Chapter 4

We took our shoes off and dug our feet into the sand.

"This feels nice, doesn't it?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, it really does," I smiled.

We walked for a few minutes, and in just that short amount of time, I completely forget what I formerly had come here to do. Our hands were intertwined and couldn't help but smile. It felt like he and I were on our honeymoon, taking in the cool breeze and savoring the moment together, it felt nice, but I was rushed back into reality in an instant. This wasn't us, this couldn't be us. I ripped my hand out his and walked away.

"Hey," He said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him, our lips inches apart. I looked up at his deep brown eyes, I was in a trance, I could feel my heart racing, my body told me to kiss him, but my heart knew that wouldn't do either of us any good.

"We should go," I whispered.

"Yeah, we should." He said, annoyed.

I walked away from him slowly and let out a sigh of relief. I had almost kissed my best friend's boyfriend. I felt sick to my stomach, as much as Hailee annoyed the hell out of me, I could never betray her like that.

Hailee. . . shit, I had forgotten entirely what I was supposed to do here; spy on Derek and Hailee. I turned my head, hoping they would still be at the concession stand. Luckily, they were, I grabbed my shoes and walked faster to the boardwalk. As I was getting closer, I could see their mouths moving, but couldn't tell what they were saying. Then, shockingly, I saw Derek rubbing Hailee's back. Usually, I wouldn't care about this, but since they were both keeping something from me, I was quite curious. I sneakily took a picture of the two on my phone and put it away quickly. I walked up to them and acted oblivious.

"Hey, it's getting late, I think we should go," I said.

"Ugh, come on, we just got here," Hailee whined.

"Well, Derek has a curfew, and it's way past his bedtime," I respond.

"I don't have a bedtime!" Derek shouted.

"Well, you do now, so let's go," I replied.

I grab his arm and pull him to Tyler's car. We all get in the vehicle, and Tyler drops us home. We open the door and are greeted by our mother.

"Hey, you two, you're home late." My mother said sternly.

"We went to the boardwalk to hang out," I said.

"Oh, well next time call me to let me know where you guys are, you shouldn't worry me like that," my mom responded.

"Will do, mom," I replied. Me and Derek head upstairs to our rooms, after getting ready for bed, I walked over to Derek's room.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Sure," Derek answered.

I walk over to his bed and pull out my phone from my pajama pocket. I sit and show him the picture of him and Hailee.

"What is this?" I questioned.

"You were spying on me?!" Derek yelled.

"Not the point Der, look, just answer this question. Do you have feelings for Hailee?"

He glared at me angrily, I could see tears swelling up in his eyes, he was angry, but why?

"OH MY FUCKING GOD VEE, CAN"T YOU JUST MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS FOR ONCE?! Derek shouted.

"What is the problem, Derek! It's not that serious, I just wanted to kn--"

"SCREW YOU!" Derek barked. His voice was ringing in my ears, his face was red, and he had tears on his face. I heard my mother's footsteps rushing towards Derek's room.

"What in the world is going on here?!" My mom yelled.

"Your daughter is being a nosy bitch!" Derek shouted.

"Language!" my mother said. "Derek go to the kitchen, I'll speak with you later,"

He rolled his eyes and grunted before walking out of his room and going to the kitchen. I was about to leave to go to my room, but my mom stopped me.

"Not so fast miss," She pointed to the bed and told me to sit. "Why is Derek mad?"

"He has a crush on Hailee. . . I think. I asked him about it and went crazy," I said.

"Well, if he likes Hailee, that's his business. He's a teenager and he's going to have crushes. It's not like they're going to be together." she sighed. "Honey, sometimes, you can't be the detective. Sometimes, you have to look the other way and move on,"

"Did Dad ever do that? I asked. My mother fell silent and sighed. "Why should I stop being curious mom, if he stopped, why should I?"

"You're just like your father, you know," she sighed. "Look, whatever is going on between Derek and Hailee, let it go. It can't be that serious.

"But mom--,"

"No buts, just do what I say," she interrupted.

She kissed my forehead and left me alone in Derek's room. I shook my head in frustration, No. I couldn't let this go. I was so close to figuring out what Hailee and Derek were hiding, and I wasn't going stop now, today was a fail, but like I said before,

Failure is not in my vocabulary.

A few weeks had gone by, and I couldn't think of a plan to find out the truth between Derek and Hailee. Crumpled up notes were on my floor scattered, ideas that wouldn't come to fruition. I laid on my carpet floor, staring up at the ceiling. Was I making a mistake? Derek wouldn't speak to me after our argument, and I felt guilty. I wanted us to be okay again, but that wouldn't happen until I found out the truth. I heard my mother come up the stairs asking for me. She came to my room and sat on my bed.

 "How are you feeling?" she asked. 

 "Fine, I guess," 

 "Are you and Derek still not talking?" 

"Yeah, he hates me," I frowned.

"He doesn't hate you, he doesn't.