The Hazed Series (New Edition)

by Brittany Butler

  “Good to know.”

  “We have to find you someone to have fun with.”

  “I’m currently trying to get over the last guy you found for me,” I say, sarcastically.

  “You know the solution to that,” she says, taunting me. I roll my eyes at her and finish the last of my fries. “What are you guys doing? Just sticking around torture each other?”

  I give her a point look. “I’m screwed and he’s helping me. Come summer we’ll be far away from each other,” I say without thinking. I consider telling her what I did, but I don’t. I’m not telling anyone. If I have the opportunity, I’m not letting anyone talk me out of it.

  “If you say so.” She dumps her plate in the nearest trash.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Her eyebrows bump together as she sat in front of me. “Sure.”

  “How’d you meet Hayze?”

  She looks around the quiet dining hall and laughs. “I guess the same way everyone meets their brother.”

  “C’mon Lea, the timelines just don’t match up. When did you guys meet?” I ask, hoping she would tell me the truth. I know I was asking a lot of her, but there were things I needed to know.

  She sighs, “Don’t tell him.”

  “He’s kind of told me some. But I promise I won’t say anything. I just…I need to know some things.”

  “I didn’t see my dad that much, only a few times a month, but I knew I had brothers. My mom just told me he had to spend time with them, too. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t all spend time together, but whatever I didn’t say anything. I just bought it.”

  I nod, encouraging her and she continued. “I was like twelve or thirteen when my dad finally moved in; I was so excited. I was gonna get to meet my brothers after always hearing about them. It was a Friday night, I waited all day for my older brother to come. But it wasn’t the meeting I thought it would be; after he came in and insulted all of us, he and our dad got into it. At first I hated Hayze…Until I spent time around our dad,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Hayze and I became…acquaintances. I even started staying with his family some. We got to meet our little brothers. That’s when I found out I was the only one that knew about the whole situation. My brothers grew up with moms that were committed to my dad, thinking they were the only ones. They didn’t know about me and my mom…. They didn’t even know about each other.”

  She shrugs her shoulders, smiling at me. “But I think that made us closer. Hayze eventually came around. He just feels responsible for so much. I don’t know why. I guess because he’s the oldest. He thinks he has to take care of us, and he has, but we’ve always been more concerned about him. We knew what he was doing,” she says, shuttering at a memory. “But he’s come a long way.”

  “He told me some stuff last night,” I say.

  “Maybe that’ll help your decision,” she says, standing up. She slips her arms through her backpack straps and backs away from the table.

  “My decisions been made,” I answer.

  “Sure it has. I’m going to work,” she yells as she backs out of the dining hall. I wave at her, then dump my plate of mostly untouched food and leave.

  I go straight to the apartment after I leave the dining hall. The night sky grows darker as I approached the door. Noises are coming from inside, with my curiosity piqued, I walk in, finding the last two people I’d expect in a room together.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, almost convinced I had walked in the wrong apartment.

  Scott turns, when his eyes landed on me, he smiles. “Where the hell have you been?”

  I slide my backpack down my arm, dropping it by the floor. Hayze turns from the screen and gives me a small wave.

  “School,” I say, looking between the two of them.

  “I was just comin’ to check on ya,” he says, turning his attention away from me.

  I walk in the living room, watching their interaction. Hayze sits on the chair with a gaming controller in his hand, pressing buttons intently. Scott is on the couch, mimicking his actions. Hayze doesn’t play, he doesn’t even own any gaming system.

  “Did you bring this from your house?” I ask Scott.

  “Yeah? Why?” He asks, his attention still on the fictional characters in front of him.

  “You said you came to check on me? Why would you bring this over if that was the case?” I ask, picking up the gaming case.

  He laughs once, “I told Hayze I was bringin’ it over next time.”

  “Next time? You’ve been here before?” I look between the two. Scott is engrossed in the game, not paying attention to me, but Hayze is watching me with a smirk.

  “Just a couple times,” Scott says.

  “Lea, now Hayze? You don’t have your own friends?” I ask, throwing the case on the couch, I walk away.

  “Just a second,” he calls out to me, distracted.

  With a crinkled nose, I look between them again before going in my room. “I’ll be in my room.”

  “Night, Taylor,” Hayze says.

  Confused, I go to my bathroom, stripping my clothes off as I turn on the shower. Scott was around after we broke up. I can’t help but wonder when they started hanging out, was it during the time I was at Scott’s house, miserably lying around after our break-up? Scott’s a good guy, and he’d be a good influence for Hayze, but I always fear Hayze has an ulterior motive.

  My phone buzzes from the counter. Seeing it’s Lea, I answer.

  “Hello.”

  “Are you alone?” She asks.

  “Yup. About to jump in the shower.” I balance the phone between my ear as I test the temperature of the water.

  “Perfect. Hayze’s birthday totally snuck up on me…”

  “When is it?” I ask, afraid I missed it.

  “February twenty fourth,” she says.

  “That’s Monday!”

  “I’m thinkin’ a party. I’ll invite a few people over…”

  I cut her off, “What does he think about that?”

  “I’m not gonna tell him,” she says, matter-of-fact.

  “Who are you inviting?” I ask, knowing this could end badly. Hayze isn’t exactly the type of person you want to spring something on.

  “Me, you, Scott, everyone from Mystic.”

  “That should be fine,” I say.

  “Have a little faith in me. So, you’re in?”

  “I’m in,” I say. She squealed before she hangs up.

  I strip my clothes off, tossing them on the floor and climbed in the shower. I scrub the day away and towel off. I throw my hair in a loose bun, knowing I’ll regret it in the morning, but too lazy to brush it. After pulling a shirt on, I crawl in my bed and try to drown out the noise from my unexplained guest.

  I shove my earbuds in place, looking for music to put me to sleep; I avoid rock, along with anything else that reminds me of him, but he always finds a way to push himself in my mind.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Hayze

  I toss my books on the hood of my mustang. I unlock my car and shove my things inside before I acknowledge him. He’s standing at his car, leaning against the side as if this is a casual meeting. But nothing’s casual about the top man paying you a visit in a parking garage after class.

  “What do I owe this pleasure?” I aske without looking back at him.

  “I’ve heard some interesting things. I wanted to see for myself if they were true.”

  I lean back on my car. With my arms crossed at my chest, I look at him for the first time. It’s been years since I’ve seen him. He was the man at my father’s birthday parties and at my family functions. But now that I look at him, his face sags into a scowl. The corners of his eyes crinkle as he grins. This lifestyle has aged him.

  “I’m out, if that’s what you heard,” I say.

  Dropping his arms from his chest and chuckling lightly, he says “I respect that. What I can’t have is missing payments.”<
br />
  “You’re talkin’ to the wrong guy,” I say.

  I don’t want to be in this position. Sure I used, but I never sold. That is until Joel fucked me over the first time. He owed me money and he talked me into this shit by promising to double what he owed me. But after months of this, I’m done. He can fix his own mistakes. He owes me too much.

  “Am I? Because your friend seems to think I have the right guy,” he taunts me.

  I shrug, looking behind my shoulders, making sure no one comes up.

  “Joel tells me you’re dating a girl…” He says, looking around, thinking. He snaps his fingers and meets my eyes with a grin. “Taylor? Taylor Thompson, right? He said she knows a lot.”

  I shake my head, containing my anger. The last thing I need is to blow up. None of these guys should know her name, much less how much I care about her. They’ll go after her.

  “We dated awhile. She didn’t know a thing. She left when she found out I drank.”

  “Sounds like my first wife,” he laughs. “The problem is your stories don’t match up.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about me…what I’d worry about is Jenny.”

  His brows shoot up, amused. “Is that so?”

  “Joel’s been datin’ her for months. If she hangs around too long, she’ll find out. She already knows he uses. He’s given her some before.”

  His jaw clenches. He kicks off the side of his car to get closer to me. “He uses?”

  It’s common knowledge you can’t use what you sell. There’s no way to keep up with it. That along with Jenny was the icing on the cake for me. I can practically see smoke fuming from his ears.

  “She’s mentioned the name Joel before. I thought it was a coincidence. I’ll have a word with him,” he says, dismissing me. He walks to the driver side of the car and raises his hand up for a final wave. “Tell your father hi.”

  “Will do,” I say as I climb in my car. “Asshole.”

  I peel from the lot faster than usual. My phone vibrated from my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s Taylor.

  “Hello?”

  Blaring music greeted me. “Where are you?” Her speech is slurred as she giggles into the phone.

  “I think the question is, where are you?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.

  “I’m at home! Waiting on you!”

  “Don’t tell him anything,” Lea says.

  I roll my eyes. “What’s going on over there?”

  “Not having a party,” Taylor giggles. “Ouch! Lea!”

  The phone shifts as Lea gets on. “When will you be here?”

  “Actually I’ve gotta make another stop and I’ll be there,” I say.

  “Can’t you do it later?” Lea whines.

  I pull in a vacant parking lot and switch my engine off. “This can’t wait. I’ll be there in an hour.”

  She groans loudly, “Fine.”

  “Don’t let Taylor drink anymore,” I say as she ends the call. I kill my engine, eager to get this over with and get back to the apartment.

  Two hours later I walk to the door, clutching the envelope and hoping like hell Lea isn’t inebriated. I tuck the paper and fold it in my pocket before walking inside. Lea was standing near the door. I jerk my thumb outside, she nods and follows behind me.

  “Where have you been?” She asks as soon as I closed the door behind us.

  “I had to take care of some things.”

  “Half of your guests already left,” she says.

  I take the paper from my envelope and hand it to her. She looks at me, brows bunched, and tears into it.

  “I wasn’t aware we were having a party. You’re as bad a Joel,” I say, waiting for her reaction.

  She looks at me through narrow eyes. “Surprise. Happy birthday, douchebag. What’s this?”

  “Concert tickets, hotel reservations, and some cash. Tell Taylor you won it or some shit like that. She won’t ever agree to go if she thinks we’re paying for it.”

  She looked at me wide-eyed, then buries her face in the paper. “Um, this is for tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I thought you guys could get away for a few days,” I shrug.

  She laughs once, “Yeah…I’m not buying that.”

  “Jay paid me a visit at school. Joel’s dumbass has been talking. He won’t do anything, but I don’t want you guys around for a few days.”

  “What about you?” She asks, watching me with concern as she shoves the envelope in her pocket.

  “I’ll work, go to school, and maybe stay at my mom’s.”

  She clenches her teeth. “I don’t know, Hayze. I don’t like this.”

  “Just go. He knows about Taylor.” I take my forehead in my right hand, stepping away from her to think. “I mouthed off about Joel and Jenny…I just don’t want her here if someone gets pissed.”

  She rolls her eyes and steps around me to open the door. “Fine. I’ll talk to her, but you owe me.”

  “Put it on my tab.”

  I walk inside to my surprise party. The music is loud, the guests are leaving, and Taylor’s drunk. She spots me, points at me with sloppy fingers, and walks over.

  “Did you plan this?” I ask, already amused by her.

  She laughs loudly. God, she’s drunk. “No…I forgot your birthday.”

  “You should’ve played along with it. Like I did with your birthday,” I say, grabbing a beer from the counter.

  She narrows her eyes at me. “I knew you didn’t plan it.”

  I shrug my shoulders, looking around the party at the few that were still there. I take a swig of my beer and set it back down on the counter. Taylor’s eyes bore into me, studying me with a scowl.

  “I thought you weren’t drinking anymore,” she says.

  She sits her drink on the counter and without moving her feet, she manages to trip. I catch her by the arm, steadying her, I let my hand slide down her back.

  “I think our rules are shot to hell now, don’t you think?” I say, nodding to my hand on her back. She takes a step back and I let my hand drop.

  “I’m gonna find Shea,” she says, pointing behind her. Chuckling, I watch her stumble across the room.

  Lea comes up behind me, poking my side, like the annoying little sister she is. “I’m about to tell her.”

  “Think that’s a good idea?” I ask.

  “No, I don’t. She’s shitfaced, but maybe she’ll remember something in the morning.”

  “You could wait ‘til tomorrow,” I say.

  She rolls her eyes and replies, “You didn’t give me enough time.”

  I take a sip of my beer, and she starts to walk off. “I’ll ask my dealer to be more considerate next time.”

  She groans and walks to Taylor. Curious, I followed her. She lifts her right hand, showing Taylor the envelope.

  “Guess what!” She squeals.

  I laugh and she shoots me a go to hell look. She was always quiet the actress, but she saved my ass a few times. Well, she still is.

  Taylor grabs her hand. “What?”

  “Ready to get away for a few days?”

  Taylor looks at her, confused. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, confused. “Wait…What?”

  “I won a giveaway!”

  “What’d you win?” Taylor asks, her forehead is wrinkled as she tried to piece the information together.

  “Concert tickets, couple nights at a hotel, and some spending money,” Lea says, flipping through the contents.

  “You won all of this? That’s insane,” Taylor slurs.

  “Yup, we’re leaving in the morning,” Lea says.

  Taylor looks at her, frowning. “I don’t know…I would miss a couple of classes and work.”

  “Works taken care of, I texted Randy,” I say. They looked at me suspiciously. Fuck, what am I? On trial for something? “Lea asked me to.”

  “See? Everything’s taken care of. Just email your professors and pack your bags,” Lea says.

  Taylor smiled. “You talked me into it.”
<
br />   “I’ll help you get everything ready tonight,” I say and she smiles.

  “Thanks, Hayze.”

  “What the fuck were you thinking when you sent out invites.” I ask, looking around. “Jace and Eric? You couldn’t do better than this?”

  “You didn’t exactly win the popularity contest this year,” Lea retorts.

  “People love me.”

  “Girls love you…Guys, not so much.”

  “Scott was here, but he had to leave early,” Taylor says, changing the subject. “What time are we leaving in the morning?”

  “The earlier the better,” Lea says. She catches my eyes and I nod, appreciatively.

  I grab Taylor’s arm. “C’mon, I’ll help you pack.”

  “You’re just going to ignore your guest?” Taking a step toward me, she laughs.

  “No, not all of them,” I say and she smiles.

  I lead her in her room and close the door. She falls on the bed and curls into a ball.

  “Let’s do that tomorrow.”

  “If you didn’t want to pack, why did we come in here?” I ask.

  She props her head in her hands and watches me with a smile. “I could think of other things.”

  I look her over from the spiked high heels on her crossed feet to the way her dress clung tight to her curves. When I finally land on her flushed face, she takes her bottom lip in her mouth. In the time it took to study her, I couldn’t figure out when the fuck I developed a conscious.

  A year ago the offer wouldn’t have been fully out of her mouth and I would’ve had her bra off. But now, I adjust my pants and open the door to her closet. I pull the suitcase out and laid it on the bed beside her.

  “How much have you had to drink?” I ask.

  “Just one,” she says, not making any sense.

  “Did that one drink happen to be the entire bottle of Jack?” I ask, chuckling.

  She laughs and sits up. “You’re so funny,” she slurs.

  I walk back to the closet and start shoving things in the suitcase. “Do you have anything you want to bring?” I ask before I close the suitcase.

  She stands up and walks behind me. “The black dress.”

  I take the only black dress I see off the hanger and hold it in front of me. “This one?”