Page 61 of The Expiration Date

What the hell are they doing here and how did they know where I live? Actually scratch that, I don’t want to know. Anna probably has some scary ways of finding out information.

I open the door. Here we go.

“I’m assuming you are here to kick my perfect little ass?” I say, looking directly at Dan.

Confused, he looks back at me. “What? No. What the hell are you talking about?”

Anna chimes in: “Damn right he is!” She charges into my apartment and Dan follows suit, looking dumbfounded and quite honestly a little scared. He was completely out of the loop on this promise that Anna made months ago on his behalf.

“Wait, no Anna, I am not going to kick Aidan Stone’s ass. Are you joking me? I am half his size. He would snap me like a twig.” A flash of panic enters Dan’s eyes as he glances back and forth at me and his fuming wife.

“Well, if you’re not going to, I will.” She marches over and slaps me across my face. So hard that it stings. Okay. I was expecting way worse than that from the best friend of the woman I love. “You promised me that you wouldn’t shatter her again and there you went and did it anyway! How could you do that to Hales? She is seriously the sweetest person on this whole fucking planet and you broke her! Aidan, did you know that all she did for a month after your whole situation, deal, whatever the hell you want to call it, ended? Hmm? She sat in her room and cried. Barely ate. Barely slept. It was like a Bella in New Moon level of depression. I called her twice a day and texted Rachel constantly to make sure she was okay. To make sure she didn’t fall further into her own intrusive thoughts of not being enough for someone.” She slaps me again, on the other cheek this time. “How dare you cheat on her with your ex!”

Wait, what the hell?

“Is that what she told you?” I ask incredulously.

Anna nods vigorously.

“That’s not true at all. Natasha kissed me. That’s all that happened.”

“Why should I believe you? According to Haley and the various tabloids and social media posts, you were in love with Natasha at one point. I am Team Haley all the way.” Anna crosses her arms and stands with one hip out. A classic pissed-off stance.

Rubbing my cheek, I respond, “I thought I was in love with Natasha. I didn’t know what real love felt like until Haley. I know what you are about to say, that that sounds like a line from one of my movies and that I am bullshitting you right now. But I swear I am not, Anna.” I look her deep into her eyes, hoping she will see the truth in mine. “I love Haley so much that it is killing me that she is not by my side every second of every day. If I knew what it would take to win her back, I would. You don’t think I’ve also been fucking depressed? Hell, it has been a million times worse this time than my very public breakup with Natasha. Only this time, instead of parading around with women and drinking until the early morning and having hangovers and regrets, I’ve been throwing myself into my work. Distracting myself. Trying not to think about the woman who made me feel alive again, who made me feel like a normal guy and didn’t treat me special because of what I do. Except the distraction doesn’t work. It’s a terrible type of purgatory I can’t escape. Every aspect of my job reminds me of Hales. She was such an important part of my world for over three years. These past months have been terrible. And even when I come home, I’ve been lighting her favorite scented candle and making coffee non-stop because it reminds me of her. I hate myself every day for allowing Natasha into my home four months ago. I should’ve slammed the damn door in her face the moment I saw it was her and not the love of my life.” I put my hands on my hips and look down at the floor, feeling defeated as ever but I have to make one more important point: “And just to make it clear, I will always be Team Haley, too.”

Finally, I see a flicker in Anna’s eyes. A shift from rage to understanding.

“Anna,” Dan says, “I think he’s telling the truth. I can tell when someone is lying and telling the truth. I see the pain in his eyes and I could only imagine that would be what my own eyes would look like if I lost you.”

I knew I always liked Dan.

“I know he is, too.” Anna breathes out and steps back to allow some sort of distance between us. “I can tell you love my best friend, Aidan. But why would Haley tell me that you cheated on her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she thought that would be an easier excuse to tell people as to why things ended between us. That narrative is unfortunately what she has gotten used to. Things just got complicated and she wanted a way out.” I fall onto my couch and cover my eyes. “She wanted to protect her heart.”

I get it. If I saw Robert at Haley’s door, kissing her and she let him in, my mind would wander too and make assumptions. I would be hurt too. Actually, I would grab him by the shoulders and throw him the hell out of her house, but that’s besides the point.

Anna and Dan make their way over to my couches and slowly sit down.

“Please tell me that she is doing okay.” I clasp my hands together and let them fall between my knees, looking down at the floor.

“Well I think that ‘okay’ is relative but yes, she is doing a lot better than when things first went south. She actually called me the other night and told me some good news.”

My heart drops. She started dating another guy. Someone who wouldn’t let her slip away like I did. Someone who would hold onto that delicate hand of hers and never let it go. This is what I deserve.

“It’s not that,” Anna quickly reassures me. It’s scary how this woman can read people’s minds. “Her manuscript got picked up by some executives at Netflix. They want to make it into a mini-series. I guess it’s true what they say: if your personal life is going to shit, then your professional one will be on the rise. That’s kind of why we are here, plus we haven’t spent New Year’s Eve in New York in years. We are here to celebrate with her.”

She’s in town? I smirk because she’s been right here in New York. She isn’t 3,000 miles away. I’m so relieved those executives actually listened to me and legitimately read the script like I asked them to.

It is time to confess. “I did that.”

“You did what?” Anna and Dan ask in unison.

“A few months ago, Rachel handed me a manuscript with instructions to read it and told me that if I wanted even the smallest chance to be in with Haley again, that I needed to use my influence as a possible producer on the project to get this greenlit. She said that Haley submitted it already but it might get lost in the slush pile. I read the whole script but I knew after the first ten pages that it was something great. I haven’t read a manuscript for a romantic comedy like this in a long time. I knew it was something special. And I was so fucking proud of her for finishing it in the first place. She finally figured out her happy ending and I realized that what went on between us, especially our time on that beach after the wedding, meant something to her. She used that as her happily-ever-after in her screenplay. I realized that she still cared, but I was and am still on the outs with her. I knew that if I couldn’t get her back because of who I am in the industry, I at least needed to use my power in Hollywood for good, especially since I’m now seen as the Golden Boy again. All thanks to Haley.”

I smile for the first time in months because I could only imagine Haley dancing around in her room, probably blasting Taylor Swift and genuinely dancing like a goof in celebration of this news. I would’ve gladly watched her do that for hours. Unfortunately, the only look on Haley’s face seared into my brain is the one she gave me as she left my trailer for the last time. “I helped greenlight her manuscript. I knew being a screenwriter has always been her dream. I wanted her dreams to come true. That was the least I could do.”

“Oh my god. Aidan, this changes things.”

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