Unscripted

Chapter 11: Aftermath

Hailee POV

When I open my eyes the next morning I actively fight the urge to simply roll over and wrap my arms around the girl sleeping softly beside me. Instead, I let my head roll to the side and take in her soft features as she snoozes peacefully, safely in our bed. There's a stinging behind my eyes that I don't want to give in to, the reminder of what could have been all too present in my mind. In short, I'm still reeling from the events of last night.

Behind the reeling thoughts and the stinging of unshed tears, there's still a fire burning in the pit of my stomach. Am I angry at y/n for what happened? No. I'm angry at her for not responding to me when I desperately needed her to. Am I angry at Griffin? Angrier than ever. Deep down I know he isn't to blame for the situation. But at the end of the day I need to be able to trust that when they are together, he's looking out for her in the same way I would be. All I ask of him is that he protects her and keeps her safe. And he failed me. He failed her, too.

I need to get out of bed and get moving before my thoughts consume me. With one last glance over at my girl, I toss the covers off of me and climb out of bed as quietly as I can.

I go to the closet and throw on some old workout clothes and grab my sneakers. Working out has always been therapeutic for me, and I'm pretty sure I could use the mental escape right about now.

Grabbing my phone and headphones, I take one last look back at my girlfriend. Once again, I have to blink away the stinging tears from my eyes before shutting the door softly behind me.

The house is quiet as I make my way to the room we turned into a home gym. If I'm being honest with myself, it's too quiet for comfort. I go ahead and put my headphones in my ears and let the music play softly through them, taking my mind off of every thought I'm having. I know at some point today I'm going to have to face everything, but that point is not right now.

Before I know it, I'm almost two hours into a full blown workout. I had only intended on doing some light work today, more or less as a distraction, but that seems to have taken a turn. I work myself until I'm exhausted. Consciously or not, I find myself focusing all of my muscles and energy on punishment. Punishment for Griffin, for y/n, for that fucking creep at the club, and mostly for myself. For the way I reacted to the situation, the way I yelled at my girlfriend who had just endured such an awful experience, the way I was almost too late....

I'm cleaning up the room a bit after my workout when I hear the door click open behind me. Hesitantly, I see y/n peek her head inside. For one of the first times since I've met her, I am at a loss for words. There's a look in her eyes that I'm not accustomed to seeing. Shame? Fear? Anger? Sadness? It's all of that and more, wrapped into one. I want to go hug her but for some reason I'm rooted in my spot.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I thought you were gone but I checked the garage and all the cars are here." She says plainly, there's little to no inflection in her voice. She continues speaking when I don't. "Since I get the feeling you're still upset with me I figure I'll just leave you alone. I'm meeting Taylor for lunch later, I don't know when I'll be back. I'll let you know." She finishes before turning on her heels and leaving the room.

Y/n is nowhere to be found as I make my way back upstairs to take a shower. I hear the door alarm beep right as I step out, indicating that my girlfriend is leaving.

I fucked up. She didn't even say bye....

As I towel my hair, I check my phone, hoping that maybe she will have at least texted me on her way out. No luck.

In the quiet of the now empty house, I'm singularly aware that there's really nothing left to distract me from my thoughts. I really should talk this through with someone before I talk to y/n. The last thing I want is to come off as harsh as I did last night.