Faking it.

CHAPTER 21

"Okay let's get going." He says and stands up. "Why?" I ask and he looks at me like I just said the sky is pink. "To spend time together, duh." He answers, rolling his eyes. I look at Milli and Simon. "Meet us at Maggs after school?" They nod and Joey looks at me surprised. "Do you really need to go to Maggs today?" He asks and I nod. "But you go there like five times a week. Can't Susan handle it on her own?" I shake my head. "You're acting like a child and of course I need to go there. She pays me, idiot."

"I'm not and idiot, idiot." He mutters and I laugh.

I look back at the table and see that most of them have turned away again, except for Elliot. He's looking at me, furrowing his brows. "Bye guys." I tell them when Joey pulls at my hand.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask once we're inside of his car.

"To that bowling arcade we used to go to as kids." He answers and I think of my time with Elliot there.

The way we were competing the whole time, but not in a bad way. I smile a bit. Then I remember what happened with Noah and my fists clench. I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"Hailey? Are you listening?" Joey's question snaps me out of my thoughts, and I give him a nod.

"I know you, Hailey. What's on your mind."

He doesn't want to know truth and neither do I want him to. I don't want another person worrying about nothing. Because that's exactly what happened. Nothing at all.

I give him a sad smile. "Just thinking about simpler times, I guess."

He gives me a sympathetic look, squeezing my hand. "Just a little bit over a year and then you can go to college and out of this town. Just a little bit longer until you're finally free, Hailey." He tells me and focuses back on the road.

It's scary how good at lying I've become. It has become one of my personality traits that I really shouldn't be proud of, but sometimes it's just easier to lie and keep certain things in the dark.

I look out of the window, staring at the trees passing by. "Can we go to the beach instead?" I ask him out of the blue.

"Isn't it a little bit too cold for it now. I mean march just started." He says and I raise my eyebrows. "Is my brother trying to back out of something because it's 'too cold'?" I mock him and he gives me a look. "Never." With that he makes a turn to the right, heading to the beach.

Once we get there, I race Joey to the water, him being obviously faster than me. The water is freezing and I know that I'll catch a cold, but just spending time with Joey again makes it all worth it.

There isn't a single soul around us, not even all of the restaurants and bars are opened which makes all of this seem surreal. Joey catches me off guard when he splashes the freezing water in my face. When I recover from my shock I give him a playful glare. "Oh, you're so on." I say and start chasing him. He squeals like a little girl when the water touches his face and then runs out of it and away from me as fast as he can.

After some time we sit on the beach, our clothes completely soaked and the waves occasionally touch our bare feet.

The clouds are getting thicker and darker, blocking the sun from shining down on us. No one says anything, we just sit there, minds in our own worlds. I hear Joey sigh next to me and I look at him. "You've been awfully quiet today." He says and I turn away again. "No, I haven't." "You have Hay-Bay." He responds with the nickname he used to give me when we were still kids. "No I haven't Jo-Jo." I counter and he rolls his eyes. "Usually you are talking all the time, telling me stories of little, dumb things that happened but still made you laugh. Usually you are trying to insult me every second you have or teasing me." He explains and this time I'm the one to sigh. "It's nothing." "It obviously is."

I lay down on the sand and he copies my movements. "I don't know. It's just- Dad has moved to ignoring me completely now. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I grew up in another family. A happy one, like Milli and Simon. Heck- Their parents care more about me and consider me more family than Mom and Dad do."

"Hailey look at me." He says and I do. "I don't know their reasons to act like this and I'm definitely going to have a chat with them but- listen to me. I will only say this one time. Everything happens for a reason. I realised that a few years back and since then I always think of it when something bad happens."

I give a sad smile.

"Now I don't want this to turn into some depressing shit and I'm extremely hungry." He says and I feel the tension go away immediately.

When we stand up the sand sticks to our soaked clothes and he grunts. "Okay we definitely need to change. I have a few clothes in the back of my car."

The clothes consist of t-shirts and sweats. Eh. It'll do.