What I Wish You Knew | ꪜ

Chapter Fifty One

To Jenna,

51. I wish you knew how strong you were.

Hayley's POV

"Hey," I tore my eyes away from Parker's car, which rolled down the streets and found Landon standing beside me, a small smile stretched across his face.

"Hey," he ran his hands through his dishevelled hair and sighed, "my uh sister just called, she needs me to come over to help her fiancee with something for the wedding so I can't stay. I promise as soon as I'm done I'm coming straight here."

I shook my head softly, "no, just enjoy your day, Lan. I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay? There's no need to rush your day just because you want to make sure I'm okay. Like I told you, Parker and Drayton: I am fine." His face remained passive as he stared into my eyes. I couldn't decipher exactly what he felt at this moment but at the very least I expected him to fire a rebuttal.

"I know."

"What?"

"I know you're fine, Hayley. You've never lied to me before. God, you hate when people lie about their feelings so why would you do it now? I've known you all my life, Lee so I know if you're able to stand here and tell me you're fine after seeing your mom, then I know you're telling me nothing but the truth. However, that doesn't mean you don't have to talk about it.

I don't wanna stay because I'm worried, I wanna stay because I just want to talk. I want you to tell me everything. Tell me how you're feeling, what's your plans moving forward. . .anything. Okay, Lee? So I'm gonna go and if things end early I'll be back here and if they don't then I'll see you at school."

I couldn't help the wide smile that slid onto my face as I peered up at Landon. We've come so far compared to how rocky our friendship was just a few months ago. Every friendship has its ups and downs and sometimes one outlasts the other. But it's also what keeps the friendship stable. If one outweighs the other constantly then things will forever be imbalanced.

Right now, everything seems to be balanced and I'm hoping it stays that way. "Thank you for believing me, Lan." He reached a hand out and smoothed my tousled hair down, "always, Lee. Go on inside, I'll see you later." I waved goodbye and sauntered up the porch towards the front door.

Landon motioned for me to go on and with a small chuckle, I slipped into the house and closed the door behind me. Drayton decided to take a bath, both Landon and Parker are gone which now left Jenna. Knowing her, she'll definitely be the most hysterical of them all. "HAYLEY!" And the show has begun.

As expected, Jenna came barrelling down the stairs, her arms already outstretched widely to reel me into a hug. She crashed into me and encircled her arms around my neck, holding me to her chest in what I can only describe as a head-locked bear hug. "Are you okay? I can't believe that wench played you last night. If I could get my hands on her I'd wring her neck.

Are you okay, Hayley? God, I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now. Do you wanna cry? You can cry, you know. I'll hold you, it's okay to cry even if that woman isn't worth it. How dare she show her face in front of you and Drayton then act like she doesn't know you?! What kind of moth-"

"Jenna!" I pried her arms off me and cupped her cheeks in the palm of my hands. Her face squished in my tight grip and I fought the urge to laugh but that fell short because soon after I was nearly doubled over. "Are-you, Oh my god, she's having another panic attack, DRAYT-"

"Jenna! I'm fine! O-okay? I was laughing because your face looked so funny." She stared at me peculiarly. I know the sight was jarring considering what happened. I didn't know it would be so tiring convincing people that I was really okay. "What-why are you- are you good? Did Drayton drug you?!"