Falling For Hadley

Chapter 10

DYLAN'S POV

"Hey! There's one right behind you!" Hadley warns me with a smile and I spin my cart around. A bumper car goes whizzing by me with her brother Oliver laughing inside of it.

"Ha! I told you I could drive!" I spin in a circle and heads towards Hadley, crashing into another bumper car as I go.

"Oliver just barely missed you," she states with a smile and I laugh.

"If by barely you mean miles, then yes," I say and she laughs. She bumps her car into mine and drives off. I turn the other direction and run into her on the other side of the room.

"Stop crashing into me! I thought you said you could drive!" she shouts and we both chuckle. Someone crashes into me from behind and I yelp in surprise. I hear Bentley laughing and I growl.

"I'm gonna get your brothers," I say as she spins and rams right into Jack. They both laugh and she heads for Oliver.

"Already taken care of it!" she shouts as she clips Oliver and sends him spinning. Laughter filled the air as we all spun under the huge tent. Hadley clips me as well and I lose control.

"Thanks a lot!" I shout chuckling. Another guy who looked about Bentley's age rams into me head on and I growl. Hadley whizzes by me and then slams into the boy with a force I didn't think these cars were capable of. Her face grows pale and angry and confusion swirls in my mind. She obviously knew the guy, but how? I lightly bump into her and she plasters on a fake smile. I may have only known Hadley for a week, but I knew when she was faking it. 

"You okay?" I shout the question as the buzzer sounds and the cars stop instantly. She unbuckles herself and storms out of the gate and into the flowing festival crowds. I run to catch up with her, shouting after her as I run. "Hadley!"I hear fast footfalls behind me and glance back to see Jack and Oliver running behind me. Hadley disappears around a corner and it hits me. She was heading for the pond nearby. I pick up the pace and she turns a few more corners and I lose her. I stop to catch my breath and her two brothers stop next to me. 

"Why is she running?" I ask them heaving for air. 

"That guy that slammed into you hurt her pretty badly," Oliver says as he scopes out the area.

"Not just pretty badly. It was awful," Jack doesn't look winded at all and he snatches Oliver's arm, pulling him towards another walkway and I follow.

"What did he do?" I question them and they look to each other.

"You should have her tell you. It's not our story to tell," Oliver answers vaguely and we begin to run again. After another minute of running, the boy catches up with us.

"Trent, not a good idea," Jack pushes him back and he glares.

"I want to apologize," he hisses and I step in.

"Who do you think you are?" I look him up and down. I was right, he's about the same age as Bentley.

"I'm her ex. That's who," he glares at me and anger boils in my veins.

"Get out of here. We got this handled," I growl. Trent just spits on the ground and looks at Jack angrily.

"Who's this guy?" he asks looking me up and down.

"I'm one of Hadley's friends," I answer for myself before Jack can. Oliver suddenly yanks me backward and gives me a warning look.

"Go on ahead and find Hadley. We got this covered," he whispers into my ear and I slowly sneak off. Trent begins to growl at Jack and once I was out of hearing range, I run in the direction of the pond. I finally find it and her. She had her shoes off and was dangling her feet over the pond. Her hair was hanging over her face and she was tracing her fingers up and down the water. I quietly walk towards her and sit down next to her, slipping off my sandals and dipping my longer legs into the water.

"Are you okay?" I break the silence and she looks at me with sadness in her eyes. 

"Yes," she lies and I smile. She cracks a slight smile, already understanding that I could see right through her. 

"I'll take that as a no," I watch her as she sighs and her green eyes meet mine. And I suddenly felt like I had known her my whole life. It was like my eyes and soul recognized her. Almost as if she was a part of me that had gotten lost in time.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly says and she frowns. Tears striking her eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" I look at her confused and she just looks away.

"I'm sorry for being so hard on you," she says quietly and I guide her chin so she was looking at me.

"I deserved that. I'm not the kindest person. And I'm not the most honorary person either," I reply smiling at her and looking out over the water, my arms resting at my sides.

"I'm still sorry," she says quietly.

"Don't be. I like how you challenge my views and call me out on my bullshit," I smile and a small laugh escapes her lips. 

"Don't feel so special. I do that to everyone," she laughs again and I elbow her teasingly.

"Now that's the Hadley I enjoy," a smile curves my lips and she smiles in return.

"Do you want to know what he did?" she suddenly asks me, getting serious and I stay silent. Not knowing if I should push the subject or leave it alone. 

"Should I?" I ask, not trying to push the topic.

"Yeah. I might regret this later, but I trust you," she says smiling. My fingers twitch and land on hers. Her face softens and I could see her barricades coming down for once. She truly did trust me. And for once in my life, I was going to guard that with my life.