The One For Me(37)

I roll my eyes. “Liking you less by the second.”

“Sure.” He winks.





Chapter Eight



My head is still spinning when I get to my house. Liam kissed me because he wanted to and not because he was required to. I’m still smiling when I go upstairs to my room. I lay on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. It’s like a dream. A stress less surreal dream. I’m smiling like an idiot when I hear the floor creak.

“Katy,” I hear, softly. The voice sounds familiar but far away. Wait, I know that voice.

I sit straight up in my bed. Hayden is standing at the door, hands shoved in his pockets. “How did you get in?”

He smirks. “I know where the spare key is. I didn’t just forget, ya know.” I’m not going to look into what he exactly means by that sentence.

I mentally groan. What the hell is he doing here? Why is he here to mess up my perfect dream life, I have going. He looks so innocent, a small smile on his face, his green eyes large. I used to would have died to see him look at me like that just one more time. But now, I can’t make myself want him. It makes me angry. I want to punch him in the throat.

“You have to leave, Hayden. I’m busy. You shouldn’t be here. You’re making things more complicated than they have to be.”

“Yeah, really looks like it. Daydreaming and all. Heavy stuff.”

I roll my eyes. Smartass.

“Were you with Liam just now? I’ve been waiting for hours.” Hayden walks toward me. “Come on, you can’t tell me that you like him more than you like me. You love me, I love you, that outweighs liking somebody, right?” Dumb. “It should. If you’re smart you’ll realize that.”

Guess I’m dumb. I shake my head. “Hayden, listen, I’ve wanted you to come back to me, crawling on your knees-.”

“’I’ll do it,” he says, squatting down on his knees. “Please, baby. I’ll crawl, beg, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

I close my eyes. I slap his hands away when he tries to touch me. “Hayden, you killed me. On the week my dad left, too. I felt like my entire world was falling into a million pieces. He hasn’t even called me. He is gone, you were gone. It just made it all worse.”

“Your dad…oh God, Katy. I’m so sorry.” I push him away at first, I don’t want him to touch me. “Katy, shhh,” Hayden says,

I cry. I’m not sure why I can’t make is stop, but the tears just fall hard. “Everything just went to Hell, Hayden. You just left, like I wasn’t anything. You took all of me and left. My dad took my entire being, my soul, and is moving to Florida with it.”

Hayden frowns, reaches up and pulls me down to him. He wraps me in his arms and rocks me back and forth. I want to pull away, I want to tell him to get out, to get out of my life, I want to punch him, but I don’t. I let him hold me. “I’m so sorry, Katy. I had no idea. I can’t believe he left.” Of course he didn’t. I didn’t tell him, because I didn’t want his pity.

I sob harder. Everyone lately has been sorry. I press my head in the crook of Hayden’s neck and smell his cologne. I used to love it, now I wish it was Liam’s ocean scent. I wipe my face and try to control myself. “Hayden, I think I want to be alone.”

He frowns and hugs me tighter. “I will hold you all night if you want me to, I don’t have to leave. I’m here for you, always.”

“Yeah, you do, you need to leave,” I hear from the door.

I freeze. Pins and needles shutter down my body. I glance over Hayden’s shoulder at Liam. His eyes are narrowed, cold and he has my cell phone in his hand. “You left this at my house, when we were making out on my bed. Or did you forget?”

My face heats. Damn it, Liam. I stand up and wrap my arms around my waist. Liam is glaring at Hayden, it’s ferocious. “Liam, calm down, it’s not--,”

“Get out of my girlfriend’s room, right now. I want say it again.”

“Dude, she doesn’t want me to go,” Hayden says.

“Yeah, I kind of--,”

“Get out, before I beat your ass again,” Liam is yelling. Liam turns to me. “Did you invite him, Katy? Huh, did you?”

“No! He just barged into my room!” I throw my hands in the air. “I wouldn’t invite him, you know it.”

“How the hell did you get in?” Liam asks.

“I did date her for a year; I know where the spare key is.” Hayden leans in, cupping a hand over his mouth and whispers, “it’s under the potted plant on the back porch.” I’m surprised Liam doesn’t knock him out. I’m actually kind of waiting on it.