"I'm getting the mail." I knocked on Hannah's door, but she didn't answer. She's probably asleep still.
"I'm getting the mail." I yelled through the quiet house before grabbing the keys and flipping my jacket's hood on.
I ran to the mailbox in the rain and nearly knocked our mailwoman over. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay." She waved me off and started sliding letters and bills into the boxes.
"Can I give you the package key after I get the package?" I asked her as I unlocked the box.
"Sure." She took the key after I handed it to her. "Happy Holidays."
"Happy Holidays." I smiled at her before getting the mail out of our box. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" She waved, and we went our separate ways.
I locked the door behind me, kicked my sneakers off, and carefully draped my wet jacket over my arm that wasn't holding Dad's box from Amazon.
"Your books are here, Dad." I tossed my jacket onto the counter and set his box by it. "Bill, bill, mortgage, Christmas card from Grandma, and a letter from Mase."
I sat the bills and Christmas card on Dad's box and walked to my and Hannah's rooms with my mail and jacket.
"Hey, I got a letter from Mase if you wanna read it with me." I said through the door. "Justin can join if he wants, but that could be weird if it's a love letter proclaiming Mason's undying love for me."
Hannah didn't say anything or even laugh, so I took at as a cue she was sleeping or didn't want to talk to me.
"I left Grandma's Christmas card with the bills and Dad's box on the counter in the kitchen." I told her before going to my room to read Mason's letter.
I hung my jacket up on its hook on the back of my door before crawling back into bed. I grabbed the fancy old letter opener Grandma had gotten me for Christmas a few years back and opened the envelope then dumped it's contents on my lap.
I stared in confusion at the key, ad for apartments downtown, and a somewhat readable note written on stationery from a motel.
I placed the key by the framed picture of Hannah and I on the first day of high school that was sitting on my nightstand, but ignored the ad and read Mason's note.
Hails,
So Walt decided to wait until we were on the road before telling me why he was in town. Turns out he was applying to be an overseer (not a manager!) at the new gallery, and he got the job! We're headed up to his old place to pack it up then we'll be back, hopefully before New Years.
Walt says you're welcome over anytime and that the key is his belated birthday/ early Christmas present :), so I'm gonna be 25 minutes away instead of 12 hours.
Love ya, Mason
I read the note five times before it sunk in. They were coming back, Mason was coming back.
"Oh my God!" My smile felt bigger than the one for NYU's acceptance letter.
"Hannah!" I flew out of my room and banged on her door. "Hannah, open up! Mason's coming back!"
I opened her door when she didn't answer, but she wasn't in her room.
"Hannah? Justin?" I opened Justin's door expecting them to be passed out or making out on his bed, but his room was empty too.
"Dad." I ran to his room and pushed the door open, not caring if he was changing. "Hannah and-"
Dad wasn't in his room. Or bathroom.
How did I not notice their cars were gone when I went to get mail?
The phone started ringing which shook me out of my confusion. I folded Mason's note up and shoved it into my back pocket as I answered the phone.
"Jacobs residency, this is Hailey." I leaned against the wall.
"Are you Hannah's sister?" A woman asked.
"Yeah." I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Who is this and may I take a message?"
"It's her manager." That's why her voice was a little bit familiar. "I wanted to know if everything was okay? She's about thirty minutes late for her shift."
I didn't know she had work today. "I meant to call sooner, Hannah woke up feeling sick to her stomach and can't move without throwing up." The lie rolled off my tongue. It scares me how easy I'm able to lie these days.
"Oh no." Her manager sighed. "Okay, a couple of others have been hit with a really bad case of the flu. Have her call me when she gets better."
"Will do." I do her before hanging up. "Hannah, where are you?"
*****
"Do you know where Hannah is?" I asked Dad the second he opened the door.
"Work?" He shrugged his jacket off and closed the door.
"Her manager called." I crossed my arms over my chest and swayed on my feet. "She didn't show up, and she's not answering her phone. I had to call Justin after like twenty missed calls and more unanswered texts."
"Did Justin say where-" Dad started asking, but I shook my head.
"He said they're fine and they'll be home tomorrow." I relayed what little information I was given.
"And here I thought you would be the first to run off with a boy." He muttered as he brushed past me to the kitchen. "Thanks for getting the mail."
"Why?" I asked without turning around to look at him. I kept staring ahead at the front door.
"Why what?" I could hear him flipping through the mail.
"Why did you think I would be the first to run off with a boy?" I hugged myself tighter.
"Hail-"
"Answer me, please." I unclenched my jaw, and it throbbed in dull pain.
"I've seen the way you and that Banks boy look at each other, Hailey." He was talking like the topic was the weather. "I knew it was a matter of time before he knocked you up."
I turned around so fast black spots clouded my vision. "What the fuck did Mason ever do to piss you off? What did I do?"
He just stared at me emotionless. "You two are just like-"
"We're nothing like you and Mom." I pointed a finger at him. "Mason doesn't stop me from pursuing my goals no matter how stupid they are."
"He's trying to get in your pants!" Dad snapped. "That boy can't maintain a serious relationship for more than a week!"
"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. "You're holding silly middle school relationships against him? He hasn't been in a serious relationship because he's scared of turning into his parents!"
He started talking, but I didn't let him get a word out. "You're a fucking hypocrite with your constant slutshaming of Hannah and getting pissed off at the thought us wanting to have sex when you had your first time your freshman year of high school! Mason can't hold a serious relationship? You were sleeping left and right in high school, so much I wouldn't be surprised if we had half siblings."
He reeled back in shocked at my anger. "You made us hate Mom because she left us for no reason, and I believed it! That is until I remembered I walked in on her sobbing. You wanna know why she left, 'Dad'? You fucking cheated on her."
"Don't worry Pops, Hannah doesn't know." I threw my hands up. "I've kept it a secret for almost a decade, and I'll keep it one. She told me in great detail about walking in on you, not one time with one woman, but three different times with three different women! And that's why I took fucking Health freshman year, so I wouldn't have to suffer through your slutshaming of everyone because how dare hormonal teenagers think about sex!"
"You don't know what you're talking about Hailey." He snarled at me, but I stood my ground.
"She gave me her two cameras." My voice was quieter now. "The polaroid and a video camera she hid in your room."
I watched his face turn white and eyes widen in fear.
"I didn't wanna believe her, and I thought her leaving meant she was wrong." I wiped the tears off my cheek. "But I watched the videos on the camera a couple of years ago."
He reached towards me, but I took a couple of steps back.
"I hate you." I told him. "I hate you, I hate you. I'm moving out the second I can, and you're never invited to anything after Graduation. High school graduation."
I ran back to my room and locked the door; I didn't slid down the door with quiet tears running down my cheeks like in movies and shows.
I tripped, fell, and curled into a ball on my messy floor and choked out heaving sobs. Dad'll probably drink away the fight or forget it or use it to make Hannah hate me more than she already does. Like with Mom, and I won't fight it because Hannah loves Dad.
I pull myself off the floor and manage to change into one of Mason's flannels then crawl into bed utterly exhausted. I'll probably be asleep when they come back which will give Dad time to pull them onto his side.
I pull the collar to my nose and breath in Mason's cologne. "I miss you."
***AN***
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~ChasingMadness24 & BriannaVore