Page 41 of Consequences

He winces when he realizes what he’d said and to whom. The reason Hailey and Lucas ended up with Colt and Lex is because they were found squatting in their old house. The two teenagers would rather sleep on the floor in a house without electricity and running water than the house they ran from.

“Sorry,” Gavin says and frowns.

The first time he sees the woman who still has his heart in a death grip would be when he puts his foot in his mouth. Reminding Hailey of her drug addict stepmom and abusive stepdad wasn’t on the list of topics to discuss when he saw her again. Not unless he happened to run into Harold in a dark alley one night.

“It was a joke, Gavin,” Hailey says.

He still feels guilty. Mention of that place has to remind her of her mother’s suicide thanks to her stepmother and her father’s death by car accident. She has no one but Lucas.

Sure, she has Colt and Lex, but she keeps them at a distance. The one thing he learned when she dumped him is that she never lets anyone get too close.

Sighing, he walks to the fridge and grabs her a soda. “So… How’s school.”

She takes the can and opens it. “It’s school. I don’t have a roommate until the fall semester, so it’s kind of cool having the large room to myself.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“A little bit. Mostly chatting online. I think we’ll get along. Her name’s Lindsey, and she’s cute with blonde freckles. She doesn’t look old enough to be eighteen, though.”

“Did she graduate early?”

Shaking her head, she takes a drink. “She’s actually six months older than me. She looks twelve, though. Poor girl.”

She pulls out her phone to show Gavin a picture from social medial. The girl really does look like she hasn’t hit puberty yet. “Wow. Would not guess she’s even old enough to drive yet.”

“She’s from a small town in Oregon. She’s looking forward to getting out of state and away from her large family. I tried to explain that Riverview isn’t exactly a big metropolis, but she won’t hear of it.”

“Must be cool having a big room like that to yourself. Do you have one of those suites with the bathrooms attached to your room? Or do you have to share with the other coeds?”

Chuckling, she shakes her head, a few strands of dark hair falling from behind her ear. “No, it’s not a suite. I wish, though. And it’s nice, but it’s also kind of weird. I don’t really remember living anywhere without Lucas. I kind of miss him. Not that I’m ever going to admit that to him.”

“He’s doing good?”

“Oh, he’s thriving with Lex and Colt. I think he really likes being the older brother. They think he’s a superhero, and he’s always been the good one.”

An eyebrow raises as he stares at her. “The good one?”

“You know what I mean. He’s the one who never pushes the boundaries and purposely pisses people off to see how far they stretch. The one who doesn’t have issues following the rules and being quiet. You know, the angel to my devil.”

He studies her as she looks at the counter. Hailey looks good. Great, even. Between the two of them, she doesn’t seem to be affected by the breakup whereas he feels like he’s a total mess. She clearly doesn’t miss him as much as he misses her, and it pisses him off.

“What are you doing here, Hailey? You broke up with me, remember?”

She focuses intently on the can as she twists it on the counter. Refusing to meet his eyes, it gives him a little satisfaction to know she needs to do something with her hands.

Is she nervous? No…

“I miss you, Gavin.”

“I miss you, too.”

“If you miss me, why haven’t you taken me into your arms and kissed me senseless until I strip completely naked and risk a noise complaint from your new neighbors?”

“Are you kidding me?”

Shrugging, she continues playing with the can in front of her. “No.”

“You broke up with me.”

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