Page 30 of Chaos at Westbrook High

“Bye, Hailey,” one of the dark-haired guys calls teasingly over his shoulder, and I stare at the side of his face, resisting the urge to grab him by the polo shirt he’s wearing and toss his ass to the ground.

“Bye,” she says back, smiling politely but barely sparing him a glance.

Good girl.

“Hey, you sure you don’t wanna come with u?—”

“Dude, shut up,” the blond guy next to him hisses, jabbing his elbow into his arm.

The dark haired one swings his head around to me, his eyes widening as he side-steps out of my way.

Hailey sees me then, and her shoulders drop with an exhale, her eyes closing for a second before she goes back to cleaning one of the tables in the middle of the empty shop.

Wyatt looks from me to her, then back to me again, his gaze hardening as if he thinks he can stop me from going in there. I stop at his side just inside the doorway, keeping my eyes on Hailey and my voice low to ensure she doesn’t hear me. “Get out before I throw you out on your ass right in front of her.”

He hesitates, the brave fucker, then does as he’s told, bitterly shaking his head at me while he leaves with his friends. They don’t dare say a word to each other while they walk away, silent as they get into Wyatt’s car parked across the street.

Checking my watch, I flip the sign on the door from open to closed, then move toward Hailey. I came here with the intent to mess with her some more, but I stop short, shutting my mouth as I take in her appearance. She’s as beautiful as always, but she looks tired, defeated, her pretty blue eyes bloodshot and glassy. When she walks behind the counter and hooks the rag she was using into the back pocket of her shorts, she doesn’t even glare at me. She just cleans her hands and takes a plastic cup from the stack. “Same as always, right?”

Chapter 13

HAILEY

He doesn’t say anything at first, and I pause, looking at him from beneath my lashes while my hand hovers over the register. “Kai?”

He blinks, staring at my face like I’ve got something on it. “Yeah, baby?”

“Do you want your usual or not?”

He nods, then adds, “And?—”

“A mocha latte for Callie,” I say. “I know.”

He smiles, pulling out a fifty-dollar bill from his wallet while I put his order through.

“Don’t you have a credit card or something?” I ask.

“Yep.”

“Can you use it?”

“Nope.”

Sighing, I take the money and hand him his change. He refuses to take it, just like every time, so I set it down in front of him before turning around to grab the caramel sauce. Feeling him watching my back, I discreetly check my face and teeth in the long, horizontal mirror between the shelves and counter. There’s nothing there, but I look like shit. I’m exhausted. It’s harder than I thought to balance school, work, bills, and keeping my brother alive without Val by my side.

I miss her.

I haven’t been to the cemetery this week, but I’m going tonight, right after I finish up here and pick some daisies for her from the park. I try not to think about the fact that Kai does the same thing for me every day.

Derek won’t come to see her with me, but it’s whatever. I’m done trying to convince him to visit her because it’s not worth the argument. Everybody handles grief differently, I guess, and it’s not my place to force him to grieve a certain way.

Even if my way is healthy and his way is stupid.

I rub at the tension in the back of my neck and finish making Kai’s iced coffee, side-eyeing him when I still feel his eyes burning two holes into my face.

“What?”

“Tell me who put that look on your face,” he demands, his fists clenching on the counter like he might hit something if I give him an answer he doesn’t like.

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