“Well, as fine as can be when you’re in the hospital,” she muses, chuckling a bit, immediately coughing after.
“What happened?” I ask.
Her mom opens her mouth. “Oh, I fell—”
Hailey throws her mother a look. “Her boyfriend did this.”
My jaw drops. “What? Where is he now?” I growl.
Fuck. I never thought it’d go this far, but it does make sense considering what she told me.
“He’s gone,” her mom says. “He hasn’t come back since he tried to hit … Hailey.” She looks down at her blanket. “I think he’s trying to get away now that a nurse saw him do it.”
“So he’s on the run. Dammit …” I almost want to go after him, but I need to take care of my business here first. “Is there anything I can do for you ladies now that I’m here?” I ask.
“We don’t need you here.” Hailey’s sharp voice cuts through anything.
“I just want to help,” I say, smiling, but she won’t return my smile.
“And I don’t want your help,” she snaps.
I frown and rub my lips together looking at the floor. “Please …”
“Oh, Hailey, c’mon, he’s such a nice gentleman,” her mom says.
“Mom, no. You don’t know him.”
“You’re right. I don’t deserve to be here, and I don’t deserve you. I just wanted to talk, that’s all. Maybe there’s something I can do to make it easier.”
“Yeah, you can … by leaving.” Her words cut straight into my soul.
Fuck, I really hurt her badly.
“Hailey …” I sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” she interjects. “Don’t. Not here.”
I nod slowly, grinding my teeth. “Please, let me explain—”
“Get out,” she hisses, getting up from her seat. “Just get out.”
I lift my hands. “Okay … okay …”
“Get out!” she yells.
“So you won’t give me a chance to explain?” I stare at her for a few seconds, but her lips are sealed shut.
I take a deep breath and nod.
I blew it.
I completely blew it.
Without even getting a chance to fix what I’d broken, I blew it all.
With slumped shoulders, I turn around and leave the room, but the struggle inside isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. Even though I was defeated, I won’t give up.
I need to make things right.
So the minute I get outside, I take out my phone and start searching through her photos on Facebook until I find a picture of her mom and a tag. I click on her mom’s profile and scroll down her timeline until I find what I’m looking for. A picture of the boyfriend. His hand is on her neck, like she’s more of a dog than a human being, and behind them is a blue car with a scratched license plate, but I can still make out the numbers.
Gotcha.
Irrational thoughts float through my head as I make my way to the parking lot and search each and every car for the matching numbers. I don’t give a damn that it looks suspicious and that people might think I’m nuts. They can stare all they want; I’m not stopping until I find the son of a bitch who dared to hurt the mother of the girl I love.
Yes.
Love.
Because that’s what it fucking is, even if I’m afraid to tell her.
Damn, I’m even afraid to admit it to myself, but I’ll be damned if I let this slip. I didn’t know it until it was too late, but I love her, and I’m not going to let her go.
Just like I’m not going to let that motherfucker get away.
I don’t care if it takes me hours or days to find him, but I will find him.
After strolling around the parking lot for a good half hour, I finally come across a license plate that matches the exact numbers on the picture. I grin as I have a closer look and inspect his car, peering through the window. No one is inside, but I see some trash—particularly, a few bags and papers from a fast food restaurant and some french fries on the passenger seat.
Right as I turn around, a man’s right up in my face.
“What the fuck are you doing near my car?”
It’s him. I recognize him from the pictures. “Well, hello …”
“Do I know you?”
“Yes. Wait. No, we haven’t actually met, but …”
“But what? What are you doing here?” he growls, a despicable look on his face.
“Looking for you.” I grin as I look around and notice a few bystanders watching us. “You should’ve run when you had the chance.”
“What?” He makes a face, confused. “Get outta my fucking face.”
“Well,” I say, smiling like an idiot. “I would, but your fat ass is in the way.”
His eyes narrow. “What did you say?”
“Oh, I think you heard me right …”
“You wanna start a fight?”
“Oh no, I just want to laugh at your poor intellect,” I muse, chuckling a little.
“Say it again. I dare you.” He balls his fist.