𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 ▷𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑘 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛 ✔️

14

Third Person's POV

After their lunch date and Hailey telling her Dad that she thinks she had seen Carl Buford at the diner, he's been a little on edge. Hailey was trying to get ways of her Dad to get distracted by his emotions, as she doesn't like it when he's like this.

"Are you sure it's him?" Derek asks Hailey as she nods her head at him, confirming.

"I'm sure, I mean, who else would look like him," Hailey says as Derek knows that she has a point. No one in the entire world looks like Carl Buford. "Something was off. It looked like the kid was shitless like something happened before they got to the diner, or he knew that something was going to happen."

"That's Carl for you."

"Dad, I can help. I want to."

"Hailey, he's dangerous."

"Like any other child abuser isn't. Dad, trust me, I'm going to be fine."

"He's dangerous!" Derek exclaims to her as she doesn't flinch as she's used to it.

"Just let me help, I-I'll have Pen dig on him. If um anything happens, we can get a case out of this." Hailey says, trying to get her Dad to let her help. She knows what kind of man Carl is, but she isn't going to let down from this. She knows about him from her Dad over the years as she would be brave enough to ask for a scary bedtime story, and Derek would tell her about the kid who got abused.

He would also tell her about the story of when he was in the darkest time in his life friend that saved him. Which was her Dad, Trevor. At first, she didn't know that her Dad and Derek were friends when they were kids and growing up as they were both sexually abused and assaulted by Mr. Buford. She didn't start putting pieces together until she was eight. That's when she realized that Derek's 'friend' was her Dad. If her Dad were still alive him and Derek would be close knit and so tight like Spencer and Derek.

It would be amazing to have Harley to see her Dad again. Seeing his smile, hearing his laugh, being in his arms when he hugs her, and hearing him say that he loves her. She would trade anything just to see her Dad again. She would probably trade her life just to see him again.

Derek looks at her for any sign that says that she's lying about her wanting to do this. But all he sees is a determined look on her face. He brings her into a hug as she doesn't hold back to hugging him back.

"We'll take him down together."

"Together."

｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡

Derek gave Hailey some money to get some dinner for them, as they both agreed on Italian for that night. Hailey, of course, too, her skateboard with her for the three blocks of where the diner was. Hailey was watching her surroundings of any creepy people and / or the man that her and her father feared: Carl Buford. Nothing looked out of the ordinary as there were families taking their children to the park where they could ware off their energy. Like Derek would do to Hailey when she was a kid and growing up. She always had a ton of energy that it was hard for her to fall asleep sometimes, outside of her having nightmares of her family's assassination when she was five years old. She heard footsteps that sounded like heavy footsteps, but a lot of people had them, so she didn't think anything of it. She turned the corner as she was humming a song in her head, and then everything went black as she was knocked unconscious.