Crawling Back To You

Chapter 24

Today is the first day of college. I put my clothes on, some tights with black kneesocks, a dark-blue skirt and a shirt which has Kurt Cobain on it. I grab some breakfast and get in my car.

'Hey gorgeous,' is the first thing I hear when I get out of my car. It's said in a sarcastic way and I definitely don't like it. I recognize his low voice. I look up. It's Alex.

'Shut the hell up!' I shout. I quickly walk past him. Son of a bitch. If this is going to happen all the time, I promise you I will lose my temper. But I have to calm down.

We have the first class and I really like it, but I can't get my eyes of Alex. He is flirting with every girl and he is grinning at me in a terribly arrogant way. The girls are all giggling and I can't take it. Ignore, ignore.

'Why are you doin' this?' I ask Alex after classes.

'Doin' what?'

'Don't pretend to be silly, you know exactly what I'm talking about!' I shout. Alex chuckles. Some guys, who are walking by, laugh at me.

'Look at her, she's really angry, mate! You should listen to her!' one of them says to Alex.

'Leave me alone!' I yell.

'I'm tryin' to help you, bitch!' He says.

'Fuck you!' I walk to my car and get inside. I hate college already, and that's not because of college. I turn my music very loud. Fuck, Arctic Monkeys, Arctic Monkeys, Arctic Monkeys. Alex has given me the first CD they made and I have nothing else to listen to. Why is Alex everywhere?! He drives me crazy! Angrily I turn off the music and start driving. Fucking crap.

Alex POV
'Hailey are ya home?' No reply. I sigh relieved. No Hailey. Hallelujah. Relaxxx. I take off my clothes and walk to the bathroom, only wearing boxers.

'Alex, for God's sake!' Hailey shouts when I walk in. Apparently she has showered, because she was drying off.

'Don't look at me!'

'Ah c'mon, don't act like I haven't seen you naked before!'

'Alex, GET OUT.' I chuckle. She has been so hysterical lately.

'Okay okay...' I leave the bathroom, put on my clothes again and lay down on my bed. I was just so glad that Hailey wouldn't be here. And there she is. There's no minute without her.
My phone starts ringing.

'Hey mom, what's up?'

'Hi honey, how are you doing?'

'Oh I'm fine.'

'Good good...'

'Mom, wha's wrong? You sound a little... Worried...'

'Yeah... I was calling because of Hailey's mother... She's very sick... She has long cancer...'

'What? Wait, why are you even telling me this? Hailey and I broke up. You should call her, not me! I don't fucking care!' I shout.

'Well... She was your neighbour and I thought...' - I hang up.

I start panicking. God, no. Not Hailey's mom. I do care. Of course I do. I know her my whole life. She is like a sort of second mother to me. NO! Why did I hang up so quickly? I should have asked if my parents were alright and if Hailey's dad was alright. And if Hailey's mom was going to...
Does Hailey even know? This is terrible. It will turn her whole life into a mess. Again.

Suddenly I see Hailey, standing in front of me, with only a towel wrapped around her. She is crying. She looks at me desperately. I can tell she knows about her mother. I can't see her like this. She's in so much pain. Without thinking, I run towards her and hold her. It's just some kind of reflex.
I feel her head against my chest. She pulls me really close to her. She's sobbing. We don't say anything. We just stay there, holding each other. She's so little in my arms. So vulnerable.