In Her Favor

Chapter Two: The Dos & Don'ts of a "One-Night-Thing"

Serena was too drunk to drive, so Carlee had taken the wheel and drove me home. I said goodbye to the two, hoping that Serena wouldn’t give Carlee too much trouble as I began to quietly tip toe in the house, hoping that punishment didn’t lie for me on the other side of the door. Once Carlee gave me my phone back, I checked and noticed that I hadn’t gotten any crazy voicemails from my mother, so Ryan must’ve covered for me.

I stood outside my house, rummaging for my keys when I felt my phone ringing wildly in my pocket. I frantically picked it up, and my heart was caught in my throat when I saw that it was Henry. My finger hovered over the “Accept” button, but my brain told me to let it go to voicemail. I supposed it didn’t matter what I really thought anymore, though, because it seemed to almost immediately stop ringing. A few minutes of silenced passed, and a notification popped up on my screen that read: “14 New Voicemails.”

My eyes widened. Fourteen? I couldn’t control myself as I clicked the green button, curiosity wanting to hear at least one of them.

“Hal? I-It’s Henry. I left you probably dozen messages…look I know that you don’t want to talk to me, but we need to. What I did was stupid and I can never apologize enough, but if you could just talk to me, if only for a minute…I just need to talk to you, Hallie. Please. I love y—”

The message cut off abruptly, and beeped loudly in the place of Henry’s voice. “End of message. To delete this message, press 7—”

As fast as I could, I pressed 7. I didn’t know what possessed me to listen to his voice, but it was making me nauseous. I’d planned on forgetting about Henry tonight, but I only winded up making a fool of myself in front of that guy. I blushed, burnt red, just thinking about the moment where the only thing I saw was the flicker of amusement in his sea green eyes.

Suddenly, I heard the click of a door, only to realize that someone was opening it. I freaked out, and quickly ducked into the bushes, putting myself in an awkward position, with a thorny branch prickling my bare arm. I gritted my teeth and looked through a gap in the foliage, wondering who would be up at midnight.

“Hal? I can see you, stupid. Your leg is sticking out.”

I felt my worry drop as I heard the recognizable voice of my older brother, Ryan, and looked to my right to see that my leg was indeed protruding from the bush at least a good foot. I struggled to pick myself up, and I brushed myself off, freeing the dirt from my skin and dress once I composed myself. I looked up to him, seeing him decked out in a navy blue t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, as well as fuzzy ivory slippers that matched the pale softness of his skin. The same as me, he had my thick head of dark hair and the shocking blue eyes that seemed to define everyone in the Bellamy family.

When I turned to face him, Ryan looked over me, his eyes wide. He grimaced, “When’d you get the job as a call-girl?” He asked sardonically, a smug smile playing at his lips.

I felt myself blush, and I fiddled with the hem of my dress, trying to lengthen it but to no avail, I failed. I habitually chewed pensively on my lip, “Shut up. It was Serena’s, and Serena is…well, you know.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest with a sigh. “Oh, I know Serena.”

I frowned and began to trot up the stairs, slipping through the door quietly, having Ryan follow me closely. Once we’d entered, I began to take off my tall pumps, feeling a sense of relief as my feet reunited with solid ground once more.

“So where’d you guys go? Vegas?” He asked, assuming by the looks of my attire.

I grimaced and shook my head, tucking my dark hair behind an ear, “We went downtown to a club Serena likes.” I said softly, knowing that he wouldn’t believe me.