Deadly Beautiful | ✓

Chapter Fifteen

Hailey Thomas.

I groan loudly as my phone rings loudly on my bedside table, and I tiredly reach my hand out from under my covers and grab it, swiping my thumb across the screen to answer it. "Hello?" I say, groggily, practically still sleeping.

"Did I wake you?" Aiden's familiar voice asks on the other line, and I roll my eyes, pulling the phone away from my ear to check the time.

"What do you think, Moore? It's 6:30 am on a Wednesday," I snap, clearly annoyed that he has woken me up at such a time. "I don't get up into 7:30 am. I still have a whole hour to sleep. What's your deal?" I ask, leaning the phone against my ear as I bury my face into my pillow.

Aiden laughs and I swear my heart skips a beat. 'Get yourself together, Hailey,' I think to myself straight afterwards, pushing the warm feeling aside. 'Now is not the time to be swooning,' I remind myself, scowling into my pillow.

"I was hoping I could come over?" He asks, sounding as casual as ever.

Finally, I lift my head off my pillow, and I grab my phone, holding it to my ear instead of letting it lean against my head. "Didn't you just hear me? It's 6:30 am," I say, frowning. "My parents are still asleep. As a matter of fact, I should still be asleep, too."

I hear Aiden sigh deeply, and I know for a fact that he's rolling his eyes at me. "Fine," He says, finally. "Get dressed and I'll pick you up. We can go for breakfast while I tell you how my mate date with Max went."

"But-" I begin, only to stop and frown when I no longer hear Aiden's breathing on the other line. "Hello?" I say, taking my phone away from my ear to look at the screen. "Son of a bitch," I huff, "He hung up on me."

Tiredly, I sit up, kicking my warm, soft covers away from me as I get out of bed. I stand up, stretching my arms above my head as I yawn. "It's too early for this," I mumble to myself.

I step forward, only to walk into the edge of my bedside table. "Who put that there?" I wince, already being able to feel my skin bruising as I walk to the bathroom to get ready.

☟

"Morning, sunshine," Aiden says, chuckling as I approach him while he leans against his car. "You look chipper this morning," He snickers, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Shut up," I snap, rolling my eyes. "The bags under my eyes are bigger than my backpack and your backpack put together," I grumble, folding my arms across my chest as I stop in front of him.

Aiden laughs, sliding my backpack strap down my shoulder. "Give me this," He says, taking it from me completely. "Get in the car and I'll put this in the back with mine." I nod my head and walk around to the passenger side of his car, getting in and putting my seatbelt on while Aiden throws my backpack into the backseat with his.

"Where are we going?" I ask, looking over at him as he gets into driver's seat. "I want coffee," I say. "No, scratch that; I need coffee."

"I was thinking McDonald's. It's cheap, the pancakes are mouthwatering, and there's coffee," Aiden says, looking into his rearview mirror as he does a u-turn. "Besides, it's close to the school, too."

I nod my head, chuckling quietly. "Works for me," I say, "As long as I get my coffee."

The drive to McDonald's is silent, but it's not an awkward silence. At least, it's not awkward on my side. I can't speak for Aiden. He keeps glancing over at me, though, and I just know he has something he wants to ask me.

"What is it, Moore?" I ask, turning my head to look at him as he parks his car in an empty space outside of McDonald's. "You're burning holes into the side of my face. What's on your mind?" I add.

Aiden takes his car keys out of the ignition and turns to look at me. "You're not still pissed, right?" He asks, carefully, almost as if he's afraid he'll set me off.

I raise my eyebrow slightly. "Do you really think that if I was still pissed, I would have gotten out of my bed and came to McDonald's with you?" I ask, chuckling. "Scratch that, actually. Do you think I would have even answered the phone if I were still pissed?" I smirk, shaking my head a little. "The answer is no. I'm not pissed. But I am starving and craving coffee." I chuckle softly as I turn and get out of the car, walking around to Aiden's side, waiting for him.

"I'll get the food," Aiden says, placing his hand on my lower back as he leads me inside. "Go find a seat. You're getting pancakes," He says, and then he walks off, getting into the pretty short line.

A few minutes later, Aiden slides into the seat across from me. He slides my coffee and pancakes across the table and then leans back to look at me. "Max is in the clear," He says, folding his arms across his chest as he watches me carefully, waiting for my reaction. 

I sigh quietly, feeling hopeless. "Are you sure? I mean, how did you even get anything out of him?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. 

Aiden chuckles. "He really is an airhead. I took advantage of 'the bro code'," He says, rolling his eyes. "I asked him about Elle, and when he started talking, he couldn't stop. He and Elle were seeing each other behind Olivia's back, and when Olivia found out, she and Elle had this huge argument. This was just a few days before Elle was found. Turns out, Max was going to break up with Olivia for Elle. I'd say that's a motive. And it ties up with what you heard that day you were eavesdropping in the bathroom." 

"I was not eavesdropping!" I say, and Aiden raises his eyebrow, looking at me in amusement. "Okay, I was eavesdropping, but that's not the point. The point is, Olivia stopped me yesterday after school and told me that Iona and Elle had fallen out. And if Max is telling you that Olivia and Elle had the falling out, then it sounds like Olivia is twisting stories and trying to put the blame on Iona." 

"Sounds like it," Aiden agrees. "Iona is crazy, definitely, but not Olivia crazy. I think Iona is just a petty teenage girl. What else is new these days?" He scoffs, sarcasm practically dripping from his tone.

I lean back, my head tilting back to look at the ceiling. Olivia killed Elle. She was probably motivated by jealousy. I mean, her boyfriend was no longer in love with her, but in love with her own best friend. It has to have been her. And, the worst part is; I'm not surprised.