Max and Hailey: A second chance

Dance

Hailey's P.O.V

"I still cannot believe that Henry has become so angry and violent," Brittany said once I finished explaining how my father's behavior has been. Uncle David was trying to contain his anger, but it was clearly visible that he was steaming out of his ears.

"He was never the same after his father died. He didn't fully cope and now he can't handle his emotions. I told him not to run for mayor again, to focus on his family and getting things back to normal. He is so stubborn." David replied with an annoyed tone. "I need to talk to him, and you need to tell your mother. It's not safe for you all to be there with him if he is not holding back." He told me.

"No, please don't talk to them" I begged him. "It will only cause more problems for me. I know he would never lay a hand on any of my siblings. The Twins are his favorite, he won't hurt them. Ariana is his baby girl, so he won't hurt her either. He wouldn't bother hitting Alex because they are the same height." I assured him. "I just need to stay out of trouble and do as he says and he will be fine," I added, trying to also reassure myself at the same time.

"Hailey, you know as well as I do that, that is not true. He knows you won't say anything to your mother and uses you to take care of everything at home instead of having a normal life. He has you cooking and cleaning so that your mom can spend more time outside of the house helping him with campaigns and whatnot when she is not busy being the principal of the high school." David replied.

"Hailey sweety, maybe you should stay with us," Brittany suggested. "We are going to be right next door; you can still see all of your siblings while your parents and David could try to work something out." She continued.

"Yeah, stay with us. This way we can make sure he never hits you again." Max said quickly.

"I am not sure my father would agree to that," I replied with a sigh. "Maybe in a few days he will be back to normal, and we could just forget this happened," I suggested hoping they would buy it.

"I can never forget what happened," Max replied in an instant.

"And neither can I." Uncle David added. "I have an idea. We were going to start moving in tomorrow, but why don't we start today. You can help us instead of going home. Your mom will be okay with it and she can deal with Henry." He explained.

"Alright. I can give that a try." I agreed. "Maybe this can change his mind about me messing things up" I added with a shrug.

"Yes, that would be a great step forward," Brittany replied.

"Okay, I am going to go find your mom and let her know." Uncle David said before giving Brittaney a kiss and getting up from the table. He quickly made his way over to my mother and I watched them talk. The conversation started to take longer than expected and I started to get worried that he was telling her about my father hitting me. My mother kept looking back between me and Uncle David as they spoke. Max broke me out of the trance of the conversation by tapping my shoulder.

"Hailey Michaelson, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" He asked with a smile as he held out his hand to me. I completely blushed and nodded my head.

"I would love to," I answered and took his hand. He led the way to the middle of the room and a slow dance came on. I didn't even notice that there was a DJ here. Max wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I blushed once again and wrapped my arms around his neck as we began to dance. We stared into each other's eyes, and it felt like the world was disappearing, that it was just us at the moment. I never realized how much I needed and wanted a moment like this. I was just being myself and there was no one to judge me, no one to impress. It was perfect.

"Did I tell you that you are the most beautiful woman here in this room?" Max asked me with a slight smirk on his face.

"What about your mom?" I asked jokingly as I tried to hide my blushing face.

"Of course, I think my mother is beautiful, but you Hailey, are perfect," Max answered before sneaking in a kiss.

"Max, we are in public," I said embarrassed despite the huge smile on my face.

"Don't worry. No one was looking, my parents joined the dance floor, and everyone is watching them, not us." Max reassured me and I looked around to see that he was right. I rested my head on his chest as we danced for the rest of the reception in bliss.