I immediately went into action mode. I wanted to know who did this and why, and then I wanted to wrap my hands around their neck and kill them. But the most important thing was Hayley. I wasn’t going to stand here and argue with her. I wasn’t going to try and fish out information she didn’t want to give up.
She needed help. She needed me.
Piper whispered from beside me, “She wouldn’t let me call 911. She said she didn’t have money for it.”
More rage bubbled within. “I’ll fucking pay for it.” My hands were squeezing the life out of the car door as I peered down at Hayley. Her face moved slightly, and she croaked, “No.” Then she tried to move and cried out.
“Goddamnit. Stop moving.” I bent down a little further and assessed her injuries.
“Ollie, you and Piper go to the nearest store and grab all the antiseptic shit you can find. Grab bandages, ice packs, whatever the fuck you see, and meet me back at the house.” He nodded once, and I held my hands out to Piper. “Give me your keys. Go with Ollie. Meet back at my house.” She didn’t hesitate. She slapped her keys in my hand and took off with Ollie, running and weaving through the parking lot. My shit was still in the locker room, but I'd get it later.
Hayley was the top priority here.
As soon as we arrived at my house, I noted that all the lights were off. Good, Dad was gone already. That meant I wouldn’t have to answer any questions. Not that I’d give a shit regardless.
I opened the backseat, and Hayley was still curled in a ball. Her arm was wrapped around her midsection, and I knew that when I pulled her out, it was probably going to hurt.
I did it anyway, though.
“Wrap your hands around my neck,” I said as I reached around her body. She trembled slightly and hissed between her teeth. I was half-expecting a protest from her, but she didn’t say a word. She wrapped her warm arms around me and buried her head into my chest.
Once we got to the front door, I bent down slightly and put the code in. She groaned, and I slowly stood upright again and whisked us inside. It was dark as I climbed the steps and passed the five doors until I got to my room. Before I laid her down on the bed, I gently placed my mouth near her ear. “I’m going to fucking kill whoever did this to you, Hayley.”
And again, to my surprise, she didn’t protest. She opened her eyes, one more squinty than the other, and locked onto me. I felt my heart swell within the deep walls of my chest.
I realized something at that moment. Hayley wasn’t nearly as strong as she pretended to be, and I wasn’t either.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hayley
I basked in the comfort of Christian’s bed for what seemed like hours but, really, was probably closer to ten minutes. He sat at the end with his head hung low for a few minutes before getting up and going through another door.
I glanced around the open space. A small smile tried to find its way to my mouth. Christian’s room hadn’t changed much since the last time I was in here. So many years had passed, and so many things had changed, but I found comfort in knowing his room hadn’t. I felt like I still knew a small part of him. It made it real. The old Christian wasn’t completely gone. The memories we shared were still tucked tightly away in my heart.
He came back a second later, holding a towel in his hands. He didn’t look me in the eye, and I was glad. If he looked me in the eye, he’d see just how broken I actually was.
I pushed away the thoughts of the last hour and focused on the burning and stinging on my face and stomach.
The bed dipped down low, and I felt the warm towel softly hit my face. Christian dabbed it a few times before he shifted. I flicked my attention to his, and he was staring at me, jaw set, reddened towel in his hand.
We were locked on one another for eons. My heart thumped. My pulse went haywire. My resolve was slowly slipping. Tears threatened to spill.
I was afraid.
I felt unsafe.
And now, looking at someone that made me feel the opposite of those two things, no matter how badly I tried to forge the truth of them, was breaking me in half.
I wanted to succumb.
It was all too much.
My father.
My mother.
My life.