Holding Back [COMPLETED]

Chapter 40 - "Is there anything I can do?"

"Why must you make this so much worse than it is?" she said, her voice muffled.

"I was only trying to offer help."

Haley leveled him with a glare that was returned with a toothy smile. When she didn't crack, he sobered.

"Just talk to him, Haley Day. Explain everything. He's usually a level headed guy, he'll listen."

Haley dropped her annoyance and let out a slow breath.

"What if he doesn't?"

Jace offered up a careless shrug. "Then he's an idiot and you'll move on."

This blunt statement brought a little bit of her smile back.

"Thanks, Jace."

Jace dipped his head. "A pleasure, Haley Day."

The two parted preparations for the day calling to them. In her closest, Haley tugged on her Seven Ships t-shirt, hoping it would help break the tension between Isaac and her. Stuffing her discarded notebooks into her backpack, she made her way downstairs.

The house held a different feel to it. The emptiness of the rooms was no longer foreboding, but a simple fact. The smiles in the photos weren't false, merely reminders that there was once an overflow of laughter and there could be again. The quietness about the place was a mere statement that rough times came but they went as well.

The scent of coffee floated from the kitchen, adding life to the stasis house. Haley found that it was only her mother who was there, leaning against a counter. Hearing Haley, her mother looked up, a soft smile on her lips.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said. "How are you doing?"

Haley laughed at the overly tender note in her mother's tone like Haley was a fragile animal.

"A lot better than I look," she said.

Her mother breathed out, letting her smile shift to something less concerned. Crossing to the cupboards, Haley grabbed a bowl and dumped a mountain of cereal into it.

"How was dad this morning?" she said.

"Good. He was able to catch an early flight, so he will still make the interview with the lawyer." Her mother gave a wry chuckle. "He might be half tired through it, but at least he made it."

Cradling her bowl, Haley rested back on the counter.

"Is he going to be okay? He's looked so tired lately."

Her mother took a sip of coffee, mulling over the question.

"He will. But the pressure of trying to keep a firm afloat definitely takes a toll. I think with this new lawyer it could be a big relief. So we'll see how it goes."

The lines around her mother's eyes had deepened as she talked and Haley felt a pang of guilt at not seeing the burden they were under before. From where she stood it was all so clear.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

A grateful smile erased some of the deeper lines.

"Sweetie, that is so thoughtful, but right now it's simply rough and that's the way things are. We'll make it through it, we always do." Her mother reached out and tucked a hair behind Haley's ear, a comforting gesture. "You staying focused on school is definitely something you can do."

"Okay."

The task seemed so inconsequential in the face of the storm her parents were dealing with, but if it meant they didn't have to worry about her, then she would do it. A second later, her mother was carried off with a phone call and Haley was left alone in the kitchen.