One Choice (Hogan Brothers 2)

“You’re late,” he snapped back at Levi.

“Pull the g-string out of your ass and calm the fuck down will you. I’ll be there in ten.” Before the man could retort, Levi hung up the phone, not wanting to deal with anyone.

He knew he had to train for the upcoming fight, but his heart wasn’t in it, and there was only one reason why.

Hayes Morrison.

The girl with the haunted eyes.

The girl who stole his breath.

The girl he wanted to caress.

Shit on a stick. Stick a fork in him, he was done.

Levi couldn’t have known what his words had done to her heart. She couldn’t hold him responsible when he understood nothing about her or why she had the limp.

“Hayes? Honey, who was that?” her mother asked with a smile on her face.

“No one,” she answered running up the stairs to her room before the woman could interrogate her.

It hurt. Being around him hurt.

Laughing hurt.

Everything hurt.

Peeking through her curtain, she watched as he stood, staring at her house before muttering to himself and walking away.

Forgotten. Just like that.

The only thing Hayes was memorable for was her limp and her broken dreams.

She was the girl who used to be set for gold.

She was the girl with the limp.

She was a nobody.

“Just one more month, Hayes,” she whispered to herself. She had no idea what she was going to do after graduation, just that she had to start over. Be someone else, somewhere else.

A fresh start was exactly what she needed. All she had to do was convince her parents of that. They would be sad and scared to let her go, but eventually, they’d give in.

As much as she loved Loveland, there was nothing

there for her, nothing to hold her down. Levi just proved that having secrets made her less than normal, and Hayes was done feeling sorry for herself.

After he was out of sight from her perch on the window sill, she stripped off her clothes as she walked to the small bathroom off her room. Wishing for life to be different as the cool water washed away her sweat and dirt from the long run.

Finishing her shower quickly, exhaustion dragged her to bed just as the sun completed setting. It didn’t take long for the day’s events to catch up with her as her head hit the pillow.

Tomorrow was Friday, and she had a huge English test that was going to be brutal. A good night’s sleep was just what she needed.

“Dammit, Levi!” Not something he wanted to hear first thing in the morning from his older brother. “What the hell happened this time?” Nox demanded to know.

His standard answer of walking into a door wore off long ago. “Uhh…” What the hell was he supposed to say? Nox wouldn’t understand that fighting was part of who he was. He’d lay a guilt trip on Levi, saying how disappointed their dad would have been.

“Don’t say a damn door again, Levi, or I swear I’ll smack you myself.” Remaining quiet was going to be his best bet.