Page 60 of The Expiration Date

“No, I am getting myself out of a situation I shouldn’t have been in the first place. I am not running.”

“You are. Just like you did three years ago.” I feel her delicate hand make its way across my face.

She points a finger at me, infuriated,“That’s not fair and you know it.” Tears start rolling down Haley’s cheeks again.

That does it. I have become the thing she is running away from and I don’t know how to salvage this.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “That wasn’t fair.”

“I am not running. I am simply abiding by the contract we established. According to our contract, this–” She points back and forth between the two of us. “–is over.”

33

Ihaven’t seen Haley since she walked out my trailer door on her last day.

That was almost four months ago.

After I return from my European tour for my latest movie, I try everything to get back into her life. All the press wants to see Haley next to me.

Join the club.

Once I land, my car is waiting for me. I head to Haley and Rachel’s apartment straight away, but Rachel answers the door and says that Haley is taking a nap and it’s probably best that I don’t bother her. I try explaining what happened, or didn’t happen, between me and Natasha.

“Look Aidan, I believe you, but I gotta support my girl. She is really going through it right now. I mean, look at it from her perspective. She literally risked everything to fake-date you, you both caught actual feelings for each other–which let’s face it, duh–and then when you promised her that she was your forever, she saw you and Natasha, who was wearing practically nothing by the way, making out and then heading into your house.”

“Nothing happened.” I nearly growl, still pissed-off that this is the way Haley is going to remember me. She is probably replaying that kiss over and over in her head, inevitably haunting her.

“Natasha shouldn’t have been near your door, let alone going into your damn house, Aidan. Even if Haley wasn’t on her way there–it’s the trust factor she has an issue with. I bet memories of what she walked in on with Robert and that homewrecker flooded her consciousness. She felt like she was burned twice.”

All I can do is nod. I am at a loss at what to say.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, I think you are a stand-up guy. And I know you couldn’t control the circumstances with Natasha. I get it. But when you’re heartbroken, you can’t see past certain things. Just give Haley some space. Maybe she’ll come around once she’s done being depressed about the situation. See you on set, Aidan.”

Their green door slams in my face. It guts me that Rachel used the word “depressed” when talking about my girl. I don’t want any space between us anymore. I guess I’d been naively hoping that after I returned from Europe, Hales would run back into my arms like they do in the movies.

Reality is different.

Reality fucking sucks.

Months pass, and I throw myself into work. Trying to distract myself with memorizing lines and strength-training. I run on the beach every single morning, even if I have an early call time, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I will see the woman of my dreams running toward me and I can scoop her up, throw her over my shoulder, and take her home with me.

But that never happens.

I could probably compete in an Iron Man competition at this point, given how immersed I am in working out these days.

December 30th. I am back in New York for the holidays to be with my mom. She has a new boyfriend and I actually like him. I know this man is important to my mother because she hasn’t let anyone in her life since my dad. I could tell that he really likes my mom and respects her. I’ve never seen my mom so happy, and so I am in effect happy.

I am mindlessly scrolling my Instagram reels when a knock on my door knocks me out of my trance. I didn’t buzz anyone in. What the hell is going on?

The knocking becomes incessant.

“Aidan Stone, answer your damn door! I know you’re in there!”

I look through my peephole and see none other than Anna and Dan.

Dan turns to Anna and says in a low voice, “What if he’s not home, honey. We are going to look like lunatics to his neighbors and then security is going to kick us out of this building. The doorman was already suspicious of us when we snuck in after that delivery man.”

“I know he’s in there,” Anna growls.

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