Hard Times

1

Stacie had taken her sheets off her bed and thrown them in the washer along with the clothes she had been wearing. While they were being washed, she went up and took a long shower, almost scrubbing her skin raw to get the feel of his hands and lips from her skin. When she went back down to put everything in the dryer, she was wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans to cover any marks he had left on her body.

"Hey sis, what did dad need your help with?" Taylor asked upon seeing her. Their parents had already left, he had been with Hayley and Benji helping them pack their clothes for the weekend.

Clearing her throat, Stacie looked over at him. "Just needed help packing his clothes. You know how he is, everything is last minute for him." She lied, even though she'd already packed his clothes two days ago. Her brother didn't know that though.

"Oh. I could have helped him with that." Taylor said calmly. He placed a bag containing Benji and Hayley's clothes on the floor.

Benji was currently in the bathroom.

Hayley was standing beside him, not listening to their conversation and humming a song to herself. "Ain't it fun, living in the real world. Ain't it good? Being all alone? Ain't it good to be on your own? Ain't it fun? You can't count on no one. Ain't it good to be on your own? Ain't it fun? You can't count on no one, ain't it fun? Living in the real world. Don't go crying to your mama. 'Cause you're on your own in the real world, don't go crying to your mama. 'Cause you're on your own in the real world." She sang quietly.

Stacie shrugged her shoulders, trying not to wince. "It's fine, he wanted me to do it because I keep everything organised."

"Oh, okay." Taylor shrugged casually. "Whatcha singing there kiddo?" He turned his head to look at Hayley.

The petite orange haired girl stopped singing. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Hayley said, shaking her head dismissively and becoming shy.

"It sounded good, did you write that?" Taylor asked, tilting his head to the side.

Hayley hesitated as she stared at him. "Yeah, but I was just messing around. It's nothing really."

"It sounds good, we should have Beca come over and try adding some music to it." Taylor said, offering her a smile.

Hayley shook her head again. "No. It's nothing. I was just messing around." She said quietly. She knew he knew about her song book. He'd seen it while they were packing her bags.

Stacie moved to walk around Taylor and Hayley, trying not to show how much pain she was in.

"Oh come on, Hales, it's just us. The lyrics sound really good. We could have a proper song here and not just the melodies we've been playing so far." Taylor encouraged, taking Hayley's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Hayley bit her lower lip, hesitating for a long time. She didn't think her songs were any good. "Okay." She said defeatedly.

Taylor grinned and pulled her into a hug, accidentally bumping Stacie as she was trying to pass.

A pained hiss escaped Stacie as she instinctively moved her hands to her stomach.

Taylor pulled back from Hayley. The two teenagers looked at Stacie, concern in their eyes.

"Are you okay, Stacie?" Hayley asked softly as Benji appeared from the bathroom.

Nodding her head, Stacie forced a smile. "I'm fine, Taylor just stepped on my foot." She lied.

"Oh sorry sis." Taylor said softly. "Can I get you some ice?" He asked, one arm still wrapped around Hayley.

"Hey, what's going on?" Benji asked. "Dude, why is your arm around my sister?" He eyed his sister and Taylor suspiciously.