Page 21 of Protecting Hailey

“Call him. He should know what you’re going through. He’ll want to be here for you.”

I nodded and dialed Trey’s number. It rang several times, and I nearly hung up when he finally answered.

“Trey, hey, it’s me.”

“Hi, Hailey.” His voice sounded off. Distant.

“Where are you?”

There was noise in the background, the clinking of metal. “I’m at the gym with the boys.”

“Oh. Um… do you mind cutting your workout short? I need you right now.” I ran a hand through my hair. “The taping didn’t go so well—"

“I know. It’s blowing up all over the internet. People are commenting on my page. My publicist is freaking out.”

“Shit, Trey. I’m sorry about that. Why don’t you come over and we can figure this out together?”

Someone was talking beside Trey but I couldn’t make out the voice. “Yeah, yeah. I know,” Trey whispered harshly.

My eyes caught Christian’s and although I knew he shouldn’t be listening to this conversation, I couldn’t turn away. “Trey? You still there?”

“Yeah. I’m here,” then a sigh. “Look, Hailey. We should take a break for a little while. I can’t be seen with you right now.”

“What?” My heart stopped. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a lot of heat coming your way and until it cools off a bit, I should stay away from it. My career’s just taking off and it won’t be a good look if I get associated with any lip-syncing scandal.”

I squeezed my fists, my long fingernails nearly breaking through the skin. I wanted to inflict the pain on him, not on me.

“I didn’t lip-sync on my album. It was just this one time because I got this stupid cold. And I got it from you, you jerk.”

“Hey,” he shot back. “Don’t blame this on me. You’re just upset right now. I get it, so I won’t take this personally. We’ll talk soon, babe. Got to go. Bye.”

The line went dead, and I stared at the black screen. What the hell just happened? Was that a break-up? Or a break?

“Fuck him.”

I blinked, shocked by the frustration in Christian’s voice. I’d nearly forgotten he was standing not three feet away from me and had heard everything.

I paced my living room and stared up at the ceiling, wishing the tears wouldn't fall. How could one mistake cost this much? This couldn’t be happening.

I fell onto the couch and dropped my head into my hands.

Christian stood in front of me. I saw his Italian leather shoes before I heard his voice. “Let’s go for a ride. Get out of here for a bit.” He tossed me the keys. “You drive.”

I closed my eyes and wanted to just stay home and pretend this day never happened. Wake up from a nap and think it was all just a bad dream. But there was no use. And staying here feeling sorry for myself wasn’t working.

I nodded and pushed myself off the couch. “Let’s go.”

Not bothering to find other shoes, I slipped on my three-inch gold heels and climbed back into my car. I pulled out of the driveway and turned down the winding roads. “Where should we go?”

He looked out the window and down the hill. “Let’s go to Malibu. I haven’t been there in a while.”

I smiled. I loved driving along the coast. It was the perfect plan.

My foot pressed down on the gas pedal and I shifted gears, the movement pressed my back against the leather seat. My heart soared.

The adrenaline boost made me smile, and I grabbed my sunglasses and put them on. Pressing a button, I opened the convertible roof and shook out my hair. Christian tossed me a rare smile, one filled with pride. I’d never seen the look on him before. It made me feel warm inside.

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