Till It Last (Shattered#2)

Chapter#30

| Ian Morgan |

"Before you ask, yes I don't get along with my mother. And no , I didn't suffer from any traumatic experience at her hand. It's normal . Not getting along is perfectly normal."

Hailey just. .stared.

"Why did you do it?" She said slowly.

"Do what? Invite you?"

"No. Why did you drop the G bomb? Liam didn't want you to. ."

I ran my hand in my hair , a habit I was struggling with.

"I saved him. He will be thankful to me for the rest of his life." I smirked.

Seeing her dumb founded , I told her ,"Trust me, i did him a favor. Now she won't force girls on him. I have seen my brother struggling under her expectations of a perfect son. Did I mention my mother is homophobic?"

"No offense but that's . .sick. She's sick." Hailey muttered.

"None taken. But she gave birth to me so I kinda have to take her wrath with a jubilant smile." I grinned , blinding her.

But the smile she gave off was weak.

Something else was bothering her.

And she didn't hesitate to voice it out.

"Did you . .has Chelissa been to your house?" She blurted out , her cheeks turning red.

I definitely didn't expect that.

"No. I never have. Not many people knows of our friendship."

She quirked a brow.

"That's weird?"

"Well, she says not to tell anyone because her dad is apparently a dangerous man and he would stalk me too if he got a wind of me befriending his daughter." My voice was dry. The whole thing sounded funny for some reason.

Hailey nodded. "I feel sorry for her. I mean . .she's all alone."

"Don't be. She hates it. Sympathy. And. . she's a damn well fighter. Her survival instincts are kick ass. I have seen her giving bloody noses to men."

Right that minute, the waiter came with our order and begin to place the burgers and pizza on our table.

Hailey got quite and slipped her hand in mine , absently drawing circles on my palm.

Things may have gotten a little sour , perhaps more than I had expected. Maybe inviting Hailey for a dinner wasn't such a bad idea after all she should know the kind of family I had. I didn't want to paint a good picture because reality would ruin it anyways.

My family was a nut case.

Nell who acted like we didn't exist.

Liam who kept hiding in nooks and cranny for the sake of his sexuality.

And a mother who couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that her children needed her more than the board members of the family business. I would never admit out loud to anyone, not even Hailey , how I felt about my mother. I had seen my ex best friend Brad's mom , she was the kindest soul of a woman I had ever encountered, for me it was like a revelation that mothers were supposed to be a best friend too, someone you can lean on when things turn dark. .

I envied him.

I had envisioned him talking about the Jeffrey episode to his mother and she must have tended to his wounds . I had always been jealous of seeing their relationship , so effortless and beautiful. . natural.

She must have guided him.

While I spiraled down the rabbit hole.

Bottling up shit inside eats you out. Fighting it takes courage and I had read the greatest battles are not fought on the field but with yourself. I didn't come out of it unscathed , I had my scars , my moments when live didn't seem worth it but. .

But. .

I had a reason to smile about.

To thank the Lord for never giving up on me.

To not let the darkness consume me.

There was someone who chased away the darkness. Chelissa said some people were made for it , darkness because they carry it well. Because they are accustomed to it. And according to her I was at a place where darkness meet light.

And I guess . .she was right.

She was sitting right beside me, chomping on a juicy burger and talking with her mouth full to the brim.

I had leaned back , one of my arm around the back of the couch while I watched her get silly. Some people really grounds us.

"—Stell is being shady as hell these days. She won't let me visit her house. Like ever!" She said fiercely. "Whatever we do, its always at my house."

"She must have her reasons for it." I said and she glanced at me , her brows furrowing.

"I'm her best friend! Why would she hide anything from me? The last time I visited her was two years back." She swallowed , now taking a sip of her pepsi.

I sighed softly.

"Do you really think best friends don't keep secrets from each other?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Duh!"

"I think. .there is no such thing as best friends. Everyone has a secret. Every has something in their closet—"

She turned her body at me, food forgotten.

"Say. .do you have any secret left?" She asked curiously.

I kept staring at her.

At her blue eyes that made me believe in peace.

At her lips that made me believe in sweet poison.

And I shook my head in a gentle no.

"Do you?"

She seemed taken aback but she was quick to recover .

"Nothing much. I have the lamest skeletons in my closet of doom. Stealing a few bucks from mom , lying around and . .I'm sorry for being such a good girl." She shrugged.

Smiling, I hooked my index under her chin and lifted her face up so I could peer into her soul.

"I'm glad I found you, Hailey. Thank you for existing. Thank you for understanding me. .for being there for me . Believe me when I say , nothing in this world can come between us . When you look back , you'll always find me . I'll be here by your side . .till whatever we have between us. .till it lasts."

×××××××××The End×××××××××

A/N

And it's over 😩

Each time I write THE END , I leave a piece of my soul in the story.

I keep repeating, if I write about it, I have been there.

To my new followers, I see you. I appreciate you , I love you.

Everything I write is from the heart , I'm the writer who can't fake it😢

Now , what's next on the horizon?

Hmmmm, I wanna write something beautiful and heartbreaking 😯

Also guys I'm going on a mini vacay , you know to get inspire , read some books , stalk some hot men on Pinterest.

Till we meet again with a hot sizzling bad boy 😎😎