It's a Cold World Without You

It's a Cold World Without You 13

Hailey lifted her head lazily as the knocking on the door grew more insistent. Whoever was on the other side sure was annoying her as they kept trying to twist the locked doorknob. As the loud banging quieted down, her aunt's voiced replaced it.

"Hailey? Open the door!" 

'Damn,' Hailey thought, 'Demanding much?'

Rolling her body to the edge of the bed, Hailey slowly ambled over to the door.

"Yes, Aunt Dede?" Hailey asked in an overly sweet voice after having fumbled with the lock and opening her bedroom door.

Diana simply rolled her eyes at Hailey's behaviour, though it really did bother her. Suddenly, her head snapped up as she recognized the strange smell in the room. She took in her niece's placid expression and Ryan blinking his bloodshot eyes while he relaxed on Hailey's bed.

With wide eyes, Diana asked Hailey, "Are you high? Were you two smoking in here?"

Hailey narrowed her eyes and asked her aunt suspiciously, "Are you high?"

Ryan found this absolutely hilarious as he burst out laughing so hard that he started clutching at his stomach and accidentally rolled off the bed. 

Hailey in turn raised a hand to her mouth, pointed an index finger at Ryan and burst into a fit of giggles. 

Diana, with her eyes blazing, turned sharply on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Hailey sighed and walked back over to her bed. Ryan recovered from his laughter and flopped on the bed beside her. The truth was that they weren't totally stoned anymore. The buzz was wearing off and they were coming down; crashing right back into a reality filled with dead brothers and pissed-off aunts.

Ryan turned his head to look at Hailey's pale face and reddened eyes. "Hey, maybe I shouldn't stay over tonight. It's not like your aunt likes me at the best of times, and, well, this isn't exactly one of her happier moments." 

Hailey's brow furrowed slightly as she took in Ryan's words. It did make a lot of sense, but that didn't make her like the idea any more. Would she even be able to sleep without having Ryan near her? That thought stopped everything in its tracks. Since when did she need anyone to do anything? The only person she'd ever really relied on was Kyle, and look where that got her.

Hailey shook her head to clear her thoughts, which got her blond hair tangled. She turned back to Ryan, who looked like he was starting to doubt he mental health. 'Ha,' Hailey thought, 'My sanity has been questionable for a long time, and you're just catching on now?' Since she knew that Ryan couldn't actually hear her thoughts, she worked really hard at smothering the giggle that so desperately wan't to escape. Back to answering his question, Hailey said, "Yea, maybe that is a good idea. Not that I particularly care what that witch thinks, she's just been making my life a living Hell since she got here, but maybe we're growing a little too used to having each other around."

Hailey's words made Ryan frown. He didn't entirely understand where she was going with all that, but he was hurt that she thought that. Especially since all he wanted lately was to have Hailey around him.

Ryan agreed with Hailey, no matter how badly he wanted to argue the point, and they both made their way downstarairs. 

Hailey showed Ryan to the door, even if it was a bit of a moot point considering Ryan knew exactly where her front door was by now, and avoided her aunt's disaproving gaze from the kitchen table.

Once the door was shut and locked for th night, Hailey turned to her aunt with her green eyes narrowed. "What?"

Diana's eyes widened in shock and she sputtered, "'What?' You dare ask me 'What?'?"

It infuriated Diana to see Hailey's eyes roll. "Seriously, Dede, what's your problem?"

"My problem?" Diana repeted, her voice going a few octaves higher than usual, "My problem is your attitude recently, not to mention your behaviour, and that boy you've been hanging around with is not helping the situation."

Hailey sighed, "There is no situation, 'that boy' is named Ryan and my behaviour is none of your concern."

"You've been spending your nights God knows where, doing God knows what, and today I found you smoking marijuana in your bedroom. I realize that you miss Kyle, but this isn't the kind of path you want to continue down, Hailey."

"This has nothing to do with Kyle!" Hailey all but shouted at the woman in front of her. "I behaved just as badly when he was alive; the only difference was that he was right there with me!"

Diana's heart was breaking just standing in front of Hailey at that moment. She took her niece in; her blond hair was tangled, her cheeks were slightly more pink than usual from frustration and anger, her green eyes were bright. 

"I called your father," Hailey barely heard her aunt mumble with how low she spoke the words.

"You what?" Now Hailey was really shouting. She felt Diana had no right to go messing with her life the way she been since she arrived to 'help'.

"I called your father," Diana repeted, louder this time, while looking Hailey right in the eye. "I told him how you haven't been eating," she gestured to Hailey's stick-thin frame, "and I told him that your mother was not looking after you the way a mother should. I told him that you and Kyle had had it rough since he left and that you can't go on all by yourslef."

Hailey's eyes were filling with tears as Diana's words sunk in. They were all true, but that didn't mean they were easy to listen to.

"He's taking custody, Hailey."

That did it. Hailey turned out her heel, stalked to the front door, unlocked it and closed it softly behind her. She wasn't storming out; she wasn't angry. She was tired and broken, and tired of being broken. So, she left. Simple, right?

It was cold out, but at least she was wearing a hoodie. She went to see the one person who could ever understand entirely what it was she felt right now. She went to see her brother.