to call and just make sure she’s alright, but…” He shrugged. “I can’t add any more stress to her life.”
“There’s got to be something you can do. Eventually Haley’s going to settle in and start to feel a little less resentful,” Dean reasoned. “Like you said, we’ve all been there and we all did. Maybe in a month…”
“I’m not going to beg her,” Kyle stated firmly. “It is what it is. Things will go much better for the two of them if I’m not there interfering.”
“Agree to disagree,” Dean replied before taking a bite of his pizza.
Looking at the two of them, he sighed. “So, how’d you know that something happened?”
“I ran into Jake yesterday,” Hunter said. “He mentioned how word on the job site was that you were a nightmare to work with and clearly something was wrong. Then he called me after he saw you earlier and confirmed it. We know there’s nothing else going on that could get you this pissed off and so I put two and two together.”
All he did was nod. He may have been annoyed that they’d been here waiting for him, but now that he had calmed down, he realized he appreciated them for taking the time. They each had lives of their own and better things to do than sit here listening to him cry because a broken-hearted twelve-year-old essentially ruined his life.
The three of them ate in companionable silence for several minutes before Hunter spoke up. “Should I ask Violet to check on them? You know, show up at a gymnastics meet and play dumb? Like she doesn’t know the two of you broke up or why?”
“I’d really rather you didn’t. The less Haley sees of our family, the better. I don’t want anyone freaking her out or making her feel like we’re pressuring her in any way. Just…let it be. It’s over.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Hunter said after a moment. “I really thought the two of you were going to…”
“Dude, seriously?” Dean said, cutting him off.
“Fine. So…what now? What are your plans?”
Grabbing his third slice, Kyle tossed it on his plate. “Jake’s got me heading up a new job starting Monday. I plan on taking the weekend to look over the plans so I can show up there Monday morning and prove to him that I can be trusted. He’s been giving me the crappy jobs for a month now, so this is my second chance. Maybe this one I won’t blow.”
“So what happens now?”
It was Monday afternoon and Sydney was parked outside of Teresa’s office while Haley was inside. It had been a horrific battle to get her there—just like it had been the entire week before—but somehow she managed to get her niece in the car and get them to their appointments without them killing each other.
“Syd? You there?”
“Oh, sorry, Mia. My mind wandered for a minute.”
“I don’t doubt it. Are you going in to talk with Teresa today too?”
“Yeah,” she said wearily. “I’ve been talking to her almost daily—both in person and on the phone—but I honestly don’t think anything’s working. Haley’s just so angry and nothing’s getting through to her. I just feel so damn helpless and miserable.”
“I am so sorry, Syd. I wish there were something I could do.”
“Thanks, me too.” She sighed. “I never thought anything like this would happen. I get the whole stages of grief thing, but…this angry side of Haley seemed to come out of nowhere.”
“Have you heard from Kyle?”
Just hearing his name made her heart ache. “No. But then again, I pretty much made sure I pushed him away enough that he wouldn’t even think of calling.”
“Syd…”
“I can’t, Mia. I can’t even let myself think about him. As it is, I’m ready to lose my mind. Last night I was talking to my mother and now she wants to come try to help but…I don’t know if I can handle that too.”
“What can I do? Tell me. Do you and Haley want to come here for a week just to get away?”
Smiling sadly, she said, “Thank you for even offering, but…we’re going to get through this. Hopefully sooner rather than later.” Looking up, she saw Haley walking out of the office and waving her in. “I have to go. It’s my turn.”
“Good luck! And call me later if you need me!”
Hanging up, Sydney did her best to paste a smile on her face as she walked toward Haley. “Everything go okay?”
“What do you think?”
It took every ounce