I couldn't even make the words come out, all that came out was this weird throat noise. I cleared my throat. "Come in" I called out as I stood up and fixed my hair. Preparing myself for the shout down I was going to get. Hayes walked into my room with a neutral expression on his face that terrifyed me. I was waiting in discomforting anticipation for him to begin yelling at me. He let out a deep sigh as he walked towards me pulling me into a hug. My entire body stiffened at his touch. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I didn't notice" He said into my shoulder before pulling out of the hug.
I stood there unable to form a sentence. "Emily, please say something" He said looking at me in distress. "I-I..I don't understand" Was all I managed to get out. "You don't understand what?" He asked me, still holding onto my arms. "Why, why are you taking my side?" I asked frowning at him. "Why wouldn't I take your side Just because Nash is my brother doesn't mean I'm going to stand by him when he did something like this" Hayes said sitting down on the bed.
The guilt overwhelmed me as I burst into tears right in front of him. He pulled me into his arms again tightly, as he ran his fingers up and down my back. "I'm so sorry, I can't believe he was doing this to you the whole time and I didn't know. I noticed you had been acting differently lately but I never even imagined it would be it something like this! I'm so so sorry" He said beginning to tear up.
"Hayes stop! This isn't your fault" I said leaning on his shoulder. "I feel like the worst boyfriend in the world for not noticing something was going on" He said shaking his head in disgust. "Don't blame yourself, it's my fault for not saying something sooner". "You should have told me" He said putting his face in his hands. "I know, I'm sorry" I said looking down. "Don't apologise. Are you okay..?" He asked taking my hand and I nodded. "If you can call being questioned for 5 hours okay" I said trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that" He said kissing the top of my head. "I'm sorry for not telling you, how did you find out about it?" I asked and he let out a deep sigh. "Two policemen came by the house about an hour ago and took Nash to the station" My heart almost stopped. "What? Seriously?" I said in an anxious tone. "Yeah, they brought him in for questioning" He told me. "What are you doing here then. Shouldn't you be with your parents and Nash?" I asked him. "No, I want nothing to do with him. He disgusts me. I don't even want to see his face again" He said with fury in his voice.
"Hayes..he's your brother" I said feeling guilty for causing a divide between them. "I don't care, he's a criminal and I hope he goes to jail for what he did" Hayes said through his teeth. "Do..you really think he will?" I asked as my heart rate sped up. "Definitely, there's not a very good chance that a judge is going to believe him over you" He said rubbing my back. "Oh God, I feel horrible" I said beginning to cry again. "Emily stop, don't blame yourself. He's going to get what he deserves" He said trying to make me feel better.
I didn't want to talk anymore, so we just sat. I felt awkward having Hayes sitting there feeling bad for me. I never expected him to believe me over Nash. "Maybe you should go and be with your family.." I said looking down at my feet. "No, I want to stay with you. I'm sticking by you through all of this" He said pulling me back into his chest. "Hayes, I don't want to cause a fight between you and Nash" I admitted. "He caused the fight himself the first time he layed a hand on you" He said in a stern tone.
Hayes ended up staying the night, we didn't talk much which I was glad about because I don't think I could keep lying to him for much longer. This was going to be a tough few weeks but I think I could get through it if I had Hayes with me. Hayes kept his phone constantly by his side, waiting for any news of how things were going at the station.