waiting for the loml ✦ hayes grier

Chapter 25: 'Jason'

Katie's POV

I paid the taxi driver and got out of the car. I walked inside and straight into Carissa's room. I cried my eyes out the whole trip up the stairs.

I hurried into her room and flung myself onto her bed. By then, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

"What happened, Katie?" Carissa asked, frantically.

"Hayes. I caught him and Nicole..." I choked out.

"Doing what?" She asked, softly.

"Swallowing each other," I breathed.

Carissa giggled and a small smile formed on my face.

"I knew something was up with that girl. Something just seemed a bit off with her," Carissa declared.

"But it wasn't Nicole! It was Hayes who was kissing her!" I defended, weakly. The truth finally dawning on me,

"Katie, don't you get it? Nicole is just playing with you so she can get Hayes! She's an actress and she's even been in Broadway! You'd think she'd be pretty good at pretending." Carissa snapped.

"I- who am I kidding. You're right. I just can't believe Nicole would trick me. She seemed so genuine, but she was just manipulating me. Now I feel terrible. I shouldn't have yelled at Hayes." I said, starting to cry again.

Carissa joined me on the bed and flicked on the TV. "Hey, how about we watch a movie to keep our minds off of all this drama." she suggested.

"That sounds great! Thanks Carissa, I don't know what I would do without you." I agreed. "We need popcorn! I'll go get it, you choose the movie." I said excitedly.

"Kk," Carissa giggled.

I walked downstairs and ran to the bathroom to clear my face of all my tear stains. I looked into the mirror and my black mascara was all clumped up under my eyes. Ew. I looked like a raccoon.

I washed my mascara off so I looked a little more normal. I headed towards the kitchen and into the pantry. I chose an "extreme butter" popcorn bag then placed it in the microwave. While waiting, I hopped up onto the island and sat there thinking. I just thought about the whole mess I was in.

I jumped as someone stood in between my legs, less than an inch away. Hayes. All I wanted was our lips to be joined, but I held it in.

"Look, I'm not in the mood to hear your excuses," I said, harshly. Even though I knew it wasn't his fault, I was still mad at him for... absolutely no reason at all.

"Nicole came onto me. She kissed me and I tried to push her off. She wouldn't budge, I didn't wanna hurt her, either," He explained with pleading eyes.

"And how am I supposed to believe you?" I asked with an arched eyebrow, just messing with him.

"Just believe me," he begged.

"Hayes, you broke my trust! It's not that easy anymore," I raised my voice, now serious.

"I'm not lying to you. Nicole's crazy. She gets attached and will never let go. She still likes me and she was playing with you. And I confess, I did have some feelings for Kourtney and I don't know what got into me that day. I know I shouldn't have let her do that. I was just caught up in the moment. I want you, I want us. I'm ready for this, Katie," He said looking at me.

He looked into my eyes while saying every single word. He kept staring at me, waiting for a response. I have to believe hi-

"I love you," Hayes breathed, never breaking eye contact.