Those That Came Before

Questions

Hadley sipped the warm nectar of a White Chocolate Mocha from her Starbucks holiday cup, relishing in the creamy goodness and strong espresso. For a moment, it felt like she was the only person in the room. The screeching of a young child brought her back to the reality of standing in the middle of Target on Black Friday, waiting patiently for Blair to choose between a blue sweater or golden yellow sweater for her mother for Christmas. 

"I just can't decide. They are so different, you know?" Blair inquired, holding them up for her to see. 

"Why don't you get them both? It's not like Brantley gave you a budget." Hadley blew a piece of brown hair out of the way of her eyes, taking another sip from the drink between her hands. 

"He didn't give me his credit card." Blair conceded, avoiding Hadley's eyes. 

"Oh, well then I would go with the golden yellow. That will look great with your mom's complexion." 

Blair finally agreed and threw the sweater in the cart. She grabbed her own coffee from the holder attached to the cart and disappeared down the next aisle. Hadley was not going to pry. She turned around and looked at a few sweaters herself. There really wasn't anyone she needed to buy for. Jay wanted a new watch that she would score at the jewelry store. And her mother would be off in some other country she was sure. So a little shopping for herself at 5am in the morning at one of her favorite stores was on the agenda. 

Five hours and many bags later, Blair and Hadley fell on the couches in the living room, ready for a nap. Blair was checking her social media to make sure she didn't miss out on any good deals. Hadley kicked off her black boots, laying back on a cream colored decorative pillow. 

"Find anything good?" Brantley's rough voice caught Hadley's attention as he stood over her, leaning on the arm of the couch. 

"Some things for my mom and yours." Blair didn't even look away from her phone. Brantley nodded, his lips in a straight line. 

"How about you? Get anything for Jay?" The way he said his name sent a pang of guilt or longing to through Hadley's chest. 

"Yeah. He wanted a new watch. I think I found him the perfect one at the jewelry store." 

"Lucky guy." Brantley laughed slightly, pushing his hands in his pockets. "I am going to go do some live videos from the bus."

"Okay." Blair peered up at him, her eyes dim. "Ordering pizza for dinner." 

Brantley nodded his head again and walked toward the back deck. Hadley watched intently, making certain he was out of sight and ear shot of them. 

"Blair, you know I love you. And I ask this out of the goodness of my heart. But, what in the world is going on with you two?" Hadley sat up, fixing the long strings on her slouchy hooded sweatshirt. 

"Nothing, why?" Blair asked, staring at her phone once more. 

Hadley grabbed the device from her in one quick swipe. Blair putting her hands on her hips, trying to protest. "I am not buying it. C'mon. Stop scrolling and feeding me bs and tell me what is going on. You didn't tell Brantley I was coming this weekend. Then you go out partying the night before Thanksgiving. And don't think I haven't noticed the bickering between the two of you since I got here." 

"Ugh. Fine. We are just going through a rough patch, okay?" Blair placed her hand out for her phone. Hadley shook her head, not giving in. 

"Blair, there was a time I seem to remember when you couldn't keep your hands off one another. Now, you can't stand to be in the same room, let alone house." 

Blair sighed heavily. There was a long pause before she finally decided to tell Hadley what was going on. "I am sleeping with someone else." 

Hadley nearly choked on the air she was breathing. "What? Why?"

"I though Brantley was talking to someone else." Blair sat back, getting more comfortable on the couch. Hadley's heart started to race. She was afraid of where this was going. "We haven't had sex in over three months. So naturally I thought he was seeing someone. I saw Amber in town. I put two and two together...." 

Hadley raised her hand to stop Blair in the middle of her sentence. "He is seeing Amber?" 

"Well, no. But I thought he was. I accused him of it right as I pulled in the driveway from town and he got all defensive. You know how he is." Blair rolled her eyes. "So I went out that night..... and stayed with someone else." 

Hadley closed her eyes. This was more than she bargained for. "Who?" She cautiously asked, "Who have you been sleeping with?"