EPHEMERAL || BBH

The Need to be Brave ❁

***

It took us about an hour and forty-minute drive to reach the hotel where Liz and I were staying. I unfastened the seat belt after I thanked him for driving me there.

My heart was racing as I entered the huge glass doors of the hotel. Images of Liz yelling and nagging about what happened last night flooded my thoughts as I absent-mindedly walked towards the elevator.
Once I was inside, I debated whether to tell her everything or come up with another lame excuse. The latter one seemed impossible given the chaos going on inside my head right now. When I reached our floor, the first thing I did was take off the padded jacket Baekhyun made me wear.

I contemplated for a few moments before I knocked on the door. I immediately heard her rushing to the door and in just a matter of seconds, she and I were already face to face.

"Oh my god Hailey!" She exclaimed as she pulled me into a very tight hug.
"I'm sorry Liz," I muttered just before she let go of me.

She initially glared at me but her expression softened after a few seconds. "You have a lot of explaining to do Hailey Park so you'd better be ready." She blurted as she dragged me inside the room.

"You didn't call the police, right?" I asked her, wanting to make sure that the situation hadn't gotten that worse.

Well, not that wasn't already.

"I was going to if you didn't appear just now." She reasoned out, her hands crossed over her chest. She pouted before her attention fell to what I was wearing. "Why are you dressed like that? What happened to your clothes?"

I was about to open my mouth to tell her about it but she raised a hand towards me, apparently signaling me to stop. I did.

"Never mind, that is not the most important thing right now." She stated as she sat on the bed and tapped the space right next to her.

I went to sit in her designated place for me. We both stared at each other for a brief second before I looked away. I was nervous. It was the first time I would be talking about Baekhyun. My relationship with Baekhyun.

"Hey." I felt Liz's hand on my knee.

Turning to her, I saw that the expression on her face softened. She might have understood my hesitance.

"I promise. I will not overreact nor judge you." She said sounding so reassuring. "As long as he's not married, I'm okay with it." She added and it was obvious that she was trying to make me feel comfortable.

I took a deep breath before I grabbed my purse to fish for my phone. Unlocking it, I went to a portal site and typed in Baekhyun's name. As expected, the first entry about him was about us. There were articles with the same pictures I had seen this morning. My heart started to race as I handed the phone to Liz.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she took it from me. And in just a matter of seconds, I saw how her facial expression shifted from confusion to shock.

"This is you and the guy I saw you with last night." She said, recognizing the photos straightaway.

She tore her attention from my phone to glance at me probably asking for confirmation. I nodded.

"Byun Baekhyun," I muttered. "His name is Baekhyun."

She suddenly went speechless. She made a few taps on the screen and appeared to be reading something. She must have clicked on one of the articles.

She gasped.

"They're saying that you might be his girlfriend!"

I didn't make any sound, unable to find my words.

"Is that true?" Liz asked me, her eyes were probing. That one look that she tends to give me when she's suspicious.