Love, Lies and a Flash of the Past

Chapter 44

---------- Chapter 44 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I open my eyes, groaning at the pain in my neck. What the hell?!

It takes me a moment to figure out why my neck hurts so bad, I must have fallen asleep on the couch. In an extremely awkward – sit up straight – position.

There’s a pillow on my lap, and the rest of the couch looks like it’s been slept on. And then it hits me! Haden! Where is he?

I get up quietly. I tip-toe around the flat trying to figure out where Haden could be. I knock on the bathroom door, I comb through the kitchen, heck, I even check my bedroom, but he isn’t anywhere in sight!

               “Lost something?” Connor asks, leaning against the doorframe.

I knock my head against the side of the wall as I try to straighten up and look nonchalant. Didn’t quite work, I suppose.

               “Oh...no,” I shrug, fixing a smile on my face.

Connor smirks at me before shaking his head. “Haden left a couple of hours ago. Told me to tell you he’d see you later and that he won’t be going to school.”

               “Oh, so you saw Haden, huh?” I ask, blushing a little.

               “Yes, I did. On your lap, no less. But yeah, I wasn’t the only one who saw that. Mum and dad did too, and I can tell you that they’re less than pleased!

               “Darn it!” I mutter under my breath.

               “You can say that again! Dad flipped out! Pulled Haden up by his collar, scared the daylights out of him! They exchanged a few hushed words and dad booted him. Poor guy. I expected him to put up more of a fight, to be honest.”

               “Yeah, well, he’s sick. That’s why he was here. I was just making sure he was okay. Then I fell asleep,” I say, biting my lower lip.

               “Chill. Mum and dad are just being a little hyper-protective. I mean, this is the most serious relationship any one of us has had! He spends so much time here. The sad thing is that mum and dad don’t particularly like him,” Connor says, shrugging again.

Hmm.

               “Con, do you think mum and dad would be super mad if I set up a day where they got to meet Haden formally? Like a proper meet-the-parents thing? I want them all to get along so bad! And if they just give him a chance, they’ll see what a sweetheart he is!” I sigh, caught up with thoughts of Haden.

Connor chuckles at my spaced out reaction, shaking his head in amusement. “I don’t know about sweetheart. But I will say that there is no denying how much you mean to him. It’s just crazy, the way he looks at you, it’s like nobody else is around!”

I blush at that, dropping my gaze.

               “Well, I know it doesn’t count for much, but he’s got my backing! I’ll slip in a few good words. You know what would be really smart though? Get Sum to spend the day with you guys. When she sees how amazing you guys are for each other, she’ll gush to mum and dad,” Connor suggests.

Introduce Summer to Haden?

I chew on my bottom lip, not quite sure how to broach the subject. “It’s not that I don’t want that...but what if Haden likes her better?” I ask softly, my voice shaking.