Thursday, 8:13 P.M.
"C'mon! Didn't I say I wanted to talk to Ty about what happened before we hang out again?" Gage asks when he notices me making my way down the stairs.
I plaster a look of being offended across my face as I skip down the last three.
"Hey!" I exclaim with a smile on my face. "Don't be so rude! I was excited to se-"
Gage cuts me off as he brushes past me, making his way to the kitchen.
Sheesh, why does he have to be so rude!
Is he really going to shun me because I told him I'm having his brother's baby? He needs to move past this- it's stupid!
"Gage!" I call out as I catch up with him. "What the hell?"
He pulls a glass bottle- a bottle of rum from the looks of it, and shoves it into the freezer before shutting the door and turning back to face me.
I don't think I've ever seen him look so miserable- and Gage almost always looks miserable! It's like- his trademark!
"Hayden, are you okay?" he asks suddenly, a real look of concern spreading across his.
I feel like he should be asking as a joke. I mean, I'm not the one still acting like an asshole! Why the hell wouldn't I be okay? He's the one storming in here acting like a hardcore emo kid! -and over what? Because his little brother got the girl? It's really not that serious!
"Are you okay?!" I snap back at him. "You can't tell me you're still upset becaus-"
Gage rolls his eyes before letting out a loud, frustrated sigh. "You've got to be kidding me! No, I'm not okay!" he tries not to yell at me. It's not really successful, he's pretty loud. "I'm not upset with you- but shit, Hayden! You can't really think that we're just going to walk around here and act normal! Like nothing happened! I haven't even spoken to him yet!"
My head immediately cocks to the side, my brows furrowing and eyes narrowing.
Really? Really?! Act like nothing happened? Nothing fucking happened! Even if I wasn't lying about Ty being the baby's father- Gage really has no right, whatsoever, to try and tell me I need to walk around here acting like something happened!
"What the fuck happened, Gage?!" I ask, my voice raising a bit louder than I intend it to be. "You're acting like an asshole! You're mad because I'm with Tyler? Not with you? Really? You're acting like a child!"
Gage's face twists up in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing as he shifts his weight to the opposite leg.
"So what the fuck was earlier? 'You chose Ty, but maybe you should've chosen me?' Yeah, I'm fucking mad!" he yells, only pausing to try to refrain himself from growing any more angry than he'd just let himself grow.
Huh?
When did I say that?
My brain does a complete flip, leaving me disoriented while it tries to piece together the sturdy foundation I felt that it had literally just moments ago.
It doesn't form the same way though- new memories flood my mind as Gage's words help construct the new foundation. It reeks of Jenalyn and her monster up there...
The foundation isn't as sturdy- but I definitely understand why Gage is so upset right now. What I don't understand though, is how I even forgot about that in the first place...
What is happening to my brain?
I find my way back to the here and now with Gage. He looks like he'd been waiting a few seconds for me to respond.
"I forgot..." I mumble, only because I can't wrap my head around saying anything else.
I can tell it makes him more angry, but he still only lets a frustrated sigh slip from his lips.
"You forgot?" He asks with a tone in his voice I've never heard before. If I were a dog, my tail would curl up under my legs. "It was so little of a fucking thing for you, that you forgot?! Is that who you are?!"
His words slap me across the face.
I want to respond to him, but I don't really know what to say. I don't even feel forced to have to say anything right now either, because as I scope out the new foundation in my mind- I learn that Ty already knows about what happened. Gage can't really hold anything over me for angering him...
It's not like I could sit here and try to explain everything though. From what I now understand- the little bit of information that Jena forced me reveal to him already has him shook.
Jena won this battle. She tainted what Hayden had with her best friend- and maybe one day, brother in law...
"I'm sorry..." I mumble. I regain my posture and turn away from him before any tears have a chance to escape my eyes.
"Really?" Gage calls out from the kitchen as I make my way through the living room. "That's it? We're not even going to talk about it?!"
I wish I could. I wish I could, even if just to try and save the friendship I had, and loved with Gage... I just can't. I risk falling back into Jena's mindset if I submerge myself back into it to talk about it with him.
That's probably what Jena wants me to do- she wants me to drown in her filth, and spread it all over Hayden's life!
As much as it hurts, there's going to have to be collateral damage to try to save Hayden's world.
I guess that's the role Gage has to play.