Page 86 of Consequences

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

“You broke up with him. Not that I like hearing about your sex life, but you don’t get to feel hurt at how he chose to deal with it. I mean, it was going to happen eventually. The breaking up part, I mean.”

Leaning back, she shakes her head. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I love you, Hails. You know that. But you leave everyone before they have a chance to leave you. You bolt before you can get too attached, you push boundaries, and you defy everyone to keep them at a distance. Leave before you get left, remember?”

“That’s not fair.”

“You did it to Gavin. He was always at arm’s length, and you did it to Lex and Colt, too. They wanted to adopt you, and you said no. They’re more patient than anyone else ever has been.”

“You know what? I gotta go. Thanks for the support, Luke, really. Glad to know I really am completely alone now that you have a new family.”

“Hailey—”

She hangs up and walks inside to find Lindsey sitting on the bed flipping through a magazine. Her roommate is a lanky girl with almost no curves, and she looks even younger in person than she did in pictures.

Her white-blonde hair sits in pigtail braids, and her face is smattered with freckles. To complete her farm girl preteen look, she wears a pink T-shirt under jean overalls.

“You look upset. Are you okay?” Lindsey asks, kicking her legs over the side of the bed and sits up.

“I was with my ex-boyfriend last night. And it’s so over now.”

Her dull blue eyes widen. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“He’s fucking a waitress,” she says. “I don’t want to talk about me. How was the rest of the party?”

“It was great,” she says with a wide smile. “I met a guy.”

Be careful. He’ll just shatter your heart.

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you want to hear about this?”

Hailey sighs. “I would love to hear about it.”

Hugging her knees to her chest, Lindsey shakes with giddiness. “He’s older. He says he thinks I’m sexy, and we’re going out tonight. I’m excited.”

Everything about this girl screams virgin, so this recap sounds a little suspicious to Hailey. “Be careful, okay?”

“Oh, I went on the pill last month, and I have condoms in my purse. I’m looking forward to finally having sex with a hot guy. I want the full life experience in college.”

“You don’t have hot guys back in Oregon?” Hailey asks and takes in the Lindsey’s side of the room.

The girl has unicorn sheets on her bed, andCare Beardecals on the wall. Hailey didn’t know they even made them still. Lindsey’s oneMy Little Ponyaway from being the adult version of a six-year-old.

“My parents are really strict, and I have four older brothers. Everyone treats me like a baby, and my high school boyfriend was almost too scared to kiss me. He grabbed my boob once, but then he freaked out and said we had to stop.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t gay?”

This is a great distraction from Gavin and how much I miss him. God, I miss him, but he’s fucking the waitress. After he gave me that speech about how sex means something to him. Then he goes out and fucks a woman who doesn’t mean something to him. Or he lied about it. No matter what, it feels like I don’t even know him anymore.

“Hailey?”

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I zoned out. What’d you say?”

“I asked if you have any family.”

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