Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,47
care. Depending on how this conversation goes, I’ll probably regret it later.
“What are you doing?” she asks incredulously. “You do know you’re supposed to wait to be invited inside someone’s house, right?”
I cross my arms over my chest and just stare at her, saying nothing. I’m not about to defend myself to someone who won’t even tell me the truth. “Who were you expecting to be at the door Hailey?”
She shuts the door with a groan and turns back to face me. “It. Doesn’t. Matter.” The words are said through clenched teeth, but I don’t let it phase me.
“It damn well does matter, Hailey. Especially if whoever you were expecting to be at the door is also the reason you were so out of it tonight.” I’m not about to beg her for information, but one way or another she will tell me what’s going on.
Hailey shakes her head stubbornly, refusing to admit anything.
“Who was it?” I take a step toward her, waiting for her to tell me.
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.” Her chin lifts, and she stares up at me in defiance. God, it’s such a turn on that she stands up to me.
Taking another step forward, I ask again. “Who. Was. It?” Again she tells me it doesn’t matter and we continue this dance until I’m standing so close to her our chests touch with every angry breath we take.
Finally, she breaks, throwing her hands in the air in frustration and forcing me to step back so they don’t hit me. “Oh my God, fine. If you want to know so badly, I’ll tell you.” Her eyes are practically spitting fire at me. “Seth.” His name is said like a curse.
“Why did you think Seth would be at your door?” I’m confused because she said he still lives in Portland. He’d have to drive all the way down here just to show up at her door. Why would he do that?
Hailey curls into herself, her back resting against the door. She looks so sad I want to reach out and pull her into my arms, but I don’t think she’ll accept my comfort right now. “He’s moved back to Seattle.”
My body tenses to the point it feels like my skin is stretched taut. “What? When? What does he want?” I spit the questions at her and she flinches when each one lands.
“He says he wants to see Connor. Seth wanted me to let him see him tonight and wasn’t very happy when I told him I already had plans.”
She looks down, all the color draining out of her face at this confession. That’s what it feels like, like she’s confessing her sins to me, when it’s nothing of the sort. “Okay, and what happened after that?” I ask when she doesn’t continue.
Hailey shrugs. “He wants to see him next weekend, so I told him to text me when he’ll be available and I’ll let him know.”
“Fuck that.” My hands clench into fists at my sides. After the shitty way he treated her, the fucked up way he treats his kid, now he wants to see him? I call bullshit. “You’re not going to see him alone.”
Her gaze lifts from where she was staring at the floor to glare at me. “Excuse me? You don’t get to tell me what to do, Mitchell. We’ve had one date, two if you count dinner tonight. That does not give you the right to make decisions for me.”
“Whoa, hold on a second.” I hold both hands up in front of my body and try to reason with her. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just saying if you’re going, I am too. He’s a jackass and if he tries to pull something I don’t want you to have to deal with him alone.”
She’s already shaking her head when I finish. “You being there will just make things worse.”
“No, me being there means he can’t make things worse. Big difference.”
Hailey rubs her forehead with a hand like she’s getting a migraine. I should feel bad for causing her more stress, but I don’t. She can be mad at me all she wants, but she’ll be mad while I’m standing there beside her so the dickhead can’t mess with her.
She finally lowers her hand, but her shoulders slump, making her look defeated. I can’t handle her looking that way without trying to do something to fix it. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I lift her face so she’s