LOSING IT ALL //HAYLEY PARKER

30

~LOSING IT ALL~

~*DALE'S POV*~

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30 | MINE
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I WATCH TEARS WELL UP in her beautiful hazel eyes and I fight every single ounces of my being not to reach out for her fragile petite form.

Hayley chokes back a sob as she turns away from me in embarrassment. "A lot has happened this past few days, and I just don't know how to comprehend it." She says, her cracked voice tinted with frustration.

"What has happened?" I ask tentatively, ignoring the overwhelming urge to hold her.

She fidgets with the ends of her silky hair, obviously contemplating on how to share whatever is going through her head. I don't say anything, instead I watch her internal turmoil swirl around her extremely pretty, pale face.

"Jayden and I are going through a rough patch." She finally says, and I fight the surge of triumph that swells up in my chest. That's it, Hayley. Please open up.

"What happened?" I quip, hiding the glee in my voice. She puffs out her cheeks and quickly gulps down her beer. Pain tugs at my heart when she turns to me nervously and says in defeat. "I don't want to talk about it."

Triumph turns into a wave of frustration. "What do you mean you cannot talk about it? Something has obviously happened between you and your boyfriend and you can't talk about it? Honestly, Parker, I don't understand you. Why do you want to suffer alone with all those burden? Why can't you let someone help you? What's so dreadful that you're so hellbent on keeping it to yourself? Do you really think it's worth it?"

Hayley is staring up at me in bafflement. I'm sure she wasn't expecting me to leash out on her. But I can't help it anymore. She is going to spill out everything to me today, and I'm going to make sure she does.

Taking a step closer to her, I tentatively reach up and place my hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, Hayley. I want to help you, honestly, so please, please, don't try to avoid this conversation. Please."

A flash of something crosses her face as she looks warily at me. And when I hear her small expulsion of breath, I knew she has finally carve in.

"Do you remember the day I came here with you to meet with your agent?"

"Yes, I do."

She twiddles her thumbs nervously. "And do you remember later that evening when you took me to have hamburgers when Jayden called and asked me to return to the house?"

"Yes, I do."

She bites her lower lips and turns to look out of the window. "Well, that evening, Jayden was so mad. I've never seen him that mad before. He kept on accusing me of—," she pauses and draws in a long breath. I grit my teeth as I listen. "He kept on accusing me of cheating on him with you." She chokes back on a sob and I struggle to restrain my ire from exploding. "I'd nothing, you know that. I tried to explain to him that I had no intimacy whatsoever with you, but he was so adamant about his resolve to me cheating on him. He—." And then the sob breaks loose.

"—He held me so tight that it hurt so bad. I kept telling him that he was hurting me and that he should let go, but that wasn't anything of his concern. He kept on threatening me and saying that he owned me and stuff like that.."

Quivering with sob, she turns on the ball of her feet to flee, but I'm faster than her. I catch hold of her arm and pull her into my chest. My heart is thrumming so fast is hard to hear. The bitterness that I felt in her voice gives me a creepy feeling that I can't control. Hayley Parker is bracing herself against my arms, her fragile body trembling, and her warm tears soaking at my shirt and searing my skin.

I hold her close, afraid to let go. I know she is going to regret this tomorrow, but as for now, I wasn't going to let her go without putting up a fight. She deserves better than Jayden Reed. How could he throw such accusations at her when he is no better, cheating on her with her friend.

"It's okay, Hayley. It's okay." I try to comfort her, hand sliding away from her middle up her arm to pet her hair. We remain there, her cocooned in my arms until she finally stops crying and hiccuping and settles into silent sniffles. When she finally pulls away from me, she turns to hide the black smears that highlights her eyes.

With a heavy, broken heart, I take hold of her chin and gently nudge her face to meet mine. "Don't hide your face from me, Hayley." I say softly, swallowing back the intense urge to kiss her.

Tears pelts down her cheeks as she stares up at me, and that's when my resolve crumbles. As I crash my lips against her, my mind goes blank as rush of adrenaline pounds against my eardrums. Hayley is rigid, but when she opens her mouth to welcome my tongue, I tug her closer to myself, burying my fingers into her hair, angling her head to deepen our kiss.

A sweet sound of pleasure escapes her lips that sets fire to the hunger I was already feeling. Pushing her into the window, I lift her deftly, wrapping her slender legs around me and enjoying the presence of her mouth against mine. Finally, I get to experience the taste of her. The taste that makes me wild, and yet it calms me. As her fingers frantically attacks the buttons of my shirt, I made a revolution. I was going to make Hayley Parker mine.

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