Where was I even going? Definitely not home. The asshole could show up and if he did, I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t kill him. But I couldn’t sit on the side of the road in my jeep all day.
CALEB
When I got back to the apartment, Hailey was dressed in what she wore last night waiting for me. “Caleb, why didn’t you tell me that you had a girlfriend?”
“I didn’t know I needed to. You and I are just friends, Hailey,” I reminded her.
“Whatever happened to players for life?” she argued.
“Things change.” Not feeling like I needed to defend myself to Hailey, I tried calling Gianna but there was no answer. Even if it was pointless, I sent her a text to call me back.
“Why her?” she asked, sounding hurt again.
“Why do you care?” I countered, getting annoyed with her.
Her shoulders jerked in a shrug. “It’s just that, I always thought if you were ever going to pick one girl to be with, it’d be me.”
Wow, she was so far off the mark. “I’m sorry, Hailey. I don’t see us that way,” I told her softly. Usually I didn’t feel bad about hurting girls’ feelings. Now I was feeling bad about hurting two girls in one day.
“You saw me that way once,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, like two years ago and that was just a fling. I didn’t realize it meant more to you. I mean, you never acted like it did. You haven’t exactly been the relationship-type yourself.”
Her face scrunched up and I couldn’t tell if it was anger or hurt now. “You know what? Never mind, I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I’m still drunk.” She didn’t meet my gaze when she spoke, though.
But I wasn’t one to argue when I given an easy out. “Okay, good to get that cleared up. Now, can I ask you for a favor?”
She gave me a dirty look. “As long as it involves me going home to shower and change first.”
Two hours later, when we’d both showered and changed, I drove us to Broomfield. I had it all worked out. Hailey grudgingly agreed to explain everything to Gianna. She would tell her nothing happened and that we were only friends. Then Gianna would forgive me.
At my dad’s house, Julie said Gianna hadn’t been home. Where could she have gone? She still wasn’t answering my calls or texts.
Three more hours later, I was driving around the campgrounds Julie said Gianna was at with her cheerleader friends. Little did Julie know, Gianna was with her crew. With Jared. Okay, maybe she hadn’t come up back up here, but I didn’t know where else to look.
“What’s so special about this girl anyways, Caleb? Why don’t you just forget about her and find another like you always do?” Hailey asked combatively.
“Are you really that jaded, Hailey? That you think any girl will do? I only want this girl. Gianna is special.”
“Her name is Gianna? Sounds prissy. I didn’t get a good look at her before she went running off like a baby. Is she pretty?”
“More than pretty, she’s beautiful. And she went running off because I opened the door half-naked and you came out of my room half-naked. It looked like we’d been bumping uglies.”
“Classy, Caleb,” Hailey commented snidely.
Ignoring her bad mood, I continued, “Plus, I lied to her about hanging out with Dante last night.” Which was a moronic. But even if I’d told her the truth about hanging out with Hailey last night, would Gianna have believed I’d slept on the couch?
“You’re an idiot.” Hailey laughed obnoxiously as if my being an idiot was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“You’re reading my mind,” I said through clenched teeth. “Finally!” I shouted, seeing Gianna’s Jeep parked behind a few other vehicles. “Fuck, I thought we’d never find them!”
I parked and got out the car but Hailey wasn’t getting out. Going around the back, I opened the door for her. She didn’t budge. “This is stupid, Caleb. Just forget about her!”
Grabbing her arm, I yanked her out of the car. “Just be a good friend and tell Gianna what really happened. Most of all, what didn’t happen. Quit being difficult, Hailey. After all the times I’ve taken care of your drunk-ass and gotten in fights when you’ve pissed people off, it’s the least you can do.”
Weaving through the trees, Hailey complained, “I can’t believe you have me marching through the woods at night. It’s like a bad horror film where the promiscuous girl gets killed first.”
“Don’t worry. If you’re scared of the dark, I’m sure they have a campfire going.” I could give a fuck how Hailey felt at the moment. I was anxious to set everything straight with Gianna.