Page 92 of Blinded By Love

It’s about 2:00 a.m. right now. Hayden and I stayed at the arcade for a while and I have a feeling we are going to be here for a while too.

“With Carter, once.” Hayden’s hand clenches as he talks about Carter.

“Do you not like Carter?”

Hayden's jaw ticks and he looks at me with soft eyes. “It’s not that I don’t like him.”

“Then what is it?”

I know Carter is a tough subject for Hayden. I know Hayden doesn’t like talking about family in general. I can relate because things with my mom are sometimes complicated and things with my dad are just uncomfortable and weird.

“I’m so used to bad parenting from my childhood and now that I have something good, it’s weird to accept it and I guess I’m still trying to accept it.”

“How long have you lived with Carter and Alex?”

“Since I was thirteen, maybe fourteen.”

“I can tell they love you,” I say, making Hayden turn his head to look at me instead of the red lights from the cars. “You’re lucky to have them.”

Hayden suddenly smiles. “My first night at the Night’s I ended up sleeping on the couch. Natalia came downstairs and gave me her purple blanket with yellow stars. She also gave me her giraffe to sleep with so that the monster wouldn't get me.”

“Really?” I smile, loving how kind and pure Natalia is.

“Yea. I’ve never had a sibling before and I’ve always wanted one.”

“What was it like before you were adopted by them?” I ask, wanting to know more but afraid that it will make him mad.

Hayden takes a deep breath and rests his head on the head rest of his seat. “I lived with my mom. She wasn’t the best mother. She was abusive and a druggie. Whenever her boyfriends came over they would use me as a punching bag because I never listened to them when they asked me to get them a drink.” He licks his bottom lip and furrows his eyebrows as if he’s in pain. “I would hide in the cabinet whenever she would bring people over or whenever she was high.”

My heart breaks little by little hearing about Hayden’s old home life. I’m happy that the Night’s took him in because they are good people who care so much about Hayden, you can tell.

“I’m sorry you went through that,” I say, holding his hand in mine.

“You don’t have to be. I’m happier now.”

“I know but just knowing you went through that makes me want to kill your mom.”

“She’s dead. So you don’t have to worry about that.” Hayden smiles at me.

“What about your dad?”

“He’s dead too but I never met him. I heard he was a piece of shit though. Even worse than my mom.”

“I’m happy you're with Carter and Alex then. They love you. Anyone can see that.”

“What about you? Your mom seemed super anxious and straight forward when I met her.”

I take a deep breath, trying to ease my nerves. “Ever since I got diabetes, my relationship with my mom has been different but at the same time she got a boyfriend so things changed regardless.”

“What happened with the boyfriend?”

“I liked him. He was nice. I just didn’t like how my mom acted around him. It was like she was a different person when he was around and she wasn’t my mom anymore.”

“What about your dad?” Hayden asks, sending chills down my spine and making my skin break out in goosebumps.

“I don’t talk to him. He isn’t in my life.”

“Why?”

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