Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,67

Her voice is stronger the second time she says it and she turns to glare at me.

Well, this isn’t where I saw this conversation going. Her words throw me for a loop, and I can’t think of anything to say at first. “Tabitha, why would you want me to say?” Surprisingly, I want to know the answer to this question. “We were both miserable and wishing we were anywhere else. Why on earth would you want to sentence us both to that?” Better yet why is this a conversation we haven’t had in the past year? She brings this up now?

Tabitha doesn’t immediately answer, and I grow impatient waiting for her to say something… anything.

“I know you weren’t happy. I wasn’t either, but I still loved you. I didn’t want our relationship to just end either. I didn’t want to have to explain to my father that I couldn’t keep our relationship together.”

That makes a little more sense. “Hell, if that was the only reason why, I would’ve talked to him for you.” I’m trying to inject a little humor into our conversation because this is heavy shit. Plus, her dad always hated me. He probably would have been just fine with her leaving me, especially if she took the kids away from me when she did.

She finally cracks a genuine smile. “Yeah, well, I didn’t think about that at the time.” Tabitha exhales a breath, her shoulders sagging further. “Fine. I won’t say anything to the principal about you two. I don’t even know if she’d have a problem with it. I just wanted to hurt you… and her too.”

I don’t expect her to say she’s sorry, and it’s a good thing because she doesn’t. Tabitha leaves me standing in the hallway, looking at her with my mouth dropped open because she sounded genuine. It’s been a long time since she’s been anything but a bitch to me. I don’t know if I can trust it, but as soon as the front door shuts behind her, I hightail it back to Hailey’s room.

She’s not here. Where is she? She couldn’t have just left, could she?

I spin around and go in the opposite direction, heading for the parking lot where she parks every morning. Hailey’s car is gone, so she must’ve left while Tabitha and I were having our stupid heart to heart.

Now I run in the opposite direction, crashing out of the front doors and making a beeline for my truck. I have to get to her, to make her understand that my ex is, in fact, human and isn’t going to ruin her life.

My truck skids into the apartment parking lot and I take up two spaces when I park. I’m in way too much of a hurry to worry about parking etiquette. If someone gets upset, they can kiss my fucking ass. I need to get to Hailey.

I take the stairs to her apartment two at a time, and by the time I reach her landing I’m breathing heavy and a little lightheaded. I guess I need to incorporate more running into my gym routine, but I could give a shit about that right now.

My fist pounds on her door as I scream her name. “Hailey!” The door doesn’t budge. “Please let me in.” Still nothing. I rest my head on her door frame and wish for her to open it.

“She’s not in there.”

I spin around and see Riley standing in her doorway, her eyes darting between me and Hailey’s door. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she says. “She hasn’t gotten home from school yet, but she should be here soon. I think she had conferences today. A few might have run late. Do you want to come in and wait for her?”

Instead of responding, I head for the stairs. Where could she be? I try her cell phone again as I’m jogging down to the first floor, but there’s no answer.

As much as I don’t want to admit defeat, I don’t think I have a choice. Until she decides to talk to me, I’m screwed. I just hope she doesn’t ignore me forever.

I’m walking up the stairs to my apartment, and when my floor comes into view, I see her standing at my apartment, her back resting on the wall beside my door and her arms crossed over her chest.

“Hailey.” The way I say her name, like it’s both a curse and a prayer, grabs her attention and she looks up. I’ve barely cleared the top step when