Page 94 of Kept in the Dark

She didn’t respond. Instead, she opened the velvet box. Hailey hadn’t meant to gasp, but she did. The small diamond was embedded on a gold band with three smaller diamonds on either side. The ring was breathtaking.

“I had saved up all my money to buy it. I planned to give it to you a few weeks after you gave me the locket. Then your father talked to me and…well, you know the rest. So, I kept it in a drawer. Until now. That night with Trinity, when you gave me back the locket, I got the ring out of the drawer, and I’ve kept it on me.

“I think I was hoping there’d be some magical moment or maybe I just thought it could be good luck…I don’t know. But this isn’t me asking. This isn’t me pressuring you into anything. I know we have a lot to work through and I’m okay with that.”

Hailey was crying again, and she let out an irritated grunt. She was so tired of crying. But she was glad they were finally happy tears.

Trey immediately put his hands up. “I didn't realize it would upset you so much. I’m sorry.”

Hailey laughed through her tears. “That’s not why I'm crying. I’m running on fumes, and it’s been an emotional last few days and that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard.”

And, just as she’d done under the covering of the moon and stars all those years ago, she layed in Trey’s arms as they made plans of wedded bliss.

July 4, 2011

7:30 pm

Hailey had spent the last three days at the hospital with Trey and now that she felt comfortable leaving his side, she was looking forward to having a sense of normalcy. The last few days had been exhausting and Hailey was ready to sleep in a regular bed. After her much needed shower, she relaxed under the covers. She finally stopped long enough to notice that the throbbing in her head had resumed.

Sighing, Hailey got up and padded through the living room to Angie’s kitchen. She could hear the TV in the guest room, Sara’s laughter carrying through the house. Hailey smiled. She was glad her sister was finding happiness, especially with all that was going on. Sara deserved it, even if it was in a TV sitcom.

And, thankfully, Hailey didn’t have to worry about Trinity tonight. After the stress of the last few days, and the trauma of her father being shot, Hailey had agreed to let her stay with Cecilia at Genevieve’s for the night.

Hailey got herself a glass of water and brought it back to her room where she took two ibuprofens for the pain. She slid back under the covers and, finally, after three very long days, allowed herself to relax.

She wanted to spend the night combing through what she knew, but instead, Hailey drifted off to sleep and tried to fight off the nightmares that came with it. Some were about the fire, others about her mother, her sister, and, of course, Trey getting shot. There was always a faceless killer chasing after her. His figure would contort from David’s to Ryan’s to Sara’s. Even her mother became the boogeyman.

She awoke with a jolt, nausea threatening her.

Loud booms and crackles thundered through the sky. Disoriented from her dreams, she nearly screamed, searching for cover from the gunshots.

Hailey breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the sounds were fireworks. She hadn’t even realized it was the Fourth of July. She inhaled and sat up quickly, breathing in and out as she calmed her nerves.

The bedside clock showed it was only 9:30 pm.

As she went to lay down again, she heard a noise coming from the other side of the house. She told herself it was Sara getting water or using the bathroom, but her gut told her something was wrong.

She thought about calling Gavin, but didn’t want to alarm him if it was nothing. Instead, she grabbed her phone and tucked it into the pocket of her sweatpants and made her way toward the sound.

“Sara?” she whispered.

Nothing.

Heart thudding loudly, palms sweaty, Hailey continued to slowly walk toward the kitchen. She heard something to her left and quickly turned around. She let out a scream as Sara crept around a corner.

Startled, Sara returned the scream and then began laughing, along with Hailey.

“What are you doing up?” Hailey asked.

“I thought I heard something, so I came to investigate.”

Hailey stopped. “I came out because I heard something.”

The two shared a knowing glance.

Sara ran to the kitchen to grab a knife while Hailey tried to quickly pull her phone out of her pocket.

More booms and crackles ricocheted above.

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