The Hazed Series (New Edition)

by Brittany Butler

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Hayze

  She left before I woke up. I want to call her, but I don’t. I won’t let her get away this time, but I want her to work through this without me forcing her to forgive me. I toss my phone on the couch and sit on a bar stool. Clutching a pen in my hand, I stare at the blank piece of paper again.

  Lea is going to see him today, and suggested I write a note. I agreed, but now I’ve been sitting here for an hour and have thrown countless drafts in the trash.

  I grabbed my phone, and typed a quick text to her.

  I can’t do this.

  She responded almost immediately.Yes, u can. Write what u need to tell him. Even if it’s harsh.

  With her encouragement, I grab the last letter I wrote him. It’s the only one I didn’t throw out. It’s honest, but harsh. I thought I needed to write something nice, but now I know this is okay. It is best to be honest. He wouldn’t want me to lie. I take a deep breath and read over it again.

  I’m so damn mad at you. I don’t think I’ll ever not be. I’ve went back and forth about writing and visiting. Truth is, I’m glad I didn’t write until now. I would’ve regretted what I had to say to you. I sat here and looked through what few letters I still have. I burned most of them, and I feel like shit about it. I know you won’t be able to write back, and I’m not so sure you’d write back after how I’ve been towards you in the last year, but mom and Lea convinced me I needed to do this.

  It’s hard to watch Lea struggle with this. She’s tried and tried to help you. She wouldn’t say it, but I know somewhere inside, she blames me. I never asked you to quit. There were times I encouraged your behavior, but I guess I didn’t see anything wrong with us until I was so far gone I thought no-one could help.

  I’m moving. I met this girl, and we’ve been through hell, but she’s stuck with me. Even when she shouldn’t have. She’s strong. She’s what I need. So, we’re leaving. We both need a fresh start.

  When Mom told me you’re sick, I thought about visiting, but I’m not ready. I’m not sure I ever will be. I wish things would’ve been different. I wish you would’ve been different. Sometimes I wonder if this is how all of this is going to end, what was the point in us living? We all make our own choices and we have to pay the consequences, but why do we all suffer from this?

  I wanted you to be out if only for a little while. I wanted to see you one last time…But I refuse to have that visit between four, tiny, white walls with guards breathing down my neck. I want to remember you during the rare good times. I know it’s unlikely that will happen, but I’m holding out until I know you won’t be getting out.

  If your time comes before I work up the courage to see you, I want you to know I’ll miss you; I’ll mourn you. If nothing else, I’ll mourn what could’ve been.

  I forgive you,

  Hayze

  I fold the letter up and lay it on the bar. Lea will be by to get it later. Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean back and look around the place.

  This shithole has too many bad memories attached to it. The whole damn town does, leaving wouldn’t be so bad. Besides that, if she is leaving, I am going. She is right, I need to get away.

  She fears someone will come after us, but I know better than that. They wouldn’t do anything to me. Joel was using the supply and fucking the boss’s daughter. As shitty as it was, he had it coming to him. When everything blows over, they will leave me alone. They just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t talk.

  Someone knocks on the door, and I walk over. Opening it, I find Detective Darnell waiting on the other side. He passes by me without invitation.

  “Don’t look so worried,” he says.

  “Cops don’t usually pop in for a friendly conversation,” I say, breaking the tension.

  “That’s true.”

  He sits on the couch and I take the seat across from him. “Please, make yourself at home,” I say, sarcastically.

  “We arrested someone,” he say.

  I leane back, thinking. “You came all the way over here to tell me that?”

  His mouth twists to the side as he shakes his head. “Not exactly. We’ve been watching a guy for years now, waiting for the perfect time to get him. When we heard his daughter was dating Joel Easton, we had the opportunity to search his home. We found some of Joel’s things in her room, and found some things that linked him to Joel. That was all we needed for a charge.”

  Jay was arrested. He is probably out on bail, and thinks I had told.

  “Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

  He leans forward. “You seem like a nice kid who got mixed in with the wrong crowd. Are you about to graduate?”

  I nod, “I am.”

  “You need to think about leaving before you end up like your friend. I’ve been watching these guys for years, and I’ve never seen them do this.”

  “You found Joel?”

  He shakes his head. “We haven’t. I don’t know if we ever will.”

  “I don’t associate with those people anymore.”

  He stands, adjusting his pants, he walks to my front door. “I don’t think it matters.”

  He opens the door and is about to walk out before I speak. “Thanks.”

  He nods and leaves.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Taylor

  “What do you mean you’re leaving?” Scott yells into the phone.

  As if someone could hear me, I looked around the empty dorm room. “I’m transferring.”

  “Where?” He demands.

  Nervously, I rake my fingers through my hair. I was dreading this conversation and it’s going exactly like I thought it would.

  “I’m not sure yet. I had a few places accept me, I’ll let you know when I decide.”

  “What the fuck, Taylor! Have you told Mom?” He asks, clearly annoyed.

  “No, I honestly haven’t talked to her in a while. Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. Is Hayze going?”

  “Yeah, um, we haven’t really worked out the details, but I think so,” I say.

  The door is busted open, and I jump. Lea walks in, carrying food, and mouths sorry.

  “I need to let you go. I’ll call you back,” I say. I ended the call and lay my phone on the table.

  She puts the pizza box on the table and sits our drinks down. “You owe me. I had plans.”

  “No, you didn’t,” I say, helping her clean up the desk.

  “You’re right. I just set around waiting for you and Hayze to fight so I can listen to drama,” she says, dragging a chair up.

  I sit on the edge of her bed and grab a pizza. I take a bite, ignoring her comment. I hadn’t told her that we fought, and yet she already knows.

  “Did he tell you what happened?” I ask between bites.

  She shakes her head. “He said you guys had a fight. I had to pick a letter up from him today. I saw my dad.”

  My mouth flies open. “Did he go?”

  “He wouldn’t, but he wrote a letter. That’s a start,” she says, shrugging her small shoulders.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I am,” she says, she finished a slice of pizza and wipes her mouth. “What happened?”

  “I told him about applying to colleges. I wanted him to go with me, but he freaked.”

  She nods. “Yesterday was a hard day for him.”

  “Maybe I should’ve waited,” I say, feeling guilty about last night.

  “No, you were right to tell him. He’ll calm down, give him time.”

  “He did calm down…He came after me, but I was pissed; I told him I was done. I said some mean things,” I say, swiping the single tear that falls down my face. “The way he flew off the handle made me feel like I did before. I can’t live like that anymore.”

  “I know what you’re saying, but you guys are different now. Of course you’ll fight, everyone does, but you’ll get through it.”

  “Does this mean I have to apologi
ze?” I ask, smiling.

  “Both of you should probably apologize,” she laughs. “Who would’ve thought someone that has never had a serious relationship could be so good at relationship advice?”

  I point to myself. “Who would’ve thought someone that’s been in serious relationships all their life would be so bad at them?’

  “Go to him.”

  Noticing the time, I jump from the bed and grab my purse. “I have to go to work!”

  “Isn’t it convenient you guys work at the same place?” She smirks.

  Half an hour later, I pull into the bar. When I see his mustang in the lot, my stomach grows butterflies. I’ve never been good at admitting I was wrong, but I need to apologize for keeping it from him.

  I park my car and walk to the bar. Before I walked in, I hear footsteps stomping on the pavement. I stop, shielding my eyes from the evening sun, I find Hayze running to me. He stops a few feet from me, his breathing is heavy.

  “You okay?” He asks, breaking the silence.

  “Yeah, I’ve been with Lea.”

  “Good, I thought you might be with Joseph,” he sats, sighing a breath of relief.

  “You didn’t call…”

  “Believe me, I wanted to. I thought you’d want your space.”

  I shook my head. “I never want space from you.”

  He takes a step toward me. “I am so, so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry! I kept that from you for months, I should’ve told you.”

  “I shouldn’t have acted like a dick,” he says, pulling me to him. He places a kiss on my mouth, silencing my doubt that he wouldn’t forgive me.

  “I really wasn’t gonna leave you. I didn’t know if I would ever use them, but I think I should,” I say, looking at my feet.

  He takes a step back, and his brows pulled in. “What do you mean?”

  “I know you’ve already been accepted here, but I think we should leave.”

  “I do, too.”

  “Really?” My eyes snap up, dancing around his face.

  He looks around, and sighs. “Let’s go to the back. I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay?” I say, confused.

  I follow him to the kitchen, briefly waving at our friends as we pass. When we got to the back, he pulls me to the side, and looks around, making sure no one is with us.

  “One of the detectives came by today. They arrested someone, I got the impression it was the guy I sold for. He probably had someone come in the apartment. The detective said I should get out of here after graduation.”

  “Should we wait until graduation?” It felt like someone has stolen the airs from my lungs.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fine. We’ll just have our shit ready and leave after the last day of class. We’ll start workin’ on everything now.”

  “Are you sure?” I ask.

  “Positive,” he says, kissing my forehead.

  “We’re opening the doors, lovebirds,” Shea announces.

  I laugh, “If she only knew.”

  Hayze walks ahead of me. My phone vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out, and debated on answering when I see my mom’s name.

  “Hey Mom,” I say. Hayze has stopped, waiting for me. I smile and pointed to the front.

  “Taylor Thompson, why did I find out from someone else that you’re moving?”

  “I just decided this! How did you find out?” I ask, laughing.

  “Scott!”

  I sigh, “I promise I was calling you tomorrow. How are you?”

  “Well, I was fine until I talked to Scott,” she says, laying the guilt on thick.

  “I’m sorry. I’m at work. I’ll come see you soon, okay?”

  “You better! I love you, Tater.”

  I end the call and shove my phone in my pocket. Hayze is waiting for me at the bar. When he spots me, he waves me over.

  I lean across the bar, inches away from him. “My mom found out we’re moving,” I whisper.

  “I just found out,” he says, confused.

  “I told Scott I was thinking about it. He was more upset you were leaving. He probably told mom to talk me out of it.”

  He laughs, “He can go.”

  I shake my head. “No way. Just me and you.”

  His lips press to mine briefly. “I like the sound of that.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Hayze

  The crash wakes me from a dead sleep. I blink, letting my eyes adjust to the sun pouring in my window. I sit up, listening to the footsteps beyond my room.

  “Taylor?”

  When she doesn’t respond, I jump from bed. Pulling on the closest pair of shorts, I rip my door open and walk to the living room. I scan the room, finding no-one. I’m about to give up when I hear a knock on a kitchen cabinet.

  “You can stand up and face me or I’ll drag your ass out,” I say, warning whoever is brave enough to break into my apartment.

  I can hear their breathing speed as they shuffle in the next room. As he comes into view, he holds his hands up. He is young, and not what I expected him to be.

  “I didn’t know you’d be home,” he says.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Sweat beads on his forehead and rolls down his face as he stumbles to make an excuse. I knew why he was here. He’s new; he needed to prove himself. Joel did similar things. I never did; I was no one’s pawn, and he was about to find out why.

  “To leave a message,” he says, his voice crackes.

  I scan the room, taking in the damage. My flat screen was lying on the ground, my shelf of movies was scattered around the room, and the single picture frame I had in the house is on the floor. I pick it up, wiping shards of glass off Taylor’s face.

  I’m angry, but I didn’t let it show. I sit the frame on the table, chuckling. “Let’s hear it.”

  “We know you told on Jay,” he says, nervously.

  My brows pull together, smirking. “Who’s we?”

  He swallowed the lump in his throat. He’s becoming antsier by the second. “That doesn’t matter.”

  I walk to him, keeping my fist clenched at my side. I don’t need to knock him out. I didn’t have time to clean up the mess, or wait for him to come to his senses. I just need to send a clear message.

  “I think it does,” I say, stopping a foot away from him. “I have a message.”

  He exhales, “What’s that?”

  “If any of you ever break into my apartment again, I will kill you.”

  He nods. He was shaking all over. As angry as I am, it’s hysterical they had sent this boy to my house.

  “Anything else?”

  I smirk, “You had to ask.”

  I throw my fist at him. When it connected with his face, he stumbles back, holding his nose. He regains his composure, and takes a step toward me, sizing me up. It’s almost comical to watch him. Blood is draining down his neck, splattering on his white shirt, as he watches me. He knows he can’t touch me, but he wants to try.

  “Get the fuck out of my house,” I say.

  He scrambles around me, running to the door. He runs from my apartment as fast as he can. With the apartment a disaster, I write off going to class today. I don’t want Taylor to find out about this, so I grab a broom and get to work.

  My phone vibrates, seeing it’s Lea, I answer. “Hey.”

  “Can you meet me outside the dorms?” She asks.

  I look around the place, sighing. “What time?”

  “Like thirty minutes.”

  “Sure,” I say, tossing my phone down.

  I stack my movies on top of each other and slide them on the shelf. I lifted my flat screen, seeing that it isn’t shattered, I mounted it back on the stand. I sweep every piece of glass on the floor until you can no longer tell I had a visitor.

  I grab my keys and walk to my Mustang. I thought we could stay here until classes ended, but I’d underestimated their anger. He thinks I told, and he will do whatever he can to get back
at me. This time it was a scrawny boy trashing my apartment. Next time, it could be a man with a gun while Taylor’s home.

  I find a parking spot on the first level of the garage, and walk across campus. The month of April brings the campus to full bloom. The sun beams down, bringing the temperature higher than usual. I bring my shirt up, wiping my face. As I walked up, I looked around, searching for Lea.

  I spot her tamed, light blonde hair, edging toward me. She raises her hand, flipping me off with a smile.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she says, setting her book on the table. In a sharp motion, she plants her hands on the table and hops up.

  “I was about to leave,” I say as I sit beside her.

  “I wanna talk to you about something,” she says, chewing on her thumb nail.

  “Okay?”

  “Has anything weird happened?”

  My brows pulled in, bumping into a scowl. “Like what?”

  She looks over her shoulders, then back at me. “You know…With Jay.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Lea?”

  “You thought someone broke into your apartment, has anything else happened?”

  “That was weeks ago,” I say. I’m not going to tell her about the recent encounter.

  “I know. I need to tell you something,” she says. I looked at, eyes wide, waiting for her to tell me. I motioned for her to continue. “I told that detective about Joel and Jenny. Do you think he found out?”

  Fuck.

  “How would he find out? Did you tell anyone?” I ask, trying to mask my panic.

  “Of course not. I just now told you,” she says, cocking her brow.

  “Don’t tell anyone and no one will find out. He’s not getting out of jail before he has a trial,” I say. I didn’t know if that was true, but her shoulders slumped with relief.

  “How did he get in your place?”

  I shrug, “He could’ve sent someone, but I don’t think anyone got in. I think Taylor left some stuff out.”

  “That’s a relief,” she says, making me feel guilty.

  “I’ve been thinkin’ about getting you an apartment when I leave, let’s start looking. Taylor and I can stay with you ‘til we leave.”

  Her mouth flies open. “You’re not paying for my apartment.”