Page 38 of Vendetta

She knew exactly what she was doing.

“Hales,” I say, approaching her slowly and crouching in front of her. “This is important. What did she ask?”

“Just about us. When, how long—no, not how long, just when.” She finally looks up, but won't meet my eyes. “I may have over-shared.”

Her words fill me with icy dread. “What did you tell her?”

She sobs harder, covering her face with her palms. I thread my fingers behind my neck to keep myself from ripping her arms away so she would look at me. “Hayley, what the fuck did you tell her?”

“I told her the truth,” she yells. Finally, she looks at me, straight into my eyes. “She was ruining everything, I just wanted her?—”

Fuck.

Hayley's voice fades completely in my ears, just background noise.She knows everything, is all I keep thinking. And I realize for the first time, I don't want her to know. It matters so little at this point, but I don't want her to know how much I fucked up.

I don't want her to hate me.

“Why the fuck would you do that, Hales? I thought we were over. You—” I find myself yelling at Hayley, my hands squeezing her shoulders. “—you were the one who broke up with me.”

I don't believe for a second she didn't know what she was doing.

“You're hurting me, Devon,” she whispers. I loosen the grip on her shoulders, and then let her go. She falls back into the sofa.

“It's not about you and me. I just wanted her to back off,” she says, through tears. “You're going to lose everything over her.I just wanted her to back off because I know you, and you've already made up your mind.”

I shake my head at her, so disappointed. First, that she assumes what's in my head. Second, I can't believe she thought it was her right to do something like this. Even though I get where she's coming from, I just don't get it.

“It's her, isn't it?” I hear her say, but I'm already out the door and on my way up, the keys to Leighton's room in my shaking hands.

LEIGHTON

The door opens but I don’t react; I just continue to draw. He approaches me hesitantly, walking slowly across the room. He looks down at what I’m drawing, and stills. I don’t acknowledge his presence.

He clears his throat. “Can we talk?”

I lift my head. “I really have nothing to say to you.”

“I spoke to Hayley,” he says quietly.

When I don’t reply, or show any reaction, he continues. “It wasn’t her place to say any of those things to you.”

I shrug like it doesn’t matter either way. I'mnotgoing to show him just how much this hurts.

“Leighton,” he says, his voice pleading.

“What do you want from me, Devon?” I ask, putting the pencil down. I lay the sketch of my mother on the bed, and give him my full attention.

He sits down next to me. “CanItalk?”

“So talk,” I say, staring up at him, keeping my expression blank.

“She has no idea what she's talking about. She had no right.”

I sigh. “That sounds like an issue you need to take up with her, not me.”

“You know what I mean,” he says, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

“No, I don’t. If you and Hayley are having communication problems, then speak to her about them. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a drawing to finish,” I say, looking pointedly at the door.

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