I'll be There for You

Chapter 12: The Best Plans Go Awry

"Great. Well, can you come in early?" Jane asked.

Hayley thought about it. "Yeah. Okay. Let me call you back after I see if my babysitter is free." Hanging up, Hayley strode over to Hope's room. Hope looked peaceful as she slept, probably dreaming of ponies and her daddy. "Hey, kiddo," Hayley called, coming to sit beside Hope whose eyelids fluttered.

"Mommy," Hope said, yawning and sitting up. She threw her arms around Hayley's neck. "Are we going away now?"

"Not today, baby girl. Today you're going to Josh's. Cool?" Hayley wouldn't mind if Hope said no. It would make it easier to tell Jane Anne she couldn't come in.

"Cool!" Hope bounced off the other side of the bed, waiting for Hayley to find her clothes and dress her.

The mindless routine of dressing her child and getting her teeth brushed, face washed and hair brushed calmed her frayed nerves. Picking her child up, she carried her out their front door and down the hall. Davina answered, yawning before smiling. "Hey Hayley. Hi, Hope!" she said cheerfully.

Hayley's jaw tightened at the sight of the shirt that Kol had worn the night before covering Davina's body. He was here. In that apartment that her daughter had spent so many days in. "Hi, Davina. Mind raising Josh from the dead for me?" Hayley asked with as much politeness as she could muster when she wanted to vomit.

Davina's smile faltered but she shrugged and headed back into the apartment, leaving the door open for Hayley to come in—if she wanted to—which she did not. She could hear Davina calling to Josh. "Hey, Josh. Hayley's here and she wants to talk to you."

As Hayley stood in the doorway, Kol came out of Davina's bedroom like he lived there. He smirked at Hayley. "Hello there, darling," he called to Hope.

"Hi, Uncle Kol!" Hope cried brightly.

"Uncle Kol?" Davina let out a startled laugh as Kol opened the fridge, took out a bottle of orange juice and took a swig from the bottle.

"It's just a thing kids say," Hayley snapped as Josh came out of his room, rubbing his face and blinking rapidly. "Hey, Josh, can we talk?" she called.

"Sure," Josh replied with a good natured smile. He stopped near the couch, waiting for her to come in.

"Actually, I have to get to work. Could you come back to my place for a sec?" Hayley inclined her head in the direction of her apartment.

Josh nodded. "Not a problem." He walked out the door, shutting it behind him. "It's good to get away from those two. They kept me up half the night. And by half, I mean all night long. Seriously. Who has that kind of stamina?"

"What's stamina, mommy?" Hope inquired with wide eyed curiosity.

"Nothing important, sweetie," Hayley replied, entering her apartment and closing the door, flicking the lock in case Kol decided to join them. "Josh, can you take Hope to Aiden's today?"

"Umm... Okay. Why?" Josh looked confused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I just don't like Davina's new boyfriend. He's a little...creepy," Hayley said, setting Hope down.

"Uncle Kol isn't creepy, mommy," Hope muttered, heading over to the couch.

Josh leaned closer to Hayley. "Did he say something or do something 'cause, honestly, there's something off about him. It's like he's keeping some kind of secret. Even D's kind of pissed about his keeping stuff from her. And what happened to your neck?" Josh stared at Hayley's neck.

"Oh. That. I pissed off a Bridezilla yesterday and she tried to kill me. Some people take the icing on their cake a little too seriously," Hayley let out a laugh.