HAZE (On Hold)

Part 24

Hailee wakes up the next morning with a pounding headache and jolts to the realization of how bright it is outside.

"Oh, crap!"

She jumps out of her bed, looking for her phone to establish the time.

"Ms Hailee?" Hailee looks up in a panic when her name is called, "Anna, I'm late for my exam. I'm not going to be able to play soccer if I fail. I need to go right now!"

Hailee runs to her closet and quickly starts to try and get dressed.

"Ms Hailee, you need to calm down, everything will be okay. I already took care of calling the school and rearranging your exam schedule for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't in any shape to write an exam, right now. The school has agreed to allow you to write your exams on Friday. Now, I'm going back downstairs to make you some breakfast, and I expect when I return that you will have taken a shower and gotten yourself dressed properly. Dylan called the Dr last night and she agreed to see you at 11:00, until then, might I suggest you just, as you guys tend to say, chill."

Hailee laughs, "Anna, where's Dylan?"

"She had to drop off a paper at school, she should be back very shortly; until then you are stuck with me."

"I don't need a babysitter, Anna."

"I'm not babysitting you; I'm just keeping you company until Dylan returns."

Hailee heads into her bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror, not liking who or what she sees, staring back at her.

She removes the clothes that she is wearing and walks into the stall, turning the shower at full tilts in hopes of washing the overwhelming feelings away. As she watches the water go down the drain, the tears running down her face mix in with it. She struggles to take some deep breaths and regain her composure before the water turns her into a life-size prune. She turns off the water and steps out, wrapping herself in a towel and making the walk back to her closet to choose clothes suitable for her Dr appointment. Settling on some, she goes about the process of drying off and making herself presentable before returning to her room to find both Dylan and Anna waiting for her.

Dylan walks over and wraps her arms around Hailee, "I'm sure you would have preferred if Mandy was in the shower with you, but she had to write an exam this morning and promised that she will come to see you as soon as it's over."

Hailee smiles and blushes at the implication as she looks towards Anna.

"No need to be embarrassed, Ms Hailee, it's perfectly natural to want to be close and intimate with the person you care about most. Your breakfast or what's left of it is sitting on your desk. Someone may have helped themself to a couple of pieces of bacon, while they were waiting."

"Really, D? You ate my bacon?" Hailee smacks her arm. "Oww!"

"Wasn't me!" Dylan looks towards her Aunt, who smiles a guilty smile.

Anna stands up and makes her way to the door, "Call me or come and find me if you need anything."

Hailee sits down at her desk and eats the food on the plate, "I feel like I haven't eaten in forever!"

Dylan sits down on the floor beside her, "So, my Aunt told you that you have an appointment soon, right?" Hailee nods. "I hope you aren't upset with me, for calling her; but she said to if I ever saw you struggling and clearly you have been struggling lately."

"It's okay, D, I'm not upset with you; I think I'm more frustrated than anything. I have felt really good lately, and I thought that I didn't need my meds anymore, but I guess I was wrong because I can't seem to control the thoughts running around my head and well I'm a weeping mess right now."