Catch Me

Chapter Thirty-One: Good Going Charles

Chapter Thirty-One: Good Going Charles

Thanksgiving break came and went. Haleigh had spent the week with her family in her small little hometown. She had, against Zander's wishes, forgiven her dad for the events that had happened a few weeks ago when Haleigh had gone home for her visit. She had endured worse before. Although the image of the full can of beer zooming passed her head and colliding with the far wall of the living room were still prominent in her memories.

Zander was angry with Haleigh when she had told him that she would be returning home for the holiday. He was sure that he would have to borrow Jaxson's car at some point to save her. He had felt a little better when Haleigh had mentioned her brother was home on leave from the Air Force and that Shane was going to be in town. He wanted desperately to go with her, to protect her against the harsh, abusive words of her drunken father, but Haleigh had insisted this would have been frowned upon by her family.

Haleigh enjoyed the fact that Zander wanted to protect her. She wanted him by her side just as much as Zander did. The fact of the matter was Thanksgiving wasn't the time to introduce her family to her new friend that she sometimes hooked up with. The two hadn't even thought about discussing their relationship status. It was a sticky situation. Haleigh still constantly thought about what had happened between Zander and Alyssa just a few weeks prior, and Zander had never really been one to put a label on things. He liked Haleigh, a lot. It was that simple, why should they conform to society's norms and label each other? Haleigh also had a feeling that there was something a little off about Zander, almost as if he was keeping something from her. She tried not to dwell on this feeling.

Zander spent Thanksgiving with his mother. He was the only one of his siblings to come home for Thanksgiving. His mom made a huge spread of food that could have surely served an army. She was used to cooking for a large amount of people for the holidays. This year it was just the two of them. Zander knew his mother blamed him for this. They watched the football game in silence and ate his mom's famous pumpkin pie as they sipped their egg nog. Zander willed the day to pass quickly. He willed the week to pass quickly as well so that he could see Haleigh.

The day after Thanksgiving Shane and Haleigh met up at their local coffee shop. Haleigh was thrilled to see her best friend. She threw her arms around his broad shoulders and hugged him tight. She wanted to keep him with her forever. She had missed him so much. The two ordered their favorite coffees and then drove around the town for the rest of the day. Shane tried his hardest to pressure Haleigh into going to meet Zander, but she held her ground. She wasn't ready for that. Shane told her all about Bryan and that the two had grown really close. Although Haleigh wasn't ready for Shane to meet Zander, she told him all about the dreamy bass player. She explained to Shane that she and Zander had been inseparable for the past few days ever since she had forgiven him for the Alyssa situation. She also explained that this made her slightly uncomfortable, and that there was a side of her that always wanted to be with Zander, yet there was also a side that instinctively wanted to push him away before she got hurt.

"Did you guys..." Shane trailed off as he drove through the thick snow. Haleigh knew what he was asking, and she blushed, not answering him. "Oh my god you did!" Shane laughed as he made fun of his best friend. "You whore! Tell me everything. Does he have a big dick?" Haleigh laughed along with Shane as she hit his arm playfully.

"Shut up!" She laughed avoiding his question. "Have you and Bryan?" She took his silence as a yes, and the two continued to laugh and gossip together. Haleigh loved having her best friend home. She wished she could see him more. There was nothing like driving around town with Shane, no destination on their minds, the car swerved in and out of the tall pine trees of their small town as they talked and laughed about everything.