Page 31 of Make Me Whole
Chapter Sixteen
HAILEY
"Hailey! Wait up."
Without looking back, I picked up my pace while furiously swiping at my eyes. However, the faster I walked the faster they fell.Stupid song. Inside my chest, my heart squeezed painfully. I was about to press my palm against the spot when warm fingers circled my wrist.
"Hey." Bradley urged me to stop walking by giving my arm a tug. Screwing my eyes shut, I tried to turn my face away from him, but he was quicker. Trapping my chin between his thumb and index finger, he guided it back to his. "You're crying." Those dark brows of his drew together, his eyes roaming over my features in such a way you'd think he was memorizing every little detail they took in.
My heart squeezed even more.
It had been a week, and I was still getting used to the friendliness between us. I wasn't close to being prepared for the tenderness coming from him now. I licked my lips and swallowed down the emotion lodged in my throat.
"I'm fine," it came out broken and shaky, and I immediately cursed myself. Pulling my shoulders back, I said it again, firmer this time. "I'm fine."
The air got knocked right out of me when his thumb slowly swiped over my wet cheek. I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe. His gaze snapped to the spot he'd just touched. As if he realized some sort of invisible line had been crossed, he snatched his hand back and took a step backward. Releasing his hold on my arm at the same time.
"The tears…" his voice had a husky edge to it. My eyes were fixed on his Adam's apple as I watched him work down a swallow before he cleared his throat. "The tears in your eyes contradict your statement."
I gave myself a one-arm hug; my fingers curling tightly around my upper arm. "I have allergies." When all he gave me was a pointed stare with one eyebrow arched high, I let out a heavy sigh. "That was my parents' song." The words slipped from my mouth just above a whisper and by the way he was still only staring, I didn't think he heard me.
A soft breeze picked up, bringing with it the final few notes of the song. I swiped at the strands fluttering in front of my face before pushing them behind my ear. "I really am fine. You should go back and enjoy what's left of the night."
I didn't wait for him to respond before I spun around and started walking again. An inexplicable sense of relief washed over me when it took a mere second for him to fall into step next to me.
"Your parents…they died?"
That crippling pain in my chest was back. "Yes."
"Tell me about them." He was so close, his flannel-covered arm kept brushing mine.
My lips lifted out of their own accord. "They were wonderful—" even though they had their faults that'd cost us everything in the end. "—Dad was a stockbroker and Mom a teacher. They had this unreal love for one another. You know, the kind most people don't think exists." My lids closed as I relived the memory before sharing it with Bradley. "They used to dance to this song late at night when they thought I was asleep. I'd sneak out of my room and watch them glide over the family room floor."
The images were so vivid, it was almost as if my dad was twirling my mom right in front of us. With everything that'd happened since their death, I'd forgotten how much I'd wanted that. For a man to look at me the way my dad looked at my mom. Or to feel the happiness that lit up my mom's features whenever my dad entered a room.
I gave Bradley a long sideways glance. "Thank you for not telling me you're sorry they're gone."
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. "It's sad that you don't have them anymore, but me being sorry about it isn't going to bring them back." His eyes found mine. "It's better to remember the way they lived than dwell on the moment they were taken away."
We walked in silence for a couple of minutes before he gently nudged my arm with his. "So? A stockbroker and a teacher…in whose footsteps did you follow."
A little laugh fluttered over my lips. "I used to teach second grade."
"Mhm." He studied me for a way too long second before he murmured, "I can actually see you doing something like that."
My eyebrows shot up. "Really? I'm not sure if I should take it as an insult or not."
"Definitely not."
"Who are you?" Mortified, I slapped a palm over my mouth. "I'm sorry." But apparently not sorry enough to stop the word vomit. "It's just, you didn't seem to like me at all and now you're being nice and sweet… and honestly, it's messing with my head."
Ground, please open up and swallow me in. Right. Now.
Next to me, Bradley let out that low chuckle that always seemed to coat my insides with warmth. "I don't deal with change too well."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing. A couple of minutes later, the main house came into view along with a sudden rush of disappointment that our time together was coming to an end too.
As if he'd read my mind, Bradley curled his fingers around my upper arm. "Come on." Tugging gently, he urged me to follow him as he headed in the direction of the barn. Once we were inside, a blissful calmness settled over me. This feeling seemed to wash over me every single time I was close to the horses.
