"Where the fuck is she?!" Lex seethed at Dillon when he opened the door.
"What?"
"Where the fuck is Haylee?!" Lex demanded.
"She's out back with Paige, Freya, and Franc-"
"Of fucking course. I thought you liked Jonah. I thought you liked Haylee and Jonah together, so it's hard to believe that you're fine with her cheating! I thought you liked my family more than this!"
"It's not what you all think," Dillon said calmly following Lex who was stomping through the house.
"HAYLEE KATHERINE SERNA!" Lex yelled as she threw the door to the patio open.
Haylee was standing not far from the table with a can of Coke in her hand. She looked up at Lex with wide eyes. She gave Lex a soft smile, not expecting to see her best friend in Atlanta. And she definitely didn't expect Lex to march towards her and grab her by the neck while yelling. Dillon and Franco immediately pulled Lex off of her while Paige and Freya made sure that Haylee was okay. Haylee coughed and drank some water before looking at Lex with confused and hurt eyes.
"What the hell, Lex?"
"What the hell, Lex? WHAT THE HELL, LEX?! Are you fucking kidding me?! I told you I wasn't going to let any sneaky shit slide. I told you if you broke Jonah's heart, made him cry, or didn't act like he was the galaxy in your skies, I'd make your life a living hell. You're a piece of shit for cheating on Jonah! At least Mike and I were broken up when I was seen with Devin! You're just down here all over Franco not giving a fuck about your husband and babies back in San Fran!" Lex hissed at her as Franco and Dillon held her back from pummelling Haylee.
"I'm not cheating on Jonah with Franco. Franco is married to Freya," Haylee gestured to the brunette standing next to her, "Lex, let's go talk. There's a lot going on."
Haylee walked inside the house and up the stairs to the room she had been staying in. She sat down and grabbed one of the throw pillows. She hugged it to her chest as Lex sat down on the bed with her, arms crossed over her chest. Her hazel eyes were flaming mad. Not that Haylee could blame her. She would feel the same way if she thought Paige was cheating on Dillon.
"Start talking, Serna," Lex glared at her, "cause my brother is heartbroken, and the rest of my family is furious that you're doing Jonah like this. He doesn't deserve this when all he's ever done is treat you like a Queen."
"I have postpartum depression, Alexia. And I've been having a really hard time being in San Francisco," Haylee revealed looking at her nails, unable to look the youngest Arenado in the eyes when she was so mad.
"Oh," Lex let out softly, "why are you having a hard time being in San Francisco? Jonah loves you with everything he has. He'd break his own back to make sure you're happy."
"I just. I. I'm sorry. It's hard to talk about it. I haven't even really talked about it with Dillon and Paige, but I swear I'm not cheating with Franco. When I was down here last month with Liam and Camryn, Franco pulled me aside. He said the last few times he'd seen me, I was acting different. He said that something was off and asked if I had postpartum depression. That was the first time I admitted it."
"I'm sorry, but why were there all those pictures of you with Franco outside the hotel? After they won the conference final?"
"It's been seriously blown out of proportions. I was thanking Franco with a hug. The celebration dinner took place at the Ritz. Their restaurant is on the tenth floor. It has this amazing balcony. I was out there looking out at the Atlanta skyline. It was so peaceful in that moment," Haylee began to get choked up, "everything was weighing down on me. I looked down and thought-"
"Haylee, don't say it. Please, don't fucking say it," Lex gently interrupted at her sister-in-law absolutely horrified.
"Yeah," Haylee gave the smallest sad smile as tears streamed down her face.
"Oh my god," Lex slapped her hand over her mouth as it went dry.
"Yeah. I had climbed over the barrier, and I was just standing there looking out. The doors opened, and Franco was standing there. He quite literally talked me off the edge. Then Dillon, Edgar, and Brooks came out to help pull me back over."
"Hayls," Lex's jaw was hanging as she desperately and rapidly tried to process the information she had just received.
"Those pictures... I was thanking Franco for talking to me. I would never cheat, and neither would Franco. He's married to the other girl, Freya, out with Paige and Dillon. Last year, he and Freya had a son together, and Freya had really bad postpartum depression too. That's how he recognised that I had it too. He saw the subtle changes that Freya had. He confronted me about it last month. Like I said, that was the first time I admitted I was struggling. Franco and Freya have been talking to me about everything. Lex, I love Jonah. I love him so much it scares me shitless sometimes."
At this point, Haylee was sobbing, hugging the pillow trying to comfort herself. She laid back on the bed and covered her face with the pillow. Lex shifted slightly and laid a hand on her ankle.
Haylee hated that she was hurting Jonah. It's not like she didn't want to tell him or that she was scared of his reaction. She knew he'd be supportive. She just was having a hard time admitting and putting what she was feeling into words.
That was one of the reasons she had grown so close with Freya and Franco. They didn't ask any questions. They didn't need to. Freya and Franco just knew how to help, and Haylee appreciated that she didn't have to talk about how she was feeling. Admitting she was struggling made Haylee feel like there was something wrong with her, and that she should be stronger and strong enough to just power through. Freya and Franco understood and were just there to hold her hand while she cried.
"I'm sorry, Hayls. We had no idea," Lex broke the silence.
"None of you did. Not even Dillon and Paige. It was Freya and Franco who told them I was struggling," Haylee sat up.
"You need to go home and talk to Jonah. He's confused, angry, and absolutely devastated," Lex looked her best friend dead in the eyes.
"I know," her voice was barely above a whisper, "I hate that my problems are now affecting him so deeply. I love him so much, Lex. I don't want him to leave with Cam and Liam."
"Hayls, he's never going to leave you. He's madly in love with you and the life you have together, but Jonah deserves to know what's going on. You know he's going to be there for you."
"I do know. I'm just scared."
"I know me saying 'don't be' isn't going to help you or make you not be scared, but this is Jonah. He's always been there for you and always supported you. He will do it again."
"He's an incredible man. He deserves so much more than me," Haylee whispered, finally letting out some of what she was feeling.
"You deserve his love, Hayls. Go home. Go talk to him."
"I will. I'll go home as soon as I can."
"Good. Because I didn't like strangling you," Lex cracked a smile.
"You scared me shitless calling me Serna and then choking me," she smiled back.
"Don't make me do it again!"
"I won't."
hayleearenado 10min
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