Hadley's Fall (Based on 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher)

5|Diana

42 Days Before the Fall

As her lips locked onto her boyfriend's, Diana knew what she was doing was wrong. It wasn't just that they were making out in the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant, it was that her boyfriend was already taken.

Okay, so he had a wife and kids at home. But he was the one who came onto her. And as much as she knew it was wrong, there was some part of her that held onto the foolish belief that everything would work out.

Their little affair had been going on for weeks now, and she was getting sick of sneaking around everywhere. She was looking for commitment, and she needed reassurance that she was the object of Bruce's affection.

Determined to get the commitment she desired, she pushed him off of her. "Bruce, I can't do this."

He looked at her in shock. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't want to keep sneaking around like this, looking around every corner, afraid your wife or one of your kids is going to see us! If this is going to keep up, I need commitment from you." Diana didn't really care if Bruce's wife or kids saw her. Sure, it would be awkward and dramatic, but at least they would get the message that Bruce was seeing someone else now, and Diana was more important to Bruce than they ever were.

Bruce exhaled and walked a few paces away from her. After a few long minutes, he turned to face Diana again. "Are you sure about this?"

Diana nodded. "It's time to be honest, Bruce."

Xxxxxxxxx

Hadley looked from Diana, to Bruce, back to Diana. Her shell shocked face revealed that she couldn't believe what she was hearing. When Bruce was done explaining, Diana was ready to jump in and try to clear the awkward atmosphere. To her surprise, she didn't need to. Hadley did it for her.

"So wait, are you guys getting married?" She asked, not even sounding hurt or upset, just genuinely curious.

Bruce nodded. "That's the plan. Of course, I hope you understand why we are doing this..."

"I'm so happy for you!" Hadley interrupted and gave her dad a big bear hug. She seemed overcome with joy, and although it was unexpected, it was nice to see her so happy. She had been stuck in a slump for a while.

As Diana and Bruce left the house (Bruce had officially moved into Diana's small apartment after coming clean to his ex-wife) Diana was overjoyed at how well the whole experience had gone. "That went amazingly well!" She chirped.

"I think Hadley guessed that something was going on for a long time now. She noticed how often her mom and I argued, and it was hard on her. I think she's excited to have a happy family again."

"I'm excited too." Diana leaned her head on Bruce's shoulder.

Xxxxxxx

Months later, after the divorce had been filed and Diana and Bruce had a small wedding, Diana took Hadley out for lunch at a small café nearby. As they settled into their seats, Diana smiled as she observed her step-daughter. Hadley did a lot of things she didn't like. Her room was always a mess, she never remembered to take her shoes off before she stepped on their expensive Persian carpet, and her manners were atrocious. This was all due to how her mother raised her, Diana assumed. Despite her best efforts, she hadn't been able to transform Hadley into the daughter she had always wanted.

"Hadley, I wanted to have this lunch with you today because I was wondering... have you ever thought about living with your mother?"

Hadley stirred her spoon around in her soup. "Sometimes I think about it, yeah. I mean, she's my mom  and so of course I miss her, but I really like living with you and Dad. We're a family now, right?"