Brooklyn knew how to take a heavy conversation and spin it into something lighthearted. She always had a way with words, and Stormy loved that about her. Brooklyn had been there for Stormy since they were kids. She was there when Stormy’s grandmother passed away, when Stormy’s dog was hit by a car, when Hayden broke Stormy’s heart into a million pieces, when she eloped with Jett, and when Jett died, and Stormy knew she was always going to be there.
Brooklyn left the house and Stormy watched as she sped down the quiet, tree-lined street and faded into the horizon. She was alone with her thoughts once again. She debated calling Hayden, just to see if he’d answer, but she stopped herself just short of dialing his number.
“It’s not good to do things just to get a reaction,” she could hear her mother saying if she only knew. “Don’t do things when you’re feeling emotional or stir crazy. You’ll regret it all later.”
She relished in the fact that Hayden was out there wishing, dreaming, and hoping that she’d come back to him. She decided to let that soak in a little bit and take her sweet time. She wanted to leave him hanging just as he’d done to her for so many long, tortuous years. There was no harm, in her opinion, in a simple game of cat and mouse.
CHAPTER 13
It had been over month since Jett had passed, two weeks since she had visited Ryder in California, and three weeks since she had last seen Hayden. Stormy had become a bit obsessive lately about counting the days since her life had been turned upside down. She had too much time on her hands to think and strategize and analyze things until there was nothing left to analyze.
She had a couple of missed calls from Ryder that she had ignored and several text messages from Hayden that she completely disregarded, but she’d had no urge to talk to either of them yet. She was still figuring things out.
She was still weirded out by her kiss with Ryder. He might have been able to act like nothing happened, but it didn’t rid her of the enormous guilt she felt. Hearing his voice would’ve just been a reminder of what they did.
She spent most of her days reading, soaking in sunshine on her back deck, and going to her parents’ house for supper on Wednesday and Thursday nights. She usually spent her evenings watching an ungodly amount of bad reality shows and fell asleep on the couch half the time.
Sometimes she would write letters to Jett, hoping that somewhere, somehow he could read them. Certain nights were harder than others and all of her emotions seemed to spill out of nowhere all at the same time.
Her birthday was coming up at the end of the week. She was going to be twenty-three. She was sure Brooklyn would want to go out for drinks, and if nothing else came up, she would probably go. She couldn’t think of anything more depressing than spending her birthday at home, alone.
The Thursday before her birthday weekend consisted of her usual routine of laying on the couch watching reality shows and washing down bites of Chinese takeout with gulps of cheap wine. She was starting to gain back a little bit of the weight she’d lost after Jett’s passing, but she had no desire to cook anymore, and the alcohol seemed to numb her enough so she could fall asleep at night.
Her hair hadn’t been washed in a couple days and was thrown back into a low pony tail, she was wearing yesterday’s sweats, and she didn’t have a care in the world. She was growing used to her cozy, isolated little cocoon. Most days her phone was off and her curtains were drawn. She liked not having to deal with the world outside her door. It felt safer that way.
Stormy was almost passed out around eight when there was a knock at her door. She forgot for a moment that she was looking like a hot mess and peeked out her window only to see Hayden standing there. He had totally seen her, and she couldn’t avoid him now.
She was annoyed at his unannounced visit as she reluctantly opened her front door.
“Stormy,” he said as if seeing her face was the highlight of his day. He couldn’t contain the excitement in his voice even if he’d tried. He looked like he’d just won the lottery.
“Yes,” she said, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
“Is this a bad time?” he asked. He glanced over her shoulder and saw the scattered boxes of takeout and empty wine bottles that covered her coffee table.
Stormy shrugged and opened the door wide to invite him in. He stepped in, sensing her reluctance, and took his shoes off.
“What’s up?” Stormy asked.
Hayden stared her up and down. He had probably never seen her looking so disheveled before.
“Just checking on you,” he said. “Hadn’t heard from you in a few weeks.”
“I’m here,” Stormy said. “Don’t really know what else to say. Just taking things one day at a time.”