I walked into the office with my head held high hoping that it would hide the raging storm inside of me. There were whispers as people stared at me and for a minute, I wanted to know what they were whispering about, I wanted to know why the stares but I couldn’t ask, I didn’t ask. I wouldn’t have done that a week ago and I wasn’t going to do that now. I kept my head facing forward as I headed straight for my office.I had barely gotten to the door when someone approached me. Sienna looked a bit hesitant as she stood awkwardly at my door. She had a plastic cup in her hands and from here, I could smell that it was coffee. She handed it over to me and I watched it carefully. I wasn’t trying to be rude, I just didn’t know if I could trust her.“It isn’t the shit one they serve in the cafeteria,” she assured me. “I got it from this really nice café on my way to work and it cost like twenty dollars so you kind of have to take it or else I would have wasted my-”I took it from her and took a
Over the next two days, there was complete silence and I personally found that completely out of character for Charles and terrifying. The last time he had done that, he came out with pictures of Jake and I and nearly ruined my relationship with my father. I wasn’t trying to start anything but I was on guard. I checked my car and my office more times than I could count for listening devices despite Jake assuring me that there was nothing and that no one had entered my office.I was also looking over my shoulder at every opportunity. I knew my paranoid behavior was affecting everyone and not just me. Dad was worried and so was Jake but they still weren’t speaking to each other which only seemed to worsen my predicament a little because I hated feeling like I was in the center. I hated feeling like there was nothing I could do.“What you need is hot tea,” grandma chided as she took me in. As soon as work was over, dad had all but dragged me into his car and driven over to his parents.H
I left without informing anyone. They were much too busy to even realize that I had rushed out anyway and I had no intention of being in the middle of their argument. I tried to call Sienna but she wouldn’t answer. Panic started to climb up my throat like a band. I didn’t know Sienna well, but she seemed kind and the last thing I wanted was for her to be in trouble. We were not friends, so if she felt the need to call me then it had to be urgent.I tried dialing her one more time but when she didn’t respond, I sent her a text.Me: Where the fuck are you? Send me your location or something. I need to know where to go.It took a few seconds but she started typing again.Sienna: I’m so sorry, there’s someone following me and I don’t want them to think I have seen them. I’ll send you my location right now.She sent me the location and I muttered a curse under my breath as I drove there in a rush. It pinged to a bar and it looked like the kind of place I would rather be caught dead in. Sti
JAKE’S P.O.VI had expected Michael’s anger the moment I walked in through the door which was why I wasn’t surprised when he started screaming at me. Michael was my only friend, he was my closest friend and I knew I had crossed some serious boundaries the moment I decided to pursue something with Hayley. I wasn’t stupid, I knew what the consequences were going to be, it didn’t mean I was ready for them.I noticed the moment Hayley left as well and I couldn’t blame her. This couldn’t be easy for her, she was caught in the middle and as much as I wanted to protect her from everything, I couldn’t. She was an adult and I couldn’t wrap her up in a bubble like I wanted to. It made no sense to me.“Put yourself in my fucking shoes, Jake,” Michael slammed his fists down on the table. “You have a niece. Imagine she came home with a dude twice her fucking age and said she had been fucking him.”I tried not to imagine it. “Please leave Katherine out of this. She has nothing to do with this conve
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI stared at the camera with the flashing red light and the knife in his hands.“This has to be some kind of joke, right?” I asked. “You’re insane, maybe even a little crazy, but you’re not stupid. You wouldn’t risk hurting me and documenting it because you know as well as I do that you’d be a dead man or you’d get to spend the rest of your life in prison.”“I covered all my tracks.”I snorted. “I sincerely doubt that because if you’re here contemplating actually killing me then you weren’t smart enough to do that.”His face burned red. I knew it was a stupid idea to antagonize the guy with the knife but it was the only idea I had. If he got pissed then he was more likely to make a mistake. Granted, he was more likely to kill me as well but I was hoping for the former. He pushed off his seat and I watched as it clattered to the ground. His hand wrapped in my hair and tugged back so hard that moisture gathered at the back of my eyes.“Listen here you little bitch,” he spa
JAKE’S P.O.VIt took looking through the past footage in the office to know that there was one girl that Hayley had been speaking to as of late. Michael pulled her file and within half an hour, we were in front of her house. For someone who worked in a very good paying firm, she lived in a fucking dump.I chose to speak to her because Michael couldn’t be trusted to be logical. I banged my fist against her door a couple of times before she finally opened it very slightly. She poked her head out and took me in from head to toe.“I’ve seen you on the news,” she said simply and I hummed. “You’re my boss’ friend.”“Yes, are you friends with Hayley?”“I wouldn’t call us friends per say, we work together. She isn’t very good at making friends although I’d like to be her friend. I could say that if we keep talking as we do then maybe we can end up being-”“Where is she?” I cut her off and she turned to me with furrowed brows.“I don’t know where she is. Why would you assume that I knew that?
HAYLEY’S P.O.VWith every passing second, my heart seemed to pound harder inside my chest. I still hadn’t heard anything from Charles but I had figured out a way to untie my hands- I just hadn’t done it yet. I didn’t want to until I had a clear cut plan.The lights turned on again and I was quick to throw my hands behind my back again. Charles walked into view but this time, he didn’t have the camera in his hands. The knife was still with him but other than that, he seemed free of any other weapons.“If you try any funny business, I will carve you open,” he warned and I rolled my eyes. If I said I wasn’t terrified, I would have been lying straight through my teeth but I managed to keep a straight face. He cut through the ties on my legs. “I’m warning you, Hayley.”“You don’t need to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time,” I drawled. “Where are we going?”“That is none of your concern. All you have to do is keep your fucking mouth shut and we will not have any problems.”He brand
HAYLEY’S P.O.VDad took me back home. While he drove, he called grandma and grandpa to tell them that I was safe but even he must have realized that I truly couldn’t stand to be around anyone at that moment. He drove in complete silence but every few seconds, he would glance over at me to make sure that I was alright.Alana was waiting for us outside the house. She rushed over to me, holding me by her side like a newborn and fussing over me. A part of me wanted to push her away but another part of me just wanted to bask in the feeling of being held and being doted on. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what happened and in all honesty and sincerity, I didn’t want to.I had killed a man.“We should go to the police,” I whispered as soon as we got into the house. I knew both Alana and dad had heard me but neither of them spoke. Alana took out a first aid kit to inspect my bruise and the bleeding from my head. “If we tell them it is self defense then-”“Don’t, please,” dad cut me off.
HAYLEY’S P.O.VJake and I had settled in a comforting routine and I had to admit that it was wonderful getting to wake up next to him every morning.He was the perfect partner even though we both had no idea what we were doing. A few night, I had woken up to find him reading a pregnancy book but I never commented on it. He doted on me, making sure I ate and rested all the time. It was cute and I secretly loved it but there was the elephant in the room.We were yet to do an ultrasound.It wasn’t due to lack of time. If it were up to Jake, we would have done it the minute he found out but I just couldn’t. I knew I was pregnant, I knew nothing would change that and yet, I didn’t want it to be real just yet. For the past week, I shut down every discussion surrounding the doctor’s appointment and avoided it as much as possible.It was Friday and I was already dreading the idea of being forced to interact with people I didn’t like and couldn’t stand. I was tired of the team building exercis
HAYLEY’S P.O.VThe moment I woke up, I knew I wasn’t alone.I was always able to tell when someone was watching me, even from a young age. The hair on my neck stood on edge and I just felt this sensation all over me. Dad always told me it was normal but some people found it weird. They said it was some kind of sixth spider sense or some shit like that.To an extent, I agreed, because not only was I able to tell when I was being watched, I was able to tell who was doing the watching. Each person felt different: with Jake, his gaze was always heated, it felt like someone was trying to brand my skin with their eyes. With my father, it was softer, more loving but that didn’t make it any less intense.“Hey dad,” I whispered as I sat up slowly.I looked around the dark room and found him seated in the couch facing the bed and I had never been so grateful for Jake dressing me before now. It would have been very uncomfortable if I was still naked in bed.Dad didn’t respond, he just stared at
JAKE’S P.O.VI blinked once then twice, staring at Hayley in front of me and wondering if I had misheard.“You what?”I wasn’t proud of my response but I was convinced that I had misheard. Hayley was nowhere near ready to have a child, she had all but said so herself, she wanted to live first, she wanted to grow first.She must have mistook my words for something else because her eyes grew dark and she stepped back from me. “You don’t have to be involved.”“Excuse me?”“If you don’t want this baby then I am more than capable of doing it on my own. I have my grandfather and my-”“Stop.”She either didn’t hear me or didn’t care. “I have the money and this will fulfill my grandmother’s inheritance clause. I have more than enough to take care of my child.”“Our,” I corrected and that was what caught her attention.“What?”“Our child,” I repeated stepping closer to her. “If you had let me finish earlier, you would have known that I want this baby.”“But you-”“I was surprised and I didn’t
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI wanted to take the test as soon as possible but I couldn’t.I had to wait until the morning because I needed accurate results.It felt like torture to just wait. I hid the tests in my bag but it was an ever present worry at the back of my mind. I could barely go a minute without thinking about it to the point that even Jake realized that something was bothering me.“Are you alright?” he asked and I nodded slowly. “You don’t look okay.”I just shrugged and turned away from him. He sighed and made his way over to me. He was still in his outfit from work but he had ditched the tie and the jacket. I was slacking off on my work terribly, I knew that for a fact and it was my day to plan the team building exercise tomorrow. I still had no idea what to do.“Hayley,” he crouched down in front of me, both hands on my thighs as he stroked my knee gently. “Talk to me, baby. Did something happen to Kate?”“No, Kate is fine. She’s having fun in school. She’s good, this isn’t about
HAYLEY’S P.O.VShe looked around in a panic, as if to ensure no one was watching outside before shutting the door behind her.“So,” I implored. “Who is he?”“He’s older, like Jake’s age.”I hummed. “Where did you meet him?”“At a club,” that had my brows rising. The club was not the ideal place to meet a guy. She must have seen the look on my face because she quickly added, “he’s not a typical club goer.”“I’m not judging.”“I know,” she ran her hands through her hair. “I know I should stop seeing her and I want to but,” she sighed deeply. “I know it is pathetic.”“There is nothing pathetic about being in love with someone.”“I’m not in love with him. I don’t think I am. He’s fun and nice but I don’t think he wants anything serious.”“Do you?”She went silent and turned away. “Can I get cleaned for a second then I’ll be back out.”I waved her off. I knew that pushing for an answer wouldn’t yield any positive results so I watched her leave instead. I sat cross legged on her couch waiti
HAYLEY’S P.O.VThe smell of breakfast was what woke me but it was the light streaming through the windows that had me sitting up in a flash- I was late.“Relax,” I felt a hand on my shoulders as Jake gently guided me back into the bed. “You don’t have to rush anywhere.”“But I’m late-”“Your dad gave you the day off, rest, Hayley, you’re not a machine, you are not a robot, you need a break once in a while.”I wanted to protest but he just shot me a look that clearly told me he wasn’t taking no for an answer no matter what so I reluctantly found myself resting against the pillows. It was only once I was back in bed that I took the opportunity to look at Jake.He was shirtless showing off his toned chest, he had a tray of food in his hands that he placed in my lap. It smelled delicious and my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I didn’t have a chance to eat last night.I mumbled a thank you under my breath before shoving a forkful into my mouth while Jake excused himself from the room. I
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI stared at her for a moment.If anything, I was actually proud of the fact that she came all this way to ask that her mother’s charges be dropped. It was a ballsy thing to do, especially for a fourteen year old and that was the only thing that kept me listening to her.“You don’t understand how these things work,” dad began but she shot him a bored look.“I’m fourteen, I know how things work. I heard what she did, I know she assaulted someone but I don’t know who.”“Don’t you want to know?” I asked and she groaned.“Look, I’m not going to defend her because I know what she did was wrong. It’s clear you didn’t want to see her, I saw how you reacted at the funeral. I know my mother and she can be a bit much sometimes but she has issues, okay? I found out she went off her meds-”“What meds?” she fell silent immediately. “Look, Kayla, if you want me to help you then I need to know why.”“I can’t tell you her business. All I will say is that she is a good mother. She has ne
HAYLEY’S P.O.VI registered the slap before I even knew what was happening. I was on my feet in an instant and rushed over to the door.I couldn’t think of anyone that would dare hit Jake and yet, Andrea stood there. She looked furious, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if she had thrown everything she had into that hit. I glanced over at Jake and a gasp left my lips. His cheek was red and angry but he didn’t seem upset, he looked more shocked than anything.“Did you get all your anger out?” he asked and she lifted her hand again but he stopped her with his words. “I would choose my next actions wisely. If you hit me again, you will go to jail for assault and I will make sure you stay there for as long as possible.”She was smart enough to drop her hand but the anger didn’t leave her face. If anything, it got even worse.“You little bastard,” she spat. “You’re the one poisoning my daughter’s mind. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You are closer to my age than to hers. You’re a fu
JAKE’S P.O.VThe last thing I wanted to do was talk to Marie again after everything.As soon as I got the news that the child wasn’t mine, I blocked her number and didn’t bother to seek her out again. I had no intentions of ever talking to her again, she was a part of my past and I intended to leave her there but I should have known that she wouldn’t be willing to step down so easily. Marie had never been the kind of person to accept defeat.With a sigh, I dialed her number. It didn’t take long before she picked up, her nasally voice filling the room.“I was wondering when you would call,” she drawled. I could hear her nails tapping against something and could almost see the smirk on her face. “Have you gotten tired of her yet? Is that why you are coming back to me? I knew that sooner or later, you would tire of her problems.”“Why don’t we cut the bullshit for a second,” I hissed and she clicked her tongue.“That’s no way to treat the woman that you spent most of your life with, Jake