What I Wish You Knew | ꪜ

Chapter Twenty Seven

To Everyone,

27. I wish you knew you were the best friends I could ever ask for.

Hayley's POV

"Where is she?" The familiar voice exclaimed, growing closer and closer with each growing second that passed. At the sound of his voice, I sat upright from Jenna's shoulder and watched as he barrelled into the office, his eyes searching for me frantically.

"Dray. . ." I trailed off as I climbed up from the chair. Without saying much I rushed into his arms. He hugged me to his chest tightly, cocooning me in his vice grip, but I didn't complain, I was just relieved that he was here. "Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes flickering down towards me as I pulled away.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay." Is this considered lying? I don't like people who lie about their feelings but I've gone through this so many times in the past six years that I can't differentiate between when I'm actually feeling down or just being myself. 

"Don't lie to me, Hayley, not now." He said, his lips pursed in a thin line. My smile faltered and I tucked my arms into my sweater, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "Come on, let's get you home." He said as he grabbed my school bag off the floor and motioned to the hallway.

"Can you wait in the car for me? I just wanna say goodbye to the guys." He nodded his head in understanding, his eyes flickering to my friends, sat at the end of the office, concern etched on all their faces. "Okay, don't be long." With that he pivoted on his heels and left, leaving me standing in the center of the office.

"Hey." I turned towards the sound of Jenna's voice and flashed her a lop-sided smile. She tugged me into her arms and hugged me tightly. If Jenna wasn't there to calm me down from my panic attack, I feared I would have blacked out on that floor in the hallway.

How she managed to calm me down still puzzles me. . .why I had the panic attack puzzles me. I guess I went too deep in thought: thinking about my parents and how I'll never see them again. I don't regret doing the song for our project because Parker's grade is also affected by it.

What I do regret is letting my thoughts and insecurities get the better of me. "I don't know how to repay, Jenna," I mumbled as we pulled away from one another. She shook her head slowly and took my hands in her grasp.

"I'm your best friend, Hayley. We go through thick and thin together, you don't owe me an apology nor do you owe me anything in general. I love you, okay? The last thing I want you to think is that you're in debt to me. Alright? I just want you to get better." I nodded my head, fighting the urge to burst into tears again as I pulled her in for another hug.

"Text me when you get home." She said before waving goodbye and leaving the office for her next class. The bell rang ten minutes ago, but Jenna, Landon and Parker stayed with me the entire time until Drayton came to pick me up.

They offered to drive me home but I refused, I wanted to see my brother.

I don't why, maybe it was the longing for a parent figure after having that mental breakdown solely because I was thinking about my very own parents. But now that I knew he was here, waiting for me outside, I could finally calm down.

"I'm not gonna ask if you're okay. I know you're not, I just-I hate seeing you like this Hayley and it angers me so much, knowing whose fault it was. You don't deserve to go through the shit you're going through. I wish I was here for you more, after seeing you like that, so vulnerable I feel guilty about all the lost time we've had–"

"You have nothing to feel guilty about, Lan. You don't owe me your attention 24/7 every day of the week. The time we lost, we already made amends, and we have years before us together. Don't let my little mishap sway you, I'm really okay, Lan."