Page 7 of Out of the Shadows
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As my senior year was coming to an end, I realized my infatuation with Hailey would have to end as well. Soon enough, she would be off to college herself, even further out of my reach than she already was.
It would probably be best to try to put her out of my mind. With that thought, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Unknown Number: I got four for you.
Me: How much?
Unknown Number: 100 bucks
Me: Deal.
It would probably be best to try to put her out of my mind, I mockingly mimicked myself in my own head. As soon as the opportunity to feed my obsession presented itself, I jumped at it. I was such a fucking hypocrite. No, I was worse. If she ever found out I’d gone so far as to pay one of the photography nerds to take pictures of her on the sly, it would crush my already nonexistent chances.
Yet the mere thought of other girls made my dick shrivel. As if my body had decided it was Hailey orno one. In other words, there was a good chance my college years would end just as virginal as my high school days, because there was about a one-in-a-million chance I would end up with Hailey.
Fuck my life.
Four
Hailey
One Year Later – 17 years old
“Because I don’t want to go, isn’t that good enough?”
My dad’s palm smacked the doorframe to my room, and I flinched.
“Watch how you talk to me,” he hissed. “We made commitments, and you will fucking honor them.”
“We?What about me, huh? What about what I want?” The tone of my voice reflected my disbelief at his demand.
“You’re going to do what’s best for our family. It’s just one date. After all we’ve done for you, you’ll survive doing this for us. It’s not like I’m asking you to do anything outrageous.” He fixed me with a piercing stare.
“It’s alwaysjust one date. And then there’s the next one, and the next one. I can’t believe you agreed to this — again. I don’t even know the guy!” I accused him, shaking my head.
“You can’t back out of this. You’re going to go on this date, and you’re going to present yourself, our family, appropriately. Do we understand each other?”
His razor-sharp tone straightened my spine. Before, when we were a normal family, he wouldn’t have dreamed of talking to me like that. So cold, so detached.
A block of ice sat heavily in my stomach as I met his ruthless gaze. “Yes, I understand,” I murmured.
“Wonderful.” He clapped his hands, rubbed them together, suddenly in high spirits again, and turned to leave without another word.
What was there to say? His wayward puppet was dancing again.
Five
Hailey
17 years old
I didn’t really believe in a lot of things, but I believed in destiny, and I was pretty sure the universe was playing a big ass fucking joke on me as far as myintended pathwas concerned.
How many girls dreamed of findingthe one, their Prince Charming, before they ever had to kiss a frog? I’d hazard a wild guess that the majority would want to avoid all the fuckboys and the back and forth they brought with them. So I should count myselfincredibly luckythat I was one of the girls who didn’t have to deal with these shitty frogs for years, right?
Nope. As I said, the universe was a practical joker.
