Page 86 of Between Brothers

Chapter 38

Hayley

The roar of a motorcycle outside startled me awake. I opened my eyes and jerked my head back and away from whatever was in my face. I picked up the folded paper lily and the flat note beside it.

No words in this one. I swear to you, I’m going to make this up to you. I’ll pick you up on Friday for a date, if you’ll let me. Just text me… Maybe I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow…

Blue

I got up and carefully hung the lone flower off of one of the empty bits of fishing line and sighed. Rebuilding this relationship was going to take a lot more than origami flowers, but I would be foolish not to try. Still, I had to stick to my guns… he only had one chance to be faithful, to do this, and I couldn’t let him off easily.

I gave the unicorn with the rainbow mane a squeeze before I went down the ladder out of my loft. I used the bathroom before drifting over to my table and the broken bits of black, crimson, and a more muted red lying on it. I didn’t have a map for this piece. Nothing on paper… just bits and pieces of random broken glass and a clear idea of what I was doing. As if building this window was the physical representation of mending my broken heart.

“Hayley…”

I looked back over my shoulder at my dad in my studio doorway and sighed, “Hi, Daddy.”

He came into the room and over to my table hugging me and looking over what I was making. He didn’t come out here as a general rule, so his appearance here was out of sorts.

“Saw that Joe just left,” he said and didn’t sound exactly happy about that. I closed my eyes and sighed, sitting back.

“Nothing happened… we just talked.”

“And?”

“And he has a long ways to go with me before anything could happen.”

“I don’t like it, Hayley. Hurt you once, shame on them, hurt you twice…”

“Shame on me, I know… but you never not once screwed up with Mom?”

“Not like that, no, but I see what you’re saying and I made my mistakes, sure.”

I shifted uncomfortably and said my piece, “I don’t know if what I’m doing is right, but in my heart I know it’s not wrong… and I know you’re going to be disappointed with me, but…”

“Pregnant?” he asked, and I looked up sharply.

“How did you know?”

“You always were real bad at keeping secrets,” he said. “And you’re right… I am disappointed, I’d have liked to seen you married off and in a stable relationship with a man who respected you and who’s not a felon.”

I bowed my head and nodded… it did sound awful when he said it like that and deep down I was beginning to feel awful about myself. He didn’t exactly help when he sighed out harshly and said, “I thought I raised you better than this.”

Tears sprang to my eyes and I squeezed them shut. They spilled over and I just gripped the edge of my stool to either side and hunched my shoulders.

“I’m so sorry…” I whined, but I knew it probably didn’t mean anything.

“You’re my only daughter, Hayley… old enough, now to make your own decisions, but I ain’t got to like them… I just have to live with ‘em.”

I nodded and he sighed out harshly asking, “Do you even know which one it belongs to?”

“Does it matter?” I asked, suddenly indignant. “As long as it’s loved and has two parents, does it really matter? I mean, will you, it’s only grandfather, love it any less?”

He jerked back a little as if he’d been slapped and I stood my ground on this one saying, “Because if it matters that much to you, I need to find another job and will work on finding someplace else to live. I was raised in a house of love and I won’t accept anything less for my baby.”

My dad sighed and said, “You’re gonna be fierce, just like your momma.”

“You’re damn right I am.”

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