Going Home ⚭ book II b.c.l.s ⚭ Hayes Grier

22

Our eyes locked, though I wasn't sure what was happening. As I saw his eyes soften, I looked away. "What do I do now?" Hayes' voice was low.

"I wish I knew the answer," I hummed. "She's really upset."

All he did was nod, turning away and walking back to the house. I sighed and hurried back over to Jack. "He's not very talkative." Katia rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup. I made a face at Jack, who seemed very unamused by the fresh mascara stains on his shirt.

"Maybe you should go to a friends house, you know? Take a nap, maybe." She nodded, thanking us before leaving. "So, what did he actually say to you?"

"Not much. He's not in love with her." We walked to the beach and set out a blanket. Jack raised his eyebrows as we sat down.

"That's all he said?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Well, he obviously explained it in more words than that, that's just what the point was." "Alright." I raised my eyebrows, nudging him. "Don't believe me?"

"No, I do," Jack smiled, his arm tightly around me. "He just seems a little sus." I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to read him, while he sighed.

"Okay,  Jack. He told me that there was no point in dating her when he wasn't in love with her," Licking my lips, I put my head on his shoulder. "He said he was in love with someone else."

I felt him tense up and look at me. "What?" I groaned. "Do we have to have this conversation? I mean, we're not apart of his relationships." "Yeah, we do. Apparently you are."

"Oh my god, you are way too sensitive about this. Are you aware of the previous relationship I had? Don't remember all the times Hayes and I fought because he was way too jealous?" Jack shrugged, almost blowing me off. "I was in a relationship with someone who, at the time, was controlling, drove me crazy, literally tried to kill me-"

"What?"

I mentally facepalmed and took a deep breath. "Like, mentally. You know what I mean?" Jack gave me a weird look. "No, not really, but okay."

Nodding, I looked out to the water. "Just show a little trust in me, okay?"  I felt a kiss on my cheek, making me smile.

-

Jack dropped me off at home and I walked in smiling. "Hey, guys," I sat next to Nash and Cam. "How is he?" 

"He seems fine, honestly," Nash shrugged. "Seems kinda weird to me."

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it is weird. It's like he never even cared in the first place." Nash laughed, nudging his shoulder. 

"That's cause he probably didn't" 

I rolled my eyes with a smile while standing up. "While you guys are down here being unsympathetic, I'm gonna go talk to him." 

"Have fun!" 

I walked up the large stair case, knocking on his door before going in. I saw Hayes laying in bed on his phone. "Hey." He said.

"Hi," I sat next to him. "How are you?" 

"Honestly, I feel a little better," I nodded. "I don't know. I just feel like I don't have to fake anything now." 

Smiling, I ruffled his hair. "I guess you made the right decision, then." Hayes agreed with a laugh. "How are things with Jack?" "Still the same." 

"You look a lot happier; more like yourself." "You think?" He nodded. "I mean, I wish you were happy with me, but this works... Sorta." 

We laughed as he shrugged. "I don't know, I wonder a lot if we could've made it work," Hayes sighed, "Me too." "We just really fell apart at the end, you would always get so jealous so I would hang out with guys on purpose; really unhealthy." 

"Remember when we first moved into this house?" He laughed and I nodded. "Right after everything with Lauren." 

I took a hard swallow and stood up. "I don't know if I ever told you, but I do forgive you." And I left to go to my room. My phone beeped and I saw a text from Lauren Giraldo and I thought about the party.

'Hey, meet me for dinner in an hour?'