Renegade

Bless Your Heart

The week had gone by slower than molasses pouring from a bottle. Hailey took on extra shifts at the book store just to keep herself and her mind occupied. She still hadn't answered any of the texts or voicemails that flooded her inboxes. Ignorance was bliss, right? She closed up shop that Friday evening around 6 o'clock. Matt had come in earlier to remind her that he was having the dinner tonight and that he expected her to be there. Taylor had waltzed on over shortly after Matt had left, trying to convince Hailey of the same thing. She apparently had gone on a date with Matt in the middle of all the craziness that was consuming Hailey. She was upset that Taylor hadn't told her. But then again, she was the one that wasn't picking up her phone for anyone. Hailey felt a pang of guilt when Taylor so kindly threw that in her face. She was happy for Taylor none the less. 

She jogged over to her car in the usual spot in the corner of the municipal parking lot. She was about to hop in, when she heard the sound of a familiar laugh a few vehicles down. She looked up from her driver's side door to see two people walking down the steps in the opposite corner of the lot. Hailey stopped in her tracks when the face matched the laugh that she knew so well. The two people embraced in a hug and a very juicy kiss. Hailey was about to get in her car, when she heard a voice yell over. 

"I'm not cheating!" 

Hailey whipped back around as Amber was walking over to her like she had an agenda. Amber's perfume hitting her nostrils from feet away, making her scrunch her nose at the overly sweet floral scent. Amber came to a stop about a foot away from Hailey, her hands placed on her hips to emphasize the attitude she was about to give. 

"I'm not cheating. That is my boyfriend. Brantley left me thanks to you." Amber pointed a perfectly manicured finger in Hailey's face. 

"Honey, you did that all on your own. Shouldn't have been stalking around with a guy in the back of a parking lot while you had a ring gracing that little finger of yours. You have no one to blame but yourself." Hailey stated. 

"At least I didn't have sex with someone who was engaged." Amber tried to insult her any way that she could. 

"He may not have been engaged, but you certainly were." Hailey stood her ground, pointing over at the man that Amber was just swapping spit with. "If that is the guy that you were with that night. Who knows with you." 

"You have no room to talk, considering you also had your tongue down Kolby's throat at one point because you couldn't get the man you really wanted." Amber's eyes narrowed in on Hailey like a snake. 

Hailey smiled, placing her heart on her chest. "Bless your heart, darling...... And seriously fuck off." With that, Hailey got in to the driver's seat of her white Jetta, slamming the car door behind her. She whipped out of her parking space and took off like a bat out of hell. She was sure to catch some heat for that when word got around to Mama that she was speeding like a banshee through town. 

She drove to the outskirts where the church and brick buildings were no longer in sight. She fixed the few strands of chocolate brown hair that fell down in to her face. She adjusted the rear view mirror and turned up the music, drowning out everything, including her thoughts. She pulled down the long dirt driveway that led to Matt's farm house. Cars lining the sides wherever there was room. He said that it was going to be a big dinner, but how many people could he really have invited. She pulled all the way up to the top of the driveway where it met the flower beds. Taylor's red jeep a couple of vehicles over. She got out and locked her Jetta. She turned her head to the right and then to the left, surveying the other cars and trucks. No sign of an old rusty blue thing or a black jacked up Ford. However, the night was still young and Hailey knew that anything could happen. 

She walked around the farm house to the backyard where all of the noise had been coming from. Music was playing, the large grill was smoking, and tables and chairs were set up under a plethora of twinkling string lights. There were about 20 people milling about. Matt looked up from flipping some bbq chicken and steaks. 

"Hailey!" He yelled, his jovial smile contagious no matter what mood you were in. 

"Matty." Hailey replied, walking over to give him a hug. The smell of smoke wafting off his clothes. The sure sign of summer. 

"I'm glad you came. Taylor and I were almost convinced that you wouldn't be here." 

"Yeah, well. Here I am." Hailey shrugged her shoulders, spinning around in place. 

"Go get yourself a drink. Beer is in the large turquoise Yeti. Water is in the smaller one. And if you want any liquor you are out of luck." 

Hailey laughed, nodding. She waltzed over to the larger of the coolers, opening it. She pulled an iced cold bottle out, grabbing the keys from her pocket to pop the top. She took a much needed swig of the luxurious liquid and turned around. She nearly spit out the beer when her eyes landed on his a few feet away. She was positive she didn't see the truck in the front. She had hit her limit of bullshit for today after her encounter with what's her name in the municipal parking lot in town. All she wanted was a gosh darn break. Joke was on her.