Long Distance Call | tayley ✓

37 | You Should Go

[Taylor]

"Are you okay?" Hayley asks, standing in the doorway of my room. I turn around to look at her. Considering I'd just bolted from the kitchen to the bedroom, I understand her confusion.

"Um...yeah. I...Okay, um, my friend is coming over..." Friend? Really? Not so much. But how else am I supposed to address Baylie? Oh, my obsessive ex-girlfriend is coming over because I told her she could. But what if I were to say no, say that she should go home instead? She'd surely find some way to get back at me. I know her too well.

"Who? Josh? Dan? David? Who?"

I shake my head. "You haven't met her," I reply simply, not wanting to dive into the details of the girl that could so easily ruin my life. She'd already ruined a part of my life, and I wish I hadn't given her a single second of my time. Half a fucking year. My friends took note of how unhappy I had been during that time, but most didn't realize that there was a clear correlation between my unhappiness and my ex lover.

"Ooh, it's a girl?" She asks. Not in a way that sounds angry or anything, bitter over the fact that I have female friends. She asked in a more...excited kind of way. She's probably just excited to meet a girl who she hopes to talk about makeup and girly stuff with. That's all girls talk about with each other, right? I don't know. All most guys seem to talk about is sports and girls, me included.

Hayley and I change into our clothes and head out to get something to bring back to my apartment for lunch. Instead of getting something even mildly different from what's available back in America, we settle for Pizza Hut. Yes, Pizza Hut.

When Hayley and I return to my apartment, it is nearly the time that I'd told Baylie to come over. I set the unopened box of pepperoni pizza on the kitchen table, where I plan on eating. Or maybe we'll eat on the couch. You know what, that's not important right now. Because I need to worry more about Baylie and getting her out of here as fast as possible.

Also, if she dislikes the pizza, which I can imagine will happen, then too bad. Chances are, she'll probably bitch about the meal. I remember whenever I ate fast food, or any unhealthy food, she would just roll her eyes at me and remind me how terrible the food was for me. But that girl would eat frozen yogurt like it was nobody's business. Yes, it's probably a healthier alternative to ice cream, but eating that much is gonna add up.

Wow, I am getting very off-topic.

I'm yanked from my train of thought when a hard knock can be heard from the door. Hayley offers to go and get it, but I shake my head and tell her to just stay where she is. I want the two of them to interact as little as possible. Crap, okay, how do I look? Wait, what. No, I don't need to look good for her. If she doesn't like how I look, then...good. Maybe she'll stay away.

I unlock and open the door. I don't even say anything. Instead, I just step to the side and let her walk into my apartment. She looks too comfortable. I feel and probably look uncomfortable.

She walks to the living room with me trailing a few feet behind her. My heart is pounding. Relax, my brain tells my heart. But telling myself to relax seems to be making matters even worse.

Hayley looks up from where her eyes had been fixated, which was in her lap. She smiles, but that smile fades quickly. Oh no, what is happening. She squints her eyes slightly, but it only takes a few seconds for her smile to reappear. When I glance over to Baylie, she's got an odd look on her face. Her lips are just slightly parted, eyes wide. Okay, what the hell is happening?

Also, why do their names have to rhyme?

My girlfriend stands from her spot on the couch and walks towards Baylie and I. I introduce them to one another, making sure to point out the fact that Hayley is indeed my girlfriend.

"Hey! You were on the flight with me! Taylor, she was on the flight with me! Aw, this is so cool."

Does this mean they're friends now or something? Because I'm definitely not cool with that. This is not cool. I just smile and nod. That's my go-to action when I don't know how else to react. Just smile and nod.

They talk more, which I'm not a fan of. I don't like this. Hayley seems like she wants this demon to be her best friend. I just stand there awkwardly, my hands in my back pockets as I listen to their conversation.

After what feels like an eternity of both of them going on and on and on about nonsense — which I had grown so bored of that I don't even know what the conversation was getting to — I recommend for us to eat. The sooner we eat, the sooner I can get you-know-who out of here. And it'll be a moment less I have to deal with her. They say that it's a great idea to eat. Duh, it's pizza we're eating.

So we sit there, eating the pizza in silence. My ex and I sit on one side of the table, Hayley across from us. But it seems my suspicions were correct, as much as Baylie tries to appear fine with the meal decision, all she's doing is taking tiny nibbles from her slice of pizza.

"So, how do you and Taylor know each other?" Hayley asks, breaking the silence. She sounds like a mom just by asking that.

"We used to be friends back in high school. She didn't go to the same school as you and I, though. She went to private school," I blurt out.

Okay, yes I lied. We were never friends. We were fuck buddies from the second we met, up until when we became an official thing. But once we became official it all went downhill. I've told the stories. The only person who helped me through it was Jeremy.

"What are you talking about, Taylor? Alright, Hayley, let me tell you how him and I became friends and just all about us," she starts, her hand coming to rest on my knee. I shift as much as possible without making it obvious. No. This is all bad. But Hayley can't really get mad over a past relationship, right? Right?

"Okay, so one night, the Farro brothers had a party, I don't know how they got away with it. But my friends knew Josh, so we all went together. I met Taylor that night. We definitely hit it off, don't you think?" she asks me. I'm not sure if it's rhetorical or not, but I don't move a muscle. Can she stop?

Nope, she continues.

"We were both pretty drunk, and we hooked up. I don't know if we even had a proper conversation before fucking. It was a great time," she goes on. How can she even say things like this? I look up to Hayley, who's no longer eating. She's leaning back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

"And then that friends with benefits relationship continued for a few months, up until this guy was finally able to muster up the courage to ask me out. We dated for a few months, not really sure what went wrong, to be honest. But, guess it wasn't meant to be. But I missed him a lot. Did he tell you that I came over a few nights ago? He's a great boyfriend, isn't he? I had kissed him when I came over, but he was so committed to you that after a minute or so, he pushed me off and told me to leave."

She's smiling. She's fucking smiling, that devil. Hayley isn't, oh no, she definitely is not smiling.

"You should go," I comment simply, and Baylie frowns.

"I haven't even been here for that long, come on. Hayley, don't you want me to stay?" she asks, as if Hayley would be begging me to allow her to stay.

"I think you should go," she agrees. Baylie stands and so do I. I walk her to the door, and when I return to the kitchen, Hayley doesn't seem too happy.

I expect angry texts or something similar from Baylie, I wouldn't be surprised. But I don't need to worry about her, I need to worry about calming Hayley down. Or whatever I have to do.