enjoying flirting with her, I continue. “I live alone now. I kicked Joel out, I even redecorated, there’s a hole where his door used to be.”
“Seriously?”
Laughing, she ducks her head and down. At least she can laugh about it now. I don’t think the day will come where I can say his damn name without wanting to hunt him down.
“Wanna check it out?” I ask, testing my luck. Forget about space, there was only one chair open for a reason.
She looks troubled. I want to kiss that puckered brow, and make her reluctance fade. “Hayze, I…”
The professor strolls in the room and I groan in frustration as Taylor turns in her seat. She’s not the type to talk during class, and I’m not the type to ask her again. Well, as of this morning I’m not, because space or some shit.
Her pen falls to the floor. She stands up and bends over, reaching for it. Those damn pants stretch against her ass, and the guy to my left is getting a good show.
“Taylor!” My voice is much harsher than intended, and she snaps her head up. “Let me get it. Sit down,” I say, pointing to her seat.
She looks at me, confused, as she sat down. She mutters thanks as I hand her the pen. I glare at the guy beside me and he looks away.
I only realize class has ended when Taylor stands up. I’ve chewed through the end of my pencil, watching her play with her hair, and hoping to God she doesn’t drop anything else. She grabs her book and stuffs it inside her full backpack. We watch each other for a minute, not saying anything.
Should I ask to carry her bag? It looks heavy. I just stand here, waiting for her to take the lead.
“See ya around,” she finally says. Then she walks away, and to my surprise, I let her.
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
Taylor
See you around? I slammed my books on my desk and slide in. Only one more class today, then I can go to my room and pretend this day never happened. What was I thinking? Sure, I’ll see him in class, but other than that, I’m avoiding him like a plague.
I can’t think around him. After two weeks I thought he wouldn’t have that effect on me, or it wouldn’t be so strong. If anything, it’s more intense. From the moment he walked in the door I knew it would be hard, but the blonde-skank had to talk to him. Remember me? I actually almost punched her when she said that. That’s the first time I’ve ever thought about inflicting pain on another human. The professor walked in and I tried to focus my attention on him.
“I’m Mr. Black and if you’re in Government 2224, you’re in the right place. I’m passing out the syllabus. If you show up and take notes you don’t need the book.”
An inaudible moan sounds through the room. Luckily for me I haven’t bought the book yet.
I nod, pretending to listen as he speeds through the syllabus. There’s only so many times I can hear the universities policies in one day. When I start drawing my third, scribbled flower, he announces class is over and I bolt from my seat. I don’t bother putting up the paper or pencil, I stalk from the room with my head down, hoping I don’t run into anyone on my way to my dorm.
Lea is on her bed, watching the door when I walk in. I drop my backpack on the floor, look around the room, and then back to her.
“What?” I ask.
“Your phone has been going off like crazy,” she says, pointing to the table.
She rubs her palms on her jeans and looks down. I get the feeling somethings wrong and she knows exactly what it is. I grab my phone from my side table and find texts and calls from my dad, my mom, and Sean. This can’t be good. It started vibrating again, and my dad’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hello,” I say, sighing. I don’t even try to conceal my disdain.
“I have been calling you for hours!” He yells, and I could almost see the vein popping from his forehead.
“I’ve been in class, Dad. I left my phone in my room.”
“You need to keep it with you in case of emergencies,” he fires back.
With an eye roll, I sigh again, and fall on my bed. “What’s the emergency?”
“I came by your room today. I had a little chat with the dorm manager, and he let me know he hasn’t seen you in weeks. But for some reason your boyfriend keeps showing up. He was coming out of your room today, I, of course, walked up to him and asked if he had seen you. Do you know what he said?”
“No, dad, I don’t. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”
“That’s funny, because he told me you your bra was in his car!”
I jump up, gasping. Lea looks at me, chuckling nervously.
“I am very disappointed with you, Taylor! I thought you’d be the one to make me proud, instead you fall into bed—no, not even a bed! You fall into a backseat with the first tattooed thug you saw!”
Sucking in a sharp breath, I remind myself to count to ten before speaking. It’s something I’ve had to do since high school with him.
“Dad, you really blew this out of proportion. I’ve changed outfits over there. Or maybe he meant Lea! Just because he has some of my clothes, doesn’t mean we’ve been…intimate.” Even though he can’t see me, I throw my hands up, exasperated.
“He didn’t say anything about Lea! It was about you, and the way he said it, well let’s just say, it wasn’t respectful.”
“Okay, dad, believe what you want,” I say, switching the phone to my other ear. “I really need to go…The staff has to do deep cleaning at the bar tonight.”
“THE BAR?” He huffs, “I’m giving you two weeks to find a new job and get rid of that boyfriend of yours, Taylor; I’m serious. I’ve turned the other cheek for too long. You have a cell phone bill, a car insurance bill, and tuition with your name on it coming to you if you can’t get it together!”
I clench my teeth together, furious. He waits until he knew I wasn’t responding.
“Two weeks,” he says and hangs up.
I toss my phone on the bed and face Lea. “Hayze ran into my dad today.”
She clenches her teeth together, flinching. “I know. I called him out on it, and he felt so bad. You should’ve seen his face. He said your dad was saying some pretty messed up shit and he just wanted to shut him up.”
I nod, knowing she’s right. My dad probably was running my name through the mud, and Hayze…Well, he says stuff just to hurt people sometimes. I know it’s not right, but that’s how he deals with things. In his defense, he was genuinely trying to stick up for me, in his own wrong, screwed up way.
“You okay?” She asks.
I stare at her until it hits me, and I double over with laughter. “Can you imagine the look on my dad’s face when Hayze said that? If I could’ve been a fly on the wall,” I say, breathless.
I slip on comfortable shoes and throw my hair in a ponytail before I walk to the door. Lea hasn’t said anything; she’s watching me as if I’d break any moment.
“I’ve gotta go clean. I’ll be back in a few hours,” I say.
“Okay,
umm, have fun,” she says. I wave at her as I leave the room, but she was already too engrossed with her phone to see me.
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER THREE
Hayze
I stared at the text until I’m sure I could see the screen if I closed my eyes.
She talked to her dad. She laughed.
She laughed. That’s the last thing I expected from Taylor, and it’s unsettling. I thought I would get the silent treatment, or she would yell at me, anything else, but not this shit. If she doesn’t care that I don’t get along with her dad, maybe she doesn’t plan on keeping me around.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, frustrated. I’ve turned into a fucking chick. All I do is piss her off then sit around and wonder what she’s thinking and how to fix it—analyze her reactions and dumb shit like that. I should be at a bar, picking up chicks and drinking beer. That’s what all my friends do when a girl dumps them, not sit around and wallow in self-pity. This is so damn embarrassing; no one even knows, yet I’m humiliated. Rightfully so, the old Hayze is trapped somewhere inside me, shaking his head at my new, pathetic ass.
I grab my keys from the table and walk out the door. Randy told me to come back when I’m ready, and tonight, I’m ready. There will be no distractions, no stupid drunk kids at the bar, just a few employees cleaning. She’ll see I’m making an effort to change. As long as no dumbass brings up the last two weeks, tonight will be good. She’ll be back soon; I know she will.
When I pull in I spot her outside, talking to Shea. She’s still in those damn pants. Her head snaps up, she shifts her legs, and pulls on Shea’s arm. That’s right baby, run away from me; I chuckle as I throw the car in park and walk up to the bar. My head swells, knowing I still have that effect on her.
When I walk in, Randy is standing behind the bar, going over directions. I get a few glares, most of them are well deserved. Randy motions for me to join everyone; I position myself behind Taylor, and Shea blocks me with a stern look.
Jesus Christ. Her too?
Randy claps, sending us off. He nods to me before disappearing in the back. Taylor’s shoulders drop, with a sigh, she looks at me with narrow eyes. “What are you doing here, Hayze?”
The Hazed Series (New Edition) Page 23
