Motion (Sequel to "Collide")

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"Hayley? Are you still there?" Grams asked from the other end of the phone as I just froze, anger boiling in me.

Michael was in front of me, worry written all over his face as he watched my once joyful demeanor turn into a grave one. My jaw was clenched and my grip on the phone was very tight. I couldn't voice a consistent thought as the simple mention of my ex fiancé's name irritated me.

"What is going on, Hayley? What does this man want from you?"

"What did he say?" I asked, ignoring my grandmother's questions. "What was his voicemail about?"

When I asked her that, Michael visibly understood who I was talking about. His eyes suddenly darkened with anger as well. He brushed his hands over his face and put his hands on his hips as he started pacing the floor. He was mad, I could tell.

"He asked if you were around, and i—if I could help him get in contact with you," she told me, and I could hear by the sound of his voice that she was becoming nervous.

"What did you tell him?" I asked, scared of her answer.

"I told him to leave you alone," she told me, and I exhaled heavily in relief. "Why did he call me, Hayley? You need to tell me what's going on."

"Nothing you should be worried about, don't—"

"Don't tell me not to worry," she warned in a threatening tone. "This man walked out of your life years ago, why would he come back now? What does he want?"

"I truly don't know, Grams," I answered honestly as Michael motioned me to sit on the bed where he sat next to me. "He's been trying to reach me for a while, but I just found out."

"What do you mean you just found out?"

"He sent me a letter a month ago, and I just read it yesterday," I explained, rubbing my forehead. "He was telling me he was sorry for what he did to me and stuff, but...," I trailed off abruptly.

"But what, Hale? What is it?" my grandmother pressed, and I looked over at Michael who gave me an encouraging nod. He wanted me to tell her about my vision.

"I had a vision," I simply said, massaging my temple. "Alice, Carl and I were fighting over him, and I was blaming them for not telling me about the letter he sent sooner. And because of that he – ugh..."

"He what?"

"He put me, Michael a—and... and Faraji in danger," I told her, and voicing this out loud made me shiver. "We're trying to come up with a plan to find out what's on his fucked up mind."

"Hayley, no. You can't put yourself in danger like that anymore," my grandmother tried to reason, and I shook my head. "You're a mother now, you have a son who needs you—"

"That's why we need to find a plan, Grams!" I exclaimed, standing up from the bed as I started pacing. "Didn't you understand what I just said? I told you he put Faraji in danger, I saw it. I can't pretend I didn't see anything and ignore him. If I do that, he's gonna hurt him, hurt us. I can't let him."

"I can't believe this is happening again," she told me, and I could hear the desperation in her voice. "What could he possibly want from you that would put you in danger?"

"I don't know, but that's why we need to find out before he can do anything," I explained to her in a calmer tone. "Grams, I know you don't like this, but as a mother it is my job to ensure my son's safety. It's our job. Michael's with me, we're in this together."

"I just wish people would leave you both alone," she sighed heavily. "Can you come back to Los Angeles as soon as possible? I'd like to see you so we can talk about this. I miss you."