Chapter 16; A Lot Can Happen in Twenty-Four Minutes
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This chapter is dedicated to JusImagine, who seems like a very huge supporter of this story, and I appreciate that more than anyone will ever know.
A special thanks to ohhmygoshxD for the banner!
The song on the side is Evaporate by Gabrielle Aplin, which describes perfectly how Drew feels about Hailey in this chapter.
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It took me exactly twenty-four minutes to walk from my house to Drew's.
Twenty-four minutes of trudging through the dead heat, still uncomfortable and blistering all the same.
Twenty-four minutes of thinking about nothing but him, the way his eyes made me feel like melting and about the way his voice could sound so smooth at times.
Twenty-four minutes of an internal debate on whether or not this was the worst or best idea I had ever had.
But after twenty-four minutes had passed and I stood at the foot of his doorway, meager sweat collecting on my forehead and shaking with nervousness, I found myself wondering. Wondering when he had started to have that ability; to have this sort of affect on me. The kind where I couldn't get him out of my head, or how even now when just the thought of seeing him made my head spin and my stomach churn.
And all it had taken was one date, one ride home, one day without seeing him, and I was officially caught in his web, without any reassurance or even any reason to think that he was starting to feel the same way as I was. But maybe, I was wrong. Maybe, I had started to become entangled long before I ever realized it. Long before our date, long before the ride home and the day after. Maybe, I had liked him from the start.
But, the thing was, it's not like I hadn't felt something like this before. There were endless times where a boy's smile had made me blush and a simple sentence made me swoon, but this was different. I just knew it was different. It had never had happened so quickly before, and definitely not ever so deeply. There was just something about Drew, something that in the blink of an eye could make you fall. Even if you didn't know everything about him, even if you had hated him at first. He was just someone who could make you feel; well, different. And I knew I wasn't in love with him, because I don't think I could ever be in love, at least, not right now.
But liking someone like this is always how it starts, doesn't it?
I wiped away the sweat with the back of my arm, holding my breath as I looked at the wooden white door in front of me, trying not to think too much about who would open it. Even though I had only spotted his motorcycle in the driveway and no cars were in sight, I didn't want to have to explain the return of his bracelet situation to anyone else. Not only because it was confusing enough for me, but because the whole thing was just an excuse to talk to him, and it definitely wouldn't make any sense to anyone else why I did it immediately instead of just waiting for Monday.
So I continued standing there, my hand balled in a fist as I held it in front of the door. But no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn't muster enough courage to knock. My mind filled with scenarios of when and if he actually answered the door.
"You came all the way over here to give me back a bracelet?"
"Why didn't you just wait until work?"
I frowned, letting my thoughts consume me. I was being silly. It's not like I could come right out and say, "I know we've only been on one date, but I kind of like you, but I don't know if you feel the same way, so I came all the way over here. Oh and, here's your bracelet!"
I sighed, the ferocious pounding in my chest slowing, the blood rushing rapidly through my veins ceasing, the excitement and nerve wracking feeling I was just experiencing fading, because I had made my decision. I wasn't going to knock on his door. I wasn't going to ask him, I wasn't going to talk to him. I wasn't even going to bring it up on Monday.
Why? Because there was no way he liked me back. I had stopped believing in those sort of things when I was fourteen.
So I turned on my heel, ready to leave behind his large wooden door and spread out patio, ready to walk down the steps and began my twenty-four minute journey back home.
I hoped no one had seen me standing on the patio for over five minutes, contemplating something that really should be so simple in the scheme of things, but even then I guess nothing really is just simple.
Then, I heard a door click behind me.
"Hailey?"
It was almost like at that very moment, my heart stopped beating. I held my breath.
Drew.
The ferocious pounding in my chest that had been lacking suddenly reappeared, along with the disappearing blood rushing, the nerve wracking feeling, and the excitement. And all he had done was say my name.
I cringed at myself as I turned around, now realizing this was a horrible idea. As I took in his ruffled dark hair, his tall figure, his deep brown eyes, and his surprised expression, I now had no idea how I would've even went about starting the conversation I wanted to talk about in the first place. He had one hand on the edge of the door as he held it open, and leaned slightly against the frame. I gulped, hopefully not audibly, watching as his surprised expression changed into confusion.
Behind him, I could see a slit of the living room, partial glimpses of a leather couch and a few dolls strewn across the floor, but it was entirely silent. There was no murmur of a faint TV, no sign of conversation or music or anything. The only sound emitting from the house was Drew's voice, and he was basically outside.
"Drew." I breathed, finally getting something out. Right after, I wanted to smack myself.
"Hey," he smiled kindly, changing which foot he was resting on, "I didn't know you were stopping by. I would've made some lunch or something."
I grinned, loving that the first thing he said was that he should've made lunch, instead of asking me why I was even there.
"Oh, no." I just shook my head. "I was just stopping by. No lunch needed."
He laughed lightly, his teeth slipping between his smile, his eyes lighting up slightly. I just giggled.
"I actually came by to return something." I prompted, reaching my hand down to tuck into my pocket and pull out his bracelet. He waited, looking at me.
"Return something?" he asked, and I nodded as I yanked the worn string from my pocket, holding it out to him.
His eyes instantly budged, looking shocked. He quickly reached down to feel for his wrist, discovering that he did, in fact, not have his bracelet and that it was actually missing instead of resting where it always was.
"Oh my gosh." he said, his fingers gently brushing mine as he retrieved it and slipped it back on slowly. "I didn't even notice it was gone." A strange feeling ran up from my hand to my arm as it fell back to my side.
After he said that, he looked a little disappointed, like he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it himself.
"It was tucked under the mat in front of the door at my house. So don't feel bad, I hardly even noticed it." I offered him another smile, trying to be reassuring. But he continued looking at the bracelet now back on his wrist, twisting it gently between his fingers.
We waited in silence for a few seconds, and I teetered on my heels wondering what to say next. But, there wasn't anything really left to say. It was time for me to go.
But I didn't want to go. Something held me there, standing in front of him, glued to his porch. Something made me want to stay there and never leave.
And I don't know if he noticed my hesitance, of if he was just being polite, or if he really wanted to, but either way, he looked up at me and said, "Would you like to come inside?"
And I thought my heart was fluttering before.
This was now an entirely different story. Coming into his house? That was like entering a whole new part of Drew, one that I hardly knew anything about. I mean, sure, I knew he had his parents and his little sister and his brother back in New York, but still; that didn't seem like very much.
"Uh, sure." I said, trying to keep my voice steady as his smile turned into a grin and he stood aside. The door suddenly became wide open and he gestured inside grandly, looking at me and waiting for me to enter. I took slow steps past the door frame, smelling the faint give off of his cologne as I strode past him and into the living room.
As he shut the door behind us gently and the sunlight from outside now came through the windows and from light bulbs in the room instead, I took in the house.
The living room, for starters, was quite large. There were two dark leather couches and an ottoman placed symmetrically in front of them. There were rustic white shelves hung all around the room, supporting all kinds of knick knacks, including picture frames and books and little room accessories. The kitchen was connected to the living room, huge and white and cleaned to shine, but the refrigerator was covered in goofy magnets and paperwork and drawings. Their was a square table in the corner that seated six, and a hallway which leaded to somewhere else. In the other corner, there was a staircase, which I assumed lead up to the bedrooms.
"Your house is really nice." I complimented, still standing in my spot. Drew immediately let out a loud chuckle.
"Thanks." he said, still laughing. "Sorry for the mess."
I looked around again. Other than the pillows that were a little out of place and few dolls thrown in random spots, this place was perfectly clean. I scrunched my nose at him.
"Mess? If this is a mess then I would hate to see what you thought of my house." I teased.
I really did like his house. In comparison, his had pictures and drawings and memories, and mine was full of left over paper work and empty walls. It definitely seemed more like a home here, full of love and personality and life, where mine was more of a house, resembling a bland hotel instead of somewhere I had lived for a decade.
He walked up behind me, smiling and shaking his head at my joke. "May I remind you, you've only really seen the downstairs. The upstairs, well, that's a whole different story."
He slowly gravitated towards the kitchen, which I followed to, and I took a seat at a padded bar stool over looking a counter while he headed towards the fridge and opened it up swiftly. Immediately, I felt the waft of cool air from it and relaxed a little.
"Would you like anything to drink?" he asked politely, looking over his shoulder at where I was sitting. I shook my head.
"No thanks, I'm alright." I said. He frowned at me, his eyebrows scrunching together.
"Too bad; I'm giving you a water bottle." He responded as he pulled two from the fridge and slid one over to me. "I'm not going to let you suddenly pass out from over heating seeing as you walked all the way over here."
My cheeks flushed. "It wasn't that bad." I lied, suddenly conscious of the slight sweat that still lingered on me from the heat. I caught the bottle and held it in my hands, the cool feeling making me shiver.
"Well, you must be a lot stronger than I give you credit for, because as soon as I got home from the record store today, I nearly died." He took a swig from his water bottle, looking around the quiet house.
The record store? He had gone down to the record store today? But it was a Saturday.
"The record store?" I asked, taking a sip of my own water bottle. "You went down there today? Isn't it Saturday?"
He looked over at me, surprise seeping back into his features.
"Odie didn't tell you?" he asked, placing his water bottle back down onto the counter.
"Tell me what?" I said, now curious.
What had Odie told Drew that he hadn't told me? And why was it so important Drew had to go down there on a Saturday to talk about?
"Him and Lacy are going up to a cabin on some mountain for a whole week with their grand kids. We're going to be running the record store by ourselves." He said nonchalantly, picking up his water bottle again.
"Lacy?" I asked, a little confused.
"His wife." he informed, and my mouth shaped a little "O" as I finally caught on.
"Well hopefully we won't have any more trouble." I added, hinting towards the night that customer came in. Though I instantly regretted it afterwards, as Drew's face instantly went pale.
Suddenly, a little voice rang out behind us, and I sighed from relief for the interruption.
"Who's this?"
I spun around in my chair to meet eyes with the savior, and as soon as I saw her I connected who she was immediately. Even with light eyes instead of dark ones, and long brown hair instead of short and pushed up, she resembled Drew almost perfectly. Except her features were a little softer instead of prominent, her arms and legs short, her lips a little pinker.
"Hi," I smiled at Drew's little sister, who was dressed in a sparkling green princess dress which was almost entirely ripped at the bottom, and had a glop of pink blush smeared across her cheek. Either way, she was incredibly adorable.
Drew cut in immediately, clearing his throat. "Ally, this is Hailey. She's my friend who works with me at the record store."
Now known as Ally, the little girl in front of me giggled. She couldn't have been older than five or six.
"She's pretty." She said, and Drew looked over at me.
"She definitely is." I blushed as soon as the sentence left his lips, looking away from him and back towards Ally.
"Well I am definitely no where as pretty as you Ally," I said, hoping the blush on my cheeks would fade. "I bet princes all over the world are just dying to meet you."
She giggled again, louder this time, her blue eyes lighting up just like Drew's brown ones did when she laughed. Their similarities were striking, you could tell they were brother and sister from just one glance. Not just because of their noses and their eyebrows, but from the sound of her laugh and the way she stood.
I ached for a split second, wondering what it would be like to have a sibling. Especially one like Ally.
"What are you doing here?" She asked innocently, looking up at me. I thought about it. I had known why I was here originally, but I didn't really see that conversation happening anymore.
I decided on, "I was just visiting. But I should probably get going soon."
Ally instantly looked sad, a frown replacing her smile as she grabbed onto my hand with her little fingers. "But you can't go," she whimpered, "You'd be a good queen for my game." Her eyes looked down to the floor, her right foot moving in a circular motion.
"Yeah, you can't go." Drew whimpered, copying his sister's tone. I looked over at him as he sported an extremely exaggerated crying face. I laughed, reaching over the counter to hit him on the arm. But he bounced back too quickly, dodging my attack.
Ally was still holding onto my hand, so I looked back over to her. I couldn't disappoint her; she was just so cute.
"Well, I guess I can stay for a little bit longer." I promised, and Ally squealed, tugging on my arm. I got up off the stool as she dragged me towards the stairs, and I watched Drew as he followed a few footsteps behind us as we climbed the stairs and headed into what I soon found out to be Ally's room.
"I can't wait to see this." Drew teased, as he took a seat on her bed and I stuck my tongue out at him.
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-DREW'S POINT OF VIEW-
"I like that one." I told Hailey as she spun around into a circle and the blanket that was supposedly a dress flew up around her. She smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder, rolling her green eyes at me.
"Me too!" Ally added in, clapping her little fingers together.
It had been a few hours since Ally had yanked Hailey up the stairs and into her room, and I had followed shortly behind. Now, after ten cups of fake tea each, pushing dolls around in fake carts, trying to figure out how to untangle a few Barbie's hair, and pretend ball room dancing, Ally and Hailey were going for a round of dress up. It had been easy to find a dress for Ally to wear, since her dress up drawer was full of them, but once Ally had discovered Hailey couldn't exactly fit in any of those, she had settled for stripping her pink bed sheets and keeping them in place around Hailey with tons of hair clips.
But of course, it was never that easy, and Ally wasn't fully satisfied until she had found about ten other different sheets from different closets and created a mass combination of them, resulting in Hailey looking like more of a laundry pile then a kingdom ruling queen.
But every single time, Hailey would always smile and spin and willingly clip on another blanket, even though she was probably going to have a heat stroke as they continued to get layered onto her. And since I wasn't really the dress up type, my sister had made me the official commentary, sitting in the corner on her bed and giving my true opinion on each and every creation and drinking the occasional cup of fake tea.
"I think this may be the perfect dress for the ball." Hailey smiled, readjusting the blanket slung over her arm and facing the mirror triumphantly. Then she nodded. "Oh, this is so totally the one."
Ally beamed. She was so impressed with herself, that she decided it was probably a good time for another round of tea. "I think we need more party drinks." She said before grabbing the three plastic tea cups and running out of the room, the edge of her torn dress trailing behind her.
I grinned. A few more cups of sink water tea didn't seem like that bad of a thing. As she disappeared from the room, Hailey took a seat beside me on the bed.
"Thank you." I said instantly, and Hailey looked over at me.
"For what?" she asked, confused as she began to comb through her hair with her fingers.
"For, all of this-" I gestured around the room and to her layered blanket dress, causing her to laugh. I loved the way she laughed, her head slightly titled back, bearing her teeth and smiling hugely. "She's kind of stuck with two older brothers, so I know she's really enjoying this."
Beneath my clothes, I could feel my heart begin to race. Being close to her, even slightly, was enough to make my stomach turn.
"Oh, this is nothing. I always wish I had a younger sister. Or any sibling at all, really." She said, and I just smiled.
"Well, I really appreciate it." I admitted, "More than you'll ever know."
And then, we just sat there.
Silent; looking at each other.
It was like at that very moment, she was the only thing I could see. Her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her lips. That was all I could concentrate on.
Her lips her lips-
Then the door creaked open. "I have more tea!" Ally chimed in, interrupting us, and both of our heads snapped in her direction. She was balancing all three full cups of sink water on her arm as she reached back to push the door shut behind her. Hailey immediately jumped up beside me, grabbing the cups from Ally and bowing at her kindly.
"Thank you for my tea, princess." She said, and Ally bowed back towards her. I couldn't stop grinning as Hailey handed me a cup of tea and I whispered under my breath, "Thank you for my tea, princess." But she just rolled her eyes at me, and went back to helping Ally find accessories to go along with her outfit.
I looked down at the tea cup in my hand, fitting strangely in my large fingers. The first thing that came to my mind was; I really wish I had a camera right now.
Because really, how many more times would I get the opportunity to see Hailey in a dress made out of blankets, drinking fake tea, and gliding around the room as bowed and laughed?
As I watched them, another thing came to my mind.
How many more times was I going to be able to spend with Hailey, before she found out my secret; before she hated me forever?
My heart clenched, my skin beginning to crawl. My breathing suddenly became a little harder, as I tried to get my thoughts back under control.
I didn't want to think about that right now. It was going to ruin everything. Everything that happened today.
I looked up at Hailey again, as she spun around in another circle and winked at me. My heart warmed, and for a few seconds, I forgot about it. For a few seconds, I saw nothing but Hailey and my sister, life right now instead of life three years ago.
Then, in that very second, it finally clicked.
I had always been broken.
Ever since the accident, I had lost pieces of myself. Pieces I know I would never get back, pieces of myself I knew would always be missing. And I know I could never do anything to change that. I couldn't go back in time, I could change what happened, I couldn't stop it. It was my fault, and it would always be my fault. But every time I looked at Hailey, every time I heard her voice, or listened to her laugh or glanced at her, it was like, even if only for a moment, I could forget. I could forget about everything that had happened. I wasn't a horrible person, I wasn't the son who ruined everything, I wasn't someone who always had something hanging over their head.
Time and time again, people had tried to help me, people had tried to tell me I just needed time. But even after three years, no one ever could understand how I felt, she would never even understand it. But with her around, it was like no one needed to. Because she was enough to make me feel like I was healed, like I had never done anything wrong. I didn't need to run away from my problems and search for solutions that wold never make sense, because she was there.
With her, I was Drew. And she was Hailey. And she made everything else evaporate, the moment I looked at her.
And when I was with her, I wasn't missing pieces. I wasn't broken. Because somehow, without even noticing it, she filled the void. She fixed my broken pieces and made me feel, for the first time in I don't know how long; completely free.
And I never thought that it was possible, I never thought I would be able to be able to feel like that ever again.
And I wanted to feel like that.
And more than anything, I wanted Hailey.
I needed her.
But how had I started to feel this way about her only a while after meeting her? How had I started to feel like this after only one date, one drive home, one day after?
I had no idea.
"Drew?" Hailey interrupted my thoughts, poking me in the shoulder. I immediately recovered, smiling at her like I had been paying attention the whole time.
"Yeah?"
"I think Ally wants to go downstairs and watch a movie or something. I would put one on but- well, I don't exactly know where any are-"
"Got it." I said, nodding and hopping up from my spot on her bed. I looked down at Ally, she was already at the door, holding it open for both of us to head back downstairs. Hailey slowly took off the blankets she was wearing and folded them all up, and I took a glance at the clock in the hallway. It was already almost six. Time had flown by.
I thought about my parents, my mind flashing back to what they had said before they walked out the door once I had come back from the record store.
"We won't be back until tomorrow morning, Drew." They had said, my mom gathering things in her purse as my dad searched for the keys he always seemed to be losing.
"Why? Where are you going?" I asked, and she looked at me sympathetically.
"We're going to talk to a doctor out of town, and since your father doesn't really like driving at night were just going to stay in a motel."
"Oh," I had said, holding my breath. I didn't know what to say. They did this pretty often, but Ally never knew about it. I just always told her they were going to visit a friend for a little bit, which she never knew any wiser. And whenever they came back, they would always enforce my story with some exciting road trip story that was entirely made up. But I would always smile and laugh and play along all the same.
"See you tomorrow morning okay? Don't forget to get to check the mail." And with that, she had kissed my cheek and walked out the door with my dad who had waved, and now, looking at the clock, I thought about what story they would pull tomorrow morning when Ally questioned what they had done while they were gone.
I looked away from the clock, following Ally down the stairs as Hailey followed close behind. When we were back in the living room, and the both of them had found a comfortable seat next to each other on the couch, I clapped my hands together dramatically.
"So what movie?" I asked, but I already knew the answer. We would watch Ally's favorite, the only movie she ever wanted to watch and the only movie I could shamefully recite, word for word, including all the musical parts.
So after I got the reply I was expecting, turned off all the lights, closed all the blinds, and stuck Beauty and the Beast in the Blu-ray player, I took a seat next to Hailey. In the corner of my eye, I could see her looking at me, smirking. I turned to her as the movie began to play.
"What?" I whispered, watching her and wondering what she was smirking about.
"Oh- nothing." She replied quickly, still smirking at me as she turned back towards the movie. But as the songs passed and the the TV light reflected onto her face, I snuck glances at her. But she would always catch them, either because she was already looking or because she could see me from the corner of her eye. And we would just smile, pretend like it didn't happen, and look back towards the movie. But I could still feel my heart pound, the affects of what it was like to have her so close to me.
And as the credits rolled and it was edging towards eight o'clock, I knew Hailey would be leaving soon. And as I looked over at Ally who had somehow managed to fall asleep even though she nearly ever slept, I knew that today couldn't have gone any better.
Hailey got up from the couch, making sure she didn't shake Ally, who had been partially resting her head on her arm. I got up along with her as we both headed towards he kitchen.
"I guess I'm going to have to go now." She said sadly, stating what we both knew would be an ending to the fun time we had.
"So soon?" I teased, even though she had been here since lunch time. She laughed lightly, grinning and rolling her eyes.
I walked with her towards the door, opening it up for her as we both headed outside and stood in front of the door way. The sun had set a little bit ago, since the days were extremely long during Summer and night always seemed so far away.
Then realization sunk in; she had walked all the way over here.
"Is Millie coming to get you?" I asked, assuming she was probably around the corner like she always was to pick Hailey up.
But to my surprise, Hailey responded with a soft, "No."
I looked at her, frowning. "Hailey, how are you getting home?"
"I'm just going to walk. It's only about twenty minutes anyway."
I frowned again, scoffing a little. "You're not being serious are you? Hailey- it's eight o'clock. There is no way I'm letting you walk home."
"Yes, you are." She said, crossing her arms. "It's not downtown, I'll be fine, it really isn't that far."
I knew she was trying to reassure me, but as I looked around at the black starless sky, the endless streets, and the silence that filled the night, I worried about her. She was going to walk all the way home?
"I can give you a ride home, it's really not that big of a deal." I said, and she looked over my shoulder.
"And leave your sister here?"
I had totally forgotten; I didn't have a car with me, I had my motorcycle. And three people couldn't exactly all ride around on that.
"Shit, Hailey." I said, shaking my head. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this."
"Drew," she said, sticking both of her hands on my shoulders and looking me straight in the eye. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, I promise."
I thought it over. I still wasn't comfortable letting her walk home by herself when it was this dark outside. I gave it one last attempt.
"Can't you call someone to come get you or something? Anyone?"
"Drew." Was all she said, crossing her arms at me, huffing as she said my name.
I waited a few seconds, but for some reason, they felt like forever.
"Okay, okay, fine." I finally agreed, and a smile instantly spread across her lips.
"Thanks dad," she teased, but I continued to frown at her. "Now stop being so worried, I promise I'll be fine."
"Yeah whatever." I said, then another thought came to my mind as she began to turn towards the steps. "Let me see your phone really quick."
"My phone?" She said, a little skeptical, but pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to me anyway. I took it quickly, going to her contact list and punching in my number. I handed it back to her, and she checked it really quick, seeing what I had added in.
"Now, you can call me when you get home, and I'll be able to sleep tonight." I grinned, and she just looked at me.
"Fine. You have a deal." She said, defeated, and now I crossed my arms.
"Good."
I watched as she retreated down the steps and began down the sidewalk, taking glances back at me and smiling as she continued and turned down the street. I didn't go back inside until I couldn't see her anymore, and even when I turned off the TV and picked up Ally in my arms to place her in my bed, it still felt bad.
And even after I went into my room and changed out of my clothes, I didn't ever stop watching my phone.
And as the minutes began to pass, it started to feel more and more as if I couldn't breath.
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End of chapter 16! I'll try and update as soon as possible, I promise.
So what did you guys think about Hailey's visit? Do you think Drew will get that phone call?
Remember to leave a comment, a question, or just anything you're thinking. I love writing these chapters, but I also really really love your feedback. And make sure you check out the song on the side and tell me what you think!
Also, since the last chapter I asked what your guy's favorite songs were, this time I'll ask; what songs do you know of that would most relate to this story?
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