Max and Hailey: A second chance

The Fight

Hailey's P.O.V

I have never felt more nervous as I walked back home with my mom after she found out about dad's anger issues and hitting me. I couldn't bear to look her in the eye. I knew nothing good was going to come out of this. I wish Uncle David never said anything. I thought I could trust him about this, but I know now I can't. When we got inside my mother walked me to my room. She moved my hair and looked at the hand-size mark on my face. When I finally looked at my mom her eyes were watery.

"I can't believe I didn't notice what was going on in my own home. I am sorry Hailey. I should have paid more attention." She said and wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. "I am going to speak to your father in the morning. Just get some sleep. Hopefully, the bruise will go away by morning." She told me and gave me a hug before leaving and closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, I sighed and fell back onto my bed. She is calm right now, but I know in the morning it will be chaos. I looked at the time and it was already late. I got up from my bed and changed into some comfy pajamas and got in bed and went to sleep.

The next day I was woken up by screaming, I jumped out of bed, alerted. I soon realized it was my parents arguing. I knew this was not going to be pretty. I made my way around the bed and started walking toward the twin's room. The shouting grew louder and then a loud crashing sound echoed in the hallway. I ran to the twin's room and found them crying. I picked them up, one in each arm, and quickly went downstairs and put them in the living room. I turned the tv on loud and put on their favorite show. Alex and Ariana came down just seconds later.

"What is going on?" Alex asked.

"Mom knows," I told Alex.

"Mom knows what?" Ariana asked.

"don't worry about it," Alex answered her. "I am going to go upstairs."

"No, I am going to go," I said and quickly left upstairs before he could object. I walked to my parent's room cautiously before entering and slamming the door behind me to get their attention. "Stop fighting! You woke everyone up and scared the twins." I told them and my father glared at me.

"You don't tell me what to do! None of you do!" He yelled angrily.

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter like that! You are out of control Henry! I am taking the kids and we are leaving!" Mom replied pulling me by my arm to her side.

"Like hell you are! They are my children, and they will stay with me!" dad replied grabbing my other wrist and yanking me over to him causing me to fall in the process. "Get up!" he yelled pulling me up from the floor.

"Ow!" I yelled as he pulled me up. "You are hurting me, dad," I told him.

"Shut up!" He yelled back at me then looked at my mother. "Everyone in this town loves me. You would never win full custody of the kids; I can make sure of that. You can't take care of the twins by yourself. Hailey is more of a mother to the twins and Ariana than you are. You wouldn't be able to survive without me either." He spat.

"That is not true!" Mom yelled with hurt in her voice. "I have been nothing but supportive of you, helping in every campaign instead of being home with my children. Hailey only helps when you ask me to help you. If anything, you are the reason why I am away from them. We would be fine without you."

"Then prove it! Take Ariana and the twins with you and prove that you can survive without me. Hailey and Alex will stay with me." Dad replied with an evil grin.

"I am not going to leave them here, especially not Hailey so you can keep beating her up. I can easily win in court. All I need is for Hailey to testify to the court about your abuse." Mom shot back.

"She would never go against her own father, now would you sweety?" Dad asked and they both looked at me for my response. I wanted to say I would, but I also knew that if I didn't agree with him, he would only end up hurting me and blowing up. I couldn't risk him hurting anyone else, so I hung my head and nodded. My mom gasped in shock. "See?! You have no case. Now take my deal. If you can last the summer without me, I won't fight for full custody. I will easily sign the divorce papers and the children can decide who they want to live with." He offered.

"I will only do this if David is in on the deal. I want to be able to video chat with both my children at least once a week to make sure they are ok. David already knows that you hit her so he will also be looking out for their safety." Mom countered.

"Deal." He agreed with a wicked grin. "I will go into town and get you an SUV to take with you. When I get back be packed and ready to go. Hailey, clean up this mess in here." He ordered before walking off to his closet and changing into some clothes then locked himself in the bathroom to finish getting ready. Mom sighed and sat on the bed looking defeated.

"Go grab the suitcases for me, I will clean up the broken vases." She told me.

"No mom, it's ok. I can do it. If he sees me helping you then he will call off the deal." I told her.

"How am I supposed to leave you here with him like this?" she asked me. "There has to be another way." She spoke.

"If he wasn't the mayor and our town wasn't so small and isolated, there would be. I will be fine. Alex will be here still, and he can look out for me. Everything will be okay." I assured her.

"I love you so much, Hailey. I promise I will fix all of this while I am away. Maybe I can find some outside help." Mom told me as engulfed me in a hug.

"I love you too mom. Everyone is downstairs. Alex can help you get the suitcases and Ariana will be fine packing on her own." I explained.

"You are growing up too fast. When this is all over, I promise you won't have to worry about taking care of everyone else." She said and kissed the top of my head before walking out of the room. I followed her out and went to the kitchen pantry. Inside the pantry, I grabbed the broom and dustpan then headed back to their room and swept up the mess my dad made. By the time I finished, he was out the door, and my mom was starting to gather all the twin's things. Since he was gone, I helped my mom pack all the summer clothes in the twin's closet. We put together one medium-sized container bin with their toys and games. Once everything for the twins was packed, we brought it downstairs near the front door. I checked in on Ariana and she was just finishing up a second suitcase full of clothes.

"How many clothes did you pack?" I asked her. "I know you will be gone for the whole summer, but I am sure wherever you are going will have a washer and dryer," I added.

"Do you know why you, Alex, and dad aren't coming on this trip?" She asked, obviously confused. Mom left out the major details when she told everyone about the reason for the trip.

"She just wants to enjoy some one-on-one time with you and the boys. You are getting the chance to step out of this small town and see new places. Don't question it, just enjoy it. Take lots of pictures of me. Someone must stay to keep Alex and Dad from starving to death." I joked trying to be as believable as possible.

"That's true, but that is also the reason why I need lots of clothing options." She replied as she moved on to her backpack. She stuffed her laptop, chargers, and headphones inside. "Maybe you could visit at least while we are gone?" she asked.

"I'll try," I answered with a half-smile. The sound of someone knocking on the front door. "I am going to go get that," I said and practically ran out of her room to answer the door. When I opened the door and saw Max, I literally jumped into his arms and told him everything that happened since I left his place last night.