by Ellie Messe
Why hasn’t anyone told me morning sex is like a thousand times better than night sex? I’m in an extraordinary mood; sure the relief of knowing Haley will be here in a couple of hours helps, but starting my day buried between Emma’s thighs was definitely the catalyst.
Pulling up next to Josh’s Dodge, I let Emma off while she gawks at the house. She’s just as starstruck as Haley was when we went swimming this past summer. Taking her hand, I draw her to the front doors, banging twice before entering; I doubt they’re banging in the foyer, but I’d rather not risk it. Over the years growing up I heard my fair share of them getting freaky, too bad Josh always fucked it up in the end.
“Mama Mia? Your favorite nephew is here!” I yell, closing the door behind Emma.
Emma’s smile widens waiting for me to lead her through the house. I nod to the hall, walking with her into the surprisingly empty kitchen.
“Mama Mia?”
“She’s over at Parker’s,” Josh calls from the living room.
Following his voice we find him kicked back on the couch watching the game.
“Who’s winning?”
“Eagles, 34-29.”
“Sweet. Can I borrow the keys to the truck?”
He nods, finally looking over and noticing I’m not alone. “Emma, right?”
She nods with a stupid smile that makes me grind my teeth, “Hot Uncle knows my name,” she rubs her elbow into my ribs.
Josh laughs, “Hard to forget when it’s tattooed on my nephew’s ass.”
She laughs openly, covering her mouth, “I didn’t know you told him.”
“I didn’t so much tell him as he saw it on the cameras at HEAT.”
Her laughter dies in her throat as the color leaves her face. Now it’s my turn to laugh.
“Keys are on the hook. Are you going to be sticking around?”
“Probably not.”
Josh gives me his dad stare, “Your aunt hasn’t seen or heard from you, the least you could do is stick around long enough to let her see you're still alive.”
“Show me around?” Emma says, saving me from trying to concoct a lie. Josh is good, but Maria is better. We’re too much alike, she can smell that shit from a mile away, and worse yet, she magically knows the truth and lets you dig yourself into a hole deep enough she can bury you in.
“Sure. We’ll be around.”
Josh nods, the game already demanding his attention.
After giving Emma a basic tour of the backyard and first floor, we climb the stairs to the second floor when she stops to look at the picture frames lining the hall.
“Who’s that?” She points to a photo where a gorgeous brunette couple sits at a picnic table, young, and full of life.
“My parents.” I swallow the emotion down, I haven’t stopped to look at these since I was a kid.
“Your mom’s a babe.” She smiles, “Do they live in Phoenix?”
Oh boy. “No, they uh, they died when I was twelve.”
Her eyes become round with empathy, “I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head, hating this part of getting to know people. “That was at some reunion in Savannah. This one,” I point to another photo of my dad and Josh as kids while the memory of my dad’s stillness plays over in my head. If I offer simple facts usually people refrain from asking too many questions. “The older one is my dad, and the toddler is Josh,” She looks at the photo while I point to the photo beside it, “That’s my mom on the right and Maria on the left.”
“Oh wow, they look so much alike.” I try to focus on their smiling faces, but all I see is the branch through my mom’s stomach while she tried to make sure I was okay.
“Yeah, Maria dyed her hair red for years because I would confuse her with my mom a lot.”
My chest closes in painfully remembering my mom’s hand wrapped around mine, the constant buzz in my head, but the worst image to cross my mind's eye is the blue and red lights growing brighter against the interior as the life in my mom's gray eyes faded away.
“Oh my God, is that you and Parker?” She points to the family photo taken a few months after I was born.
“Yeah.”
“You’re adorable! Look how fat your cheeks were.”
I shake my head, “At least I had hair; Parker was bald.” The emptiness inside me is suffocating as I take in the faces of the man and woman I've refused to look at for years.
She moves away from the painful part of the hall, looking over our school photos, team portraits, and vacation photos.
“Is that Haley?” She points to a photo of us on the beach where Parker’s got his hands around his ex’s waist.
“Fuck no.” Moving a little further down, I point to a photo of Haley and Parker snuggled up together on her couch, “That’s Hales. That other creature is an abomination to man.”
“Who is she?” Her eyes falling back to the platinum she-devil.
“Lacy. She's my brother’s ex; she’s awful, but her parents are best friends with Josh, so she’s always around.”
“How does Haley feel about Parker’s ex?”
“Well, she threatened to make Lacy swallow her own teeth if she didn’t stop hitting on Parker.”
Emma laughs, looking between the two girls, “Haley’s prettier. Lacy looks too much like Barbie.”
“Yeah, if Barbie was red with a pitchfork. I do enjoy pissing her off though; the greatest enjoyment comes from rubbing Haley’s hotness in her face. Thanksgiving was such a success that I invited her to my skin party with the intent of seeing just how mad I could get her. Sure, it’s petty, but I feel pretty good about it.”
She giggles again, still looking at the photos, “What did she do to make you hate her so bad?”
“Other than existing? She’s a spoiled brat, gets everything she wants with a snap of her fingers, also cheated on my brother while he was off at college, not to mention she’s snarky and a drama queen.”
“Gross.”
My thoughts exactly.
“If she’s Parker’s ex, why does she still come around?”
“I don’t know; I think it’s to fuck with Parker’s head. Before he met Haley, they’d usually meet up and bump uglies after get-togethers. Her brother’s cool though, he usually helps keep her somewhat under control.”
The air shifts as the front door opens, followed by the click of heels, “Maria’s here.”
Walking back down the hall, I avoid the wall of misery like it’s the plague, taking the stairs two at a time, “Mama Mia!”
Maria halts mid-step, turning to face me, “Andrew Mason Hayes, where the hell have you been?”
Oh, shit. “I got busy, I’m sorry.”
“It takes three seconds to send a text.” She says, kissing my cheek. “I’ve been going crazy.”
“But I’m still your favorite, right?”
“Not at the moment. Speaking of my favorite,” She starts walking towards the kitchen, imploring us to follow, “Why are you avoiding your brother?”
“Okay, one; rude. Two; not true, I'm always your favorite. And three; I'm not avoiding him.”
She deadpans me; her features softening when she sees Emma giving her a warm smile, “Hello, Emma. Welcome to our home. Are you hungry?”
“No, thank you. Your house is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Her smile fades when she looks back to me, “You were over there almost every day, don’t play dumb with me.”
“I’m not. Hales dipped out, then they had that fight, and Parker isn’t one for company when he’s upset. I’m giving him space; besides he was over at my place the other day for like four hours.”
“Maybe you try to stop by tonight?”
Fuck, shit. “Um..” She arches her perfectly shaped brow at me. She’s sniffing; I know it.
“He promised to help my dad tonight.” Emma with the save, once again. “He’s having a Christmas party at his clubhouse and needs help moving stuff.”
I know I should be worried about a girl who can swin
g lies that fast, but it’s more impressive than anything else at the moment.
“Well, that was nice of you,” Maria says, propping a hip against the counter. Fuck. She knows it’s a lie; how does she always know? This is Maria’s you’re-bullshitting-me stance.
“When’s the party?”
“Tomorrow.” Emma states at the same time I blurt out, “I have a secret.”
Emma's eyes bulge at me in a what-the-hell?! expression as I face Maria dead on, “Please, please don’t ask me what it is.”
Maria looks me over, her head tipping back as she studies me, police interrogators should be trained by this woman because she’s terrifying.
“Am I going to be angry?”
I make a noise of unease, “Yes but no. You’ll be a little annoyed I didn’t tell you, but you’ll be very happy at the same time.”
She puckers her lips, mulling it over, “Fine. But it’s your ass if you lie to me. “
“I’m not lying.”
She rights herself from the counter. I breathe a sigh of relief as she accepts the truth.
“Well, try to see Parker more, please. Think about how hard this situation with Haley is on you, now apply that to him plus some.”
“I know.”
“You’re squirming. Get out of here before you spill your guts.”
Jumping forward I kiss her cheek, “Thank you.”
She gives me a half-assed ‘mhm’ while reaching out to Emma who hugs her. “It was wonderful to see you again.”
“You too.”
Resting my hand on Emma’s back, I steer her towards the hallways while yelling goodbye to Josh.
“What the hell was that?” Emma bites the second we’re outside.
“She knew you were lying.”
“I wasn’t lying. My dad’s having a party tomorrow night.”
“She knew I didn’t need the truck to help him move.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Whenever she props her hip like that she knows, it’s her superpower.”
Emma scoffs gently followed with a chuckle, “Well, I mean at least you didn’t tell her the specifics.”
“Thank God,” I say, opening her door. “Let’s just hope I can last another three hours.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Drew
I did manage to keep my mouth shut, thankfully. It helps that I’ve been at the terminal for almost an hour and intentionally left my phone in the truck so all temptation would be eliminated.
Watching the board, the only incoming flight from Georgia finally lands. My nerves are firing off in every direction. Finding her gate, I quickly cross the airport and wait outside the door. Right now, I’m regretting not bringing my phone, what if she called and decided not to come? My stomach twists painfully at the thought; I don’t think I’d survive that.
The door opens as my anxiety reaches an all-time high. Twisting my hat backward, my eyes search over every face that crosses the threshold until a short fireball pushes her way through the crowd. Even though thick dark curls hide her face; I know it’s her by the long sleeve top and knock off converse.
"Hey, sweetheart." With a loud squeal, her bag flies off her shoulder before she plows right into me. “God damn, I missed you.” I squeeze her middle tighter trying to convince myself she’s real when she cries out in pain. "Fuck." I put her down quickly, looking over her stomach, "Did I hurt y-" My voice fades when I look up at the bruised face of my best friend. Worry, hurt, fear, and mostly anger fills me like a balloon. Knowing she’s a flight risk is the pin that pops that figurative balloon, allowing me to keep my cool even though I’m fully prepared for war.
Shadows bloom around her puffy gray eyes; her lip is scabbed and caked with makeup. She shakes her head, wrapping her arms around my neck, "You're allowed to hug me. Take advantage."
I don’t know where all she’s hurt; she looks like she was in a car accident for fuck’s sake and knowing her, she’s gone all this time without seeing a doctor. Very gently, I hug her shoulders, "What happened?"
"Not important. Jesus Christ, I've missed you." Her arms squeeze the life out of my neck.
"Missed you more."
"Liar."
"Pssht, please."
"I want to go home, but I don't want to let go."
That gets a short laugh out of me, but there’s still that big ass pink elephant in the room playing maracas, "You're going to explain why your face looks like that, right?"
"Later. It's not important right now."
"I've got an idea," I tell her, letting her go so I can pick up her bag from the floor. Walking up to the bench, I hold my hands out to her, "Best of both worlds?"
Taking my hand, she stands on the metal seat before throwing her arms around my neck and jumping off into a piggyback ride.
As we walk through the terminal her face replays in my head over and over and over again, it’s similar to how I looked after smashing my face into the center console the night my parents died. Fuck, I never should have acknowledged those photos today.
The winter air howls as we cross the parking lot distracting me from the demons inside my head.
"Does Josh ever get to drive his truck?"
"Sometimes."
"Why don't you just get yourself a truck?" She asks still holding onto my neck like a spider monkey while I dump her bag in the backseat.
"Cause then I couldn't borrow his."
It’s damn near impossible not to beat the information out of her when she slides off my back, gasping while screwing her eyes shut in pain. She’s hurt, and I know it’s bad because Hales doesn’t react to little shit. My mouth to God’s ears; she could be hit by a car and dragged for twelve miles, and all she’d say was ‘Meh, just a flesh wound.’, So the fact she’s not able to mask her pain means this is bad. I know she won’t talk and I can’t risk setting her off and having her skip town again, so I swallow my urge to force it out of her and open her door. She can bitch all she wants, but it’s obvious she’s hurting so she can be pissed for all I care; grabbing her hips, I gently hoist her into the cab. Shutting her door before she can glare at me for touching her.
I choose to remain silent to avoid demanding information, though once we get out into traffic, she breaks the silence first, "You didn't have to come and get me."
"Whatever, I'm not going to sit around twiddling my thumbs for two hours when I know you're here."
"Did you tell anyone I was home?"
"No, ma'am.” Emma doesn’t count; she was in the room when I got the call and overheard, “I've basically ignored everyone since you called to avoid it slipping."
She chuckles, and it’s music to my ears. "I'll probably go to HEAT after Christmas and see Josh for a little while."
Elephant number two ladies and gentlemen, "What about Parker?"
"He doesn't want to see me. We uh- we made a deal of sorts. I'm breaking part of that deal being here, but if I don't make waves and let him know I'm here, I'm hoping he'll still keep his end." She sounds defeated. If only she saw how torn up he is over her.
"What was the deal?" This is news to me; he never mentioned any sort of deal. Have I mentioned how sick and tired I am about women and deals?
"He'll accept things the way they are as long as I don't call, text, or come back."
"What do you mean, accept things?"
"Accept that we'll never be together. Accept that I won't be coming back."
"But you're here now."
"But only for a week. This is my chance to say a proper goodbye."
I clench the wheel harder as my jaw works against the hurt and anger, she’s not fucking leaving again. "And why aren't you coming back?"
"Because I've been offered a job and I'm taking it."
"A job." I can’t help the disgust in my tone as I look at her, "What the fuck? You can't stay here because it's 'not safe' but you can take a job?"
"The job is to his standards. I take it- everything goes away. No more running."
/> "So you and Parker can't be together, because?"
"Because it's not in Arizona."
"So? Parker can live anywhere, dude. He's not tied down here."
"Yes, he is. His family is here."
"Yeah, it's called holidays and a plane ticket. Don't see the issue here."
"The issue is that I don't want to be with him, Drew. So drop it."
"BULL. Shit. You guys hump like rabbits. You'd still be with him if your dad didn't scare you out of town. Speaking of your dad; what the fuck is up with him getting you a plane ticket?"
"It was an apology."
"An apology for what?"
"I uh. I got mugged in Savannah. That's why I look like this."
"You got mugged?" Bullshit. "In Savannah?" She nods, and I grow angrier, “Yeah right. muggers don't wait around and beat you up. They snatch and run. What actually happened?"
"I was mugged. He was upset to hear the extent of my injuries, so he flew me home for Christmas to give me the opportunity to say a proper goodbye."
What the hell? Is she reading off a fucking queue card? "You sound like a fucking robot, dude. Don't take up acting; it's not your strong suit."
"Oh, don't get snippy, please? I'm only here for a couple of days. You're the last person I want to fight with."
"I'm not fighting you, Hales. I'm trying to figure out what the fuck's happening. You up and leave in the middle of the night with Kaylan of all people, he whisks you away, and I barely hear from you, and when I do, you’re heartbroken, scared, and desperate to push everyone away. Then you spend a couple of days with Parker, and you're back to being happy Haley, then something happens, and you and Parker are on the outs, I go a week without hearing from you and all of sudden you're coming home after telling us you weren't safe here. Come to find out, the dude you're running from paid for the flight. And to top it all off- you show up with a busted face and whatever else is wrong with you, and you’re saying you're leaving for a job in another state that your dad approves of, so I'm sorry if I'm frustrated that my best friend is lying to me."
"I don't want to lie to you."
"Then why do it?" I ask exasperated, “Just fucking tell me the truth.”
"Because I was told to lie."
