Page 55 of Protecting Hailey

We held each other until the last spark fell from the black sky. Then she pulled my arm, giggling as she led me to the next ride.

***

“Uh,” Hailey groaned in the passenger seat. “I shouldn’t have eaten all those fries.”

We stopped at a fast food restaurant on our way home, and I chuckled at the discomfort on her face. “You’ll feel better once I make you a cup of tea.”

She nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

When we were just a few minutes away from her house, an alert went off on my phone. There was movement at Hailey’s front door. I pulled over to check it out.

“Is everything all right?”

“I just need to check something.”

I watched the video. A sports car pulled into Hailey’s driveway and a man walked out.

“It’s Trey,” I said. “He just got to your place.”

“Trey?” Hailey sat up in her seat, her stomach ache forgotten. “What’s he doing there?”

She sounded cautious instead of angry. I wasn’t sure what to make of the difference.

I drove back to the house. “Do you want to wait in the car while I find out?”

She shook her head. “No.”

When I pulled into the garage, she opened her car door and headed straight inside.

“Trey,” she shouted as she searched the house. I followed closely behind her.

“Hailey, baby. Where did you go? I’ve been looking all over for you?”

Hailey’s brow furrowed. “What are you doing here, Trey?”

“I told you. I’ve been looking for you. I went to the club, but you weren’t there. Frankie told me you came home, but… were you out with him?”

Trey narrowed his eyes, trying to intimidate me, and it felt like a fly trying to push me over. I crossed my arms and waited to see what Hailey wanted to do next.

“What do you want, Trey?” she asked.

Trey’s eyes lit up when he pulled out his phone. “Have you seen the response?”

Hailey shook her head. “You know I’m not on social media much. What’s going on?”

“They love you, Hailey. Everyone loved the concert. It’s all they’re talking about.”

Hailey smiled. “That’s great. Such a relief.”

Then Trey pulled Hailey closer to him and nuzzled her ear, but she pushed him away. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t you know what this means? We can be together again, baby. And I think I know exactly how I want to celebrate.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I wanted to rip his face off.

I hadn’t even realized I’d stepped closer to them until Hailey placed her hand on my arm. “I can handle this,” she said.

Then, turning to boy wonder, she asked, “Are you serious, Trey?”

“What?”

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