Page 29 of Resilient Queen

“—Finn never said anything. Wait, why didn’t he say anything? I need to talk to him.”

“Rory, stop. You’re overreacting.”

My fast-paced, one-sided banter comes to an abrupt halt. “Why wouldn’t he say anything unless…” I suck in a sharp breath as my eyes narrow to slits. “Unless he screwed something up.”

The finger I had pointed into the air flattens into a fist. The blood in my veins heating with my temper.

“That asshole, what did he do now?” I accuse.

“Rory. Stop!”

I hear what she’s saying but I don’t register the solace in her eyes, because I’m already rising from my seat. I only manage a few inches before Hailey’s yanking me back down.

“If he did something, I swear, I’ll shave off one of his eyebrows.”

I’m sitting but my eyes scan the room looking for him. Finn’s about to get a piece of my mind when I get the chance to march my ass down there and—

“Really, calm down. He wasn’t even there a full day before I told him to go home.”

I practically give myself whiplash turning my head back in her direction so quickly.

She downplays it, but I hear the disbelief that tinges her voice. Hailey hadn’t expected him to come. He’d surprised her.

Shouldn’t she have been excited? That’s something Hailey would have absolutely loved. Something’s not adding up.

“Wait, why did you send him home then? It sounds like he was trying to be sweet?” Attentive, even.

I’m confused. I thought she liked him. They liked each other?

“Am I missing something?”

“I… it’s nothing. Forget it.” She finishes by sighing heavily out her nose. Aggressively she starts to study her notebook again. Focus everywhere but meeting my stare head-on.

Her eyelids start to shudder.

The shock of it fills my lungs with air and I’m gripped with terrifying panic.Moresecrets. She’s shutting down right before my eyes, closing herself off.

My mouth flattens out to one solid line. I can tell she wants to say it, whateveritis, but something is holding her back, disbelief maybe?

I’m trying to be patient, but like the edge of a blade, it too thins out eventually.

“Just to clarify, whatever’s bothering you, it isn’t because of Finn?”

Hailey clicks her tongue and I swear I see moisture on the bottom of her lids before she blinks it away. Flashing me the fakest smile she can manage.

“He was great. Honest.” Her voice sounds as rough as sandpaper. “Perfect, actually. A true gentleman.”

“Okay? So, what’s the problem?”

A softness crosses her features like she’s remembering but then something in her focus shifts and her bottom lip starts to tremble.

Yeah, something is definitely wrong.

Mentally I do a quick backtrack and think back to before the break and she seemed as bubbly as ever. Nonstop talking about how excited she was for this trip.

So much so, that a few times I even threatened to block her while I was at work because of the excessive notifications. Her consistent texts were starting to annoy the other people in the building. Constant pings, and beeps, and vibrations.

Or at least she seemed excited. Was that all a farce too?

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