The Hazed Series (New Edition)

by Brittany Butler

  “It’s your money, too,” I remind her.

  “I don’t want anything to do with it,” she says, her face turns up with disgust.

  “You’re not staying at that shitty dorm anymore. I’ll find one, and we’ll stay with you. It’ll make everyone feel better.”

  “I don’t know about this,” she says; her mouth twisted to the side, thinking

  “I do. Taylor hates stayin’ at our place after that. I’ll call you when I find one,” I say, standing up.

  “Hayze!” She yells after me, but I walk off, leaving her there. She isn’t going to talk me out of this. The last day of class is three weeks away. I thought we would be fine, but we need somewhere to stay.

  I drop the last box in the bedroom, looking around the crowded space. Taylor and I aren’t unpacking our things since we are leaving in two weeks. We gave all of our furniture to Lea, she’d need it in this big apartment. Wherever we ended up, we’d completely start over. Wherever we went, whatever we got, would have no memories attached.

  “This is perfect,” Lea said, spinning around the room.

  I smirk, looking at her guest room. Right now, it was filled with boxes of things Taylor and I are taking. Soon it will be empty, and she will be able to do as she pleased.

  “If Chance comes to college here, he’ll have a place to stay,” I say, teasing her.

  “That’s what this town needs, another Clark boy,” she says, pressing her mouth in a hard line.

  Taylor walks in and leans on the door frame; her eyes dancing from Lea back to me. “I can’t believe we’re actually leaving,” she says, frowning.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” I say and she nods.

  “I’m gonna start unpacking my room,” Lea says, walking past us.

  “This is getting real,” Taylor says, pushing off the frame, she walks to the bed, and sits on the edge.

  “What? Are you having doubts about taking me?” I ask, sitting beside her.

  “We’re leaving in two weeks and we don’t even know where we’re going!”

  I laugh, “I applied to every place you got in. We’ll go wherever you want.”

  “And what happens if I chose a place and you don’t get in?” She asks. Crossing her leg, she turned to face me.

  I push her hair behind her ear, and lean in to kiss her creased forehead.

  “I’ll get in,” I say, and she gives me a pointed look. “If I don’t, I’ll try again next semester.”

  “Where do you wanna go?”

  “I thought we were wingin’ it,” I say, laughing. She hasn’t pushed me to choose a place, but I know she wants me to. She hates making decisions.

  “I just think we should talk about it,” she says, chewing on her lip.

  I looked around the crammed room, thinking. “I have an idea.”

  She doesn’t look impressed. “What is it?”

  “We go to all three towns, stay a night or two, then we’ll decide.”

  Her jaw drops. “You were serious when you said wing it? You want to base our decision off what town is the most fun?”

  I shake my head, laughing at her. “No, not fun. We’ll just know which city we wanna be in after that.”

  She looks down, avoiding my eyes, and laughs once. “I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing to this. When I left my crazy, controlling preacher of a dad, I never imagined I’d hook up with a drug dealer and then leave everything behind and move off with him.”

  “Ex-drug dealer,” I remind her.

  “The crazy part is, I couldn’t image my life being another way.”

  I kiss her for everything we were are, for putting up with me, for always finding a way to save me, even when I didn’t know I needed to be saved. She was right. I never thought I’d be the type to date, or fall in love, but I can’t see this going differently.

  At first I thought I could keep her and hold onto my old life, but she showed me another way. Now I am getting ready to move away, without knowing where I am going. All I know is that all I would ever need, or ever want, anyone else by my side.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Taylor

  I stand behind the counter in Lea’s kitchen, watching Hayze talk to our friends. Everyone smiles, but sadness dominates the party. Our friends hate to see us go, but the news of Joel has everyone down.

  We never got along, but my heart clenches each time I think about his body being recovered. They said it as a drug deal gone wrong, but we know the truth.

  I guess everything worked out in a sense. Joel was found, Jay was charged, and no one has come after Hayze. Being here only reminds me of everything that could’ve gone wrong.

  Hayze catchesw my eye, smiling at me. I couldn’t help but think about if this was Hayze in his place. It could’ve been. I know this was our wake up call. We had to leave this town behind.

  You can tell a lot about someone by the way they leave. I run from problems; it’s what I do. I leave people before they hurt me, but this it’s different. I’m protecting someone I love. This time, leaving is selfless.

  Hayze walks over, pulling me in his arms. “Having doubts?”

  I laugh against his chest. “I’m freaking out.”

  He takes a step back, looking at our friends that came to see us off. “I wish they’d leave; we’ll be fine when we’re in the car.”

  “Can you be nice? What am I getting myself into?” I ask, swatting him as I walked away.

  “Doesn’t matter, you’re already in too far,” he says, following behind me.

  “I can still back out of this.”

  “Keep talking like that and I’ll throw you over my shoulder and leave with you right now.”

  Frowning at him, my brows bump together. “That sounds illegal.”

  He shakes his head, grinning. No matter how much time will pass, he will still love teasing me.

  “It’s acceptable if you’re dating that person. Even better if you’re married,” he says, smirking

  The color drains from my face. “One step at a time.”

  “I know you think about it,” he yells, making some of our friends look in our direction.

  Turning away from him, I laugh. “I’m walking away…I’m gonna talk to our friends so we can get out of here.”

  Strong arms engulf me from behind. “I can’t believe my baby sister is leaving me,” Scott says and Lea comes to his side.

  “This moving thing isn’t really working out for me,” I say, noting this was my fourth time to move this year.

  “Maybe you’ll like the next place. Where the hell are you going?” He asks.

  “I have absolutely no idea. We’re ‘wingin’ it,’” I say, using my fingers to quote Hayze.

  “As long as you’re happy,” Scott says, cocking his brow at me.

  “I will be. What about you?”

  Lea throws her arms around him, grinning at me. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll look after him.”

  With my nose crinkled, I cover my eyes. “I’m gonna pretend like nothing’s going on with you two.”

  Shea walks up, pulling me from their weird conversation. “I can’t believe this is really happening,” she says, wiping tears from her eyes.

  “I know, but Lea’s working there now! You guys will be fine.”

  She pokes her bottom lip out, frowning. When Hayze walks up, I know it is time. I suck in a sharp breath, and take his hand in mine.

  “It’s startin’ to get late. Ready?” He asks, his eyes were light with excitement.

  “Maybe,” I frown.

  “We don’t have to do this,” he says, his smile falls.

  “Yes we do. I’ll be fine.”

  His lips stretch wide, grinning in victory. I am sad to leave this town behind, but I know this is what’s best. Hayze and I need to get away; we need a fresh start. If we decide to come back after we graduate, we’ll have friends waiting with open arms.

  “Okay guys, this is it!” I yell, waving at my frie
nds.

  Shea, Lea, and Scott engulf me in a hug. I am the first to step back. Before I start crying, I grabbed my purse and the last duffle bag we have. Hayze has already walked out, he’s never been good with goodbyes.

  I leave the apartment, and threw my things in his trunk, nearly hyperventilating. We were leaving my car and our things behind, taking the essentials and leaving for two weeks tops. This is our road trip to determine where we would be for the next few years of our lives.

  I slide in the passenger seat, waiting for him to leave. “You ready?”

  “I am.”

  He is so different. He has grown in ways I’d never thought possible. When I stumbled in the bar last year, I knew he was trouble, but I didn’t have the slightest clue what I was getting myself into. We had fought, shed tears, brought out the worst in each other, and yet I was going to spend my life with him.

  I knew he felt the same about me. There were times I nagged him so much, he couldn’t possibly think he would be with me forever. We had grown together. I wasn’t constantly worried about him. I knew he could handle a problem without turning to drugs or alcohol. All of the fights, the feelings, the love I knew I felt, was all worth it. If I had to live this year over again to keep Hayze, I would do it and he would do the same for me.

  He takes my hand in his, grinning, “You won’t regret this.”

  “I know I won’t.”

  EPILOGUE

  EPILOGUE

  Hayze

  I’ve been told countless times, when someone is gone forever, they can no longer hurt you. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve spent days thinking about how my life could’ve been different. I thought I would put it behind me once he was gone, but it will always be a gaping wound.

  I struggle to button my shirt at my wrists. I shove the shirt in my pants, clasping my belt in place. I look at the tie; shaking my head, I throw it on the bed and sit down, resting my face in my hands.

  Taylor drops in front of me, pulling my hands away. I don’t look up. I don’t have to; I know it’s her. No one else could bring me back from the verge of a breakdown with one touch.

  “Want me to help?” She asks. I looked up, finding her holding the tie in front of me.

  I don’t feel like speaking, so I nod instead. She stands, looping the tie around me, she begins working quietly.

  “My dad never taught me how to do this,” I say, sighing. “He never taught me a lot of shit.”

  “Mine did.”

  “Yeah, well, we had a different upbringing.”

  She finishes with my tie, stepping back, she falls in front of me again. Adjusting her black dress as she got comfortable.

  “Mine taught me that everyone, in every walk of life, no matter their job title or status, can still be a worthless piece of shit,” she says, smiling. “He taught me that no one is what they seem. When you get to know the true person underneath all of their layers, they can be something special, which is why I’m here with you. But above all things, he taught me not to make his mistakes. But he didn’t teach me those things personally, I learned them from watching him. I didn’t stay around, thinking about what could’ve been, I left. All of his screwed-up things he did, I’m a better person because of it. So are you. Stop looking at him like he ruined your life, think of it as making you a better person.”

  I wrap my arms around her, pulling her as close as I could get. “You ready?” I ask her.

  “Whenever you are.”

  I stand, taking her hand in mine and help her to her feet. “Is anyone ever ready to bury their dad?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood, but fail.

  She can see through me, but she doesn’t push me. She places a kiss on my cheek as we leave the house. There were times in my life, I didn’t know I’d make it through. I always used drugs, alcohol, or whatever random girl was at my disposal for the night.

  I don’t need those things anymore. The curvy brunette, standing at my car, watching me with those big, green eyes, is my hope that this will all end. Sometimes you have to lose everything in order to heal.

  Three Years Later

  Taylor

  “Can I take this ridiculous hat off now?” I ask, tugging at the annoying graduation cap. Three hours later, it’s hanging on with bobby pins and prayers.

  “One more picture,” my mom says, flashing the camera before I’m ready.

  I can feel Hayze shaking with laughter at my side. Before she can protest, I tear the hat off and unzipped the gown, stepping out of it.

  “I didn’t get one with mine,” Hayze says, holding up his phone.

  “And you never will.”

  “I’ll send you mine,” my mom says, patting his arm.

  My mom walks away, giving us privacy. She stands by Lea, Scott, and Hayze’s mom, talking. They were the only ones that had bothered to show up at my graduation. I can feel Hayze’s mood shift when Scott told us my brother and dad weren’t coming. I hadn’t talked to them since my parent’s divorce, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. But Hayze doesn’t feel that way. His world revolves around me, and he expects everyone else to think the same.

  “Congratulations,” he says, meeting my lips with his.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this again. I’ve been to way too many of these things,” I say, still complaining. After sitting through both of Hayze’s graduations and Lea’s, I’m over them, but he insisted I go through with it.

  “I wasn’t letting you miss out on this,” he says. He grabs my cap and gown from me, relieving my arms.

  “Where to now?”

  “They said something about going to eat…I have somewhere else to be,” he says, his teeth are clenched. He take my hand in his, leading me through the sea of people. Once outside, I walk to a secluded part of campus.

  “I don’t care about them. Please, drop it,” I say, exasperated.

  “I don’t give a fuck. That’s your dad and your brother. I sat through my sister and brother’s graduation’s. They should do the same for you.”

  Pushing up on my tip-toes, I cup his face, forcing him to look at me. “Those people in there,” I say, pointing to where our family waits for us. “I’m glad they came, but I didn’t need them to. I don’t need my dad; I don’t need my brother. They’re an added bonus,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “But they’re not you.”

  He smiles, and I take a step back. “That’s nice of you to say. I’ll think about that while I’m breakin’ their fuckin’ noses.”

  His demeanor cracks, laughing as he says it and I couldn’t hold back.

  “You’ll never change,” I said, trying to be serious.

  “You’ll never want me to.”

  I looked him, crinkled my nose, and walked toward the entrance searching for my family. “We’re both officially adults now.”

  He shakes his head, thinking. “I guess it’s time I make an honest woman out of you.”

  “If that was your idea of proposing, no,” I say, with wide eyes.

  “So, that’s a no on Vegas tonight?” He ask and I frown.

  His boyish charm almost won him over. He shoves his hands in his pockets, grinning. His hair is longer than it usually is. The wind would gust, making his hair fly, and land tussled. His light shirt stopped below his shoulders, and his tattoos dominated his arms. I am almost positive if he pressed the issue, I would say yes to anything he asked me right now.

  He walks over, stopping inches from my face. His mouth was twisted in the irresistible side grin I had learned to love so much

  “Don’t look at me like that, I’m kidding,” he says. Against my better judgement my heart sinks.

  One Month Later

  Hayze

  I stand, studying the bar at Mystic, remembering the day I had met her. With the small, black box burning a hole in my pocket I walk behind the bar, sliding my hands down the counter as I go.

  “Randy! Miller tap needs to be refilled!” I yelled.

  When I didn’t hear him, I searc
hed through the back. I saw his office door closed, and I knew he was interviewing. Hopefully he’d hire someone that wouldn’t fuck me in the first week and quit after I told her I didn’t want anything from it.

  I don’t know what the hell these college girls expect. They think they can put out minutes after meeting you, and you’ll marry them the next day.

  With no one around to supervise, I walked in the bathroom. I had slept last night, so I didn’t look like a corpse.

  I reached in my back pocket, pulling out the clear sack I brought from home. I lined it up on the counter, just enough to get me through the shift. I grabbed my debit card from my wallet, making the white line perfect. Once satisfied, I leaned in and sniffed the line until it was gone. Almost immediately, my shoulders relaxed and I felt I could take on the shift. Everything was off my mind, nothing could bring me down tonight.

  I walked from the bathroom, elated. I wiped my nose again, neurotically. Randy saw it on me once, and sent me home. He was a recovering addict, and he made it a point to supervise me. That didn’t do shit for me. I went home that night and did more. I wouldn’t quit. Nothing would make me.

  I grabbed a box that was tossed on the ground and shoved it back in its place. Then picked up the glasses, and polished them. That was one of the many perks about using while working, I was productive.

  I heard someone come up behind me. Thinking it was Randy, I turned, and found a girl. Her eyes lingered up my body. I had to hold back laughter. She was hot as hell, but she looked out of place. Her eyes caught mine, and her face flushed with embarrassment. It was all I could do not to bend her over this bar.

  Her brown hair fell almost to her waist. Her shorts were short, showing off a perfect pair of tan legs. She was refreshing to look at compared to these rail thin, college chicks.

  “You got the job?” I asked once I realized she wasn’t going to talk. I smile, showing off my dimples and perfect teeth. My smile is said to drop panties around campus.

  “I did.”