Partners in Crime (Carl Gallagher Book One of the Ride or Die Series)

Breathe Again

Forgive me for I have sinned, I broke her heart and mine as well

It was the third week of the detentions they had to serve and neither one of them had spoken a single word to the other since their fight. Detention used to be fun for Hailey and Carl, they would hang out cause a little chaos, start some shit. Not anymore now Carl sat next to Hailey staring at the front of the room without moving or speaking for an hour and a half in pure misery. All because he was to chicken shit to talk to the girl who used to be his best friend, who could still be his best friend if he could just figure out where the fuck he lost his balls. The clock ticked past another minute they continued on in absolute silence. He wished the bruise around his eye was still there, without the pain from there fight he had no physical reminder that Hailey had ever been his friend at all instead of just another person he shared detention with. He needed to do something. Yesterday Debbie had told him that she had seen Hailey talking to some guy outside biology. He needed to get his shit together and act before he lost her for good. He needed to stop being such a fucking coward.

The bell rings shrilly, Carl breathes in deeply and lets it out. He's doing this. Now. He grabs Hailey's wrist before she can leave. She spins around to stare at him, waiting. She's been waiting for a while now, for Carl to speak, for her heart to stitch itself back together, for detention to fucking end, she's been doing a lot of waiting over the past weeks.

 He tries to speak and the words get stuck in his throat. Debbie had been right earlier, he was a fucking pussy. Hailey scoffs pulling her wrist out of his grip and turning to leave. As she's about to leave he's suddenly overcome with a feeling of urgency, he knows if he doesn't say something now he really will lose her for good, if he doesn't speak up she's going to walk away. She won't wait for him forever and he wouldn't expect her to.

"Hailey" he calls after her. Finally, the words make it past his throat.

She turns around to look at him raising an eyebrow cooly, yeah he really fucked up but he has her attention now. He's Carl fucking Gallagher he can fix this.

"Can we talk, please" the plea barely makes it past his throat, he's never said please in his life but he would do anything, for her.

"I don't know Carl," she says tightly "Are you going to accuse me of things I didn't do and call me a bitch?" Carl winces, he definitely deserved that one.

"No, I promise. Can we please just talk, the silence I can't take it anymore" He absolutely hates the way his voice sounds pleading but he cannot lose her.

Hailey deflates at Carls tone of voice "I'm ditching biol, walk with me" she concedes.

He lets out a breath of relief, quickly following after Hailey as she heads down the hallway and out the school doors.

There walking under the L when Hailey stops suddenly and turns looking at Carl expectantly.

"Well you wanted to talk so talk Carl"

"I'm sorry Hailey, for everything for freaking out and yelling at you, for hurting you, for picking Bonnie over you"

"I know" she states plainly.

"What?"

"I know your sorry Carl, I know you didn't mean half the shit you said to me, but that isn't enough because you hurt me and that's not ok" Hailey wipes a tear away from under her eye. The truth was that she hadn't known at first that Carl hadn't meant what he said. She had been convinced he hated her for weeks.