“Hailey …” my mom says.
“No, Mom, I’m done faking it. I’m done lying. You should be too. Look at what he did to you.”
I direct my attention back to him. “You’re the only reason our whole world went to shit. You ruined everything. Me. My mom. You’re a bastard.”
“That’s it!”
He lifts his fist and makes a threatening move.
Right then, a nurse enters the room, and he quickly lowers his arm and pretends he was stretching and yawning. Then he leaves the room again, eyeballing the nurse with some kind of non-verbal threat. The nurse just stands there and furrows her brows at him, turning her head to look at him as he stomps off.
“Quite a piece of work,” she says. “Excuse me.”
“I know, right?” I say.
“Hailey …” My mom coughs.
“I hate him.” I grab her hand and look her deep in the eyes. “Mom, please …”
“I’m sorry, Hailey,” she says, her eyes turning watery.
I rub my lips together, trying to prevent the tears on my side. “I know.”
“No, you don’t. I’m really sorry I put you in this position again.”
“I’m okay, Mom, really. I am. Worry about yourself.”
She leans in to brush her thumb across my cheeks. “Such a beautiful, smart girl. You’ve got your father’s genes, not mine.”
I smile. “And your caring and forgiving nature,” I say.
“Hailey …” She pauses. “I lied.”
I close my eyes and squeeze her hand again. “I know, Mom. It’s okay.”
I know exactly what she lied about.
Not just these bruises, but all her other bruises and broken bones too.
All of it.
It was all a lie.
She starts to cry. “I’m sorry … When he pushed me, he left me there. He just left me for dead. I managed to crawl to the phone and call for help.”
“You’re lucky he left. He could’ve done more damage,” I say.
She sniffs. “But now, he’s gone … and I don’t think he’s coming back.”
“Good,” I say. She rests her head on my shoulder, and I kiss her on the back of the head. “Promise me you’ll tell him you two are over for good. End it. Once you’re out of the hospital.”
She nods softly. “I know you must hate me.”
“I don’t. I’ll never hate you.” I give her another peck. “I hate him.”
“After your dad died, I needed someone so badly.” Her breathing staggers.
“Don’t talk about the past,” I say. “Just tell me you’ll never let him touch you again. No more bruises. No more broken bones. No more lies.”
She nods as the tears roll down her cheeks, and I can’t help but cry a little myself too.
Who in the world could make it through without crying when seeing their own mother in shambles?
I know I can’t.
“I love you, Mom,” I say. “I know you need love, but isn’t my love enough?”
“It is.” She hugs me even tighter. “It is, Hailey.”
Chapter 25
Thomas
When I’ve finally mustered up the courage to speak to her, I go to her dorm.
Only to find out she isn’t even there.
I’ve knocked like fifteen times and gotten no response.
It’s making me so anxious; I want to smash the fucking door in, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. I’ve even asked if Lesley was there, but she isn’t answering either. The only option I have left is calling her cell.
It takes me about fifteen minutes of staring at the screen before I finally press that button.
I know she probably won’t want to hear from me and will most likely hang up the phone the moment I say a few words. Understandable. She’s completely right too, considering what she heard.
But I don’t want to let her go with half of the truth.
I know I should, but I can’t.
I just can’t get it over my heart to smash hers like that. Even if it’s the right decision, like Natalie said.
When I do finally press that call button, the seconds that pass feel like hours, but nothing happens, and I can feel my courage drift.
“Fuck …” I whisper when I realize it’s no use.
Where could she be?
I decide to take a different route. I look through her Facebook posts until I find Lesley, and I click her profile to check for a phone number. Luckily, she let it be visible to friends of friends, so I quickly copy it and call the number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Thomas. Sorry to call, but could you tell me where Hailey is?”
“Oh … it’s you …”
“Look, I know you must be angry with me, and for the right reasons, but please let me talk to Hailey. If you know where she is, please tell me.”