THIS HAS NOT YET BEEN EDITED!

Sorry this chapter took so long!!
Highest rank on the hot list over the last two weeks - #60 in Chick Lit and we hit 21k! That's over 6k reads in the last week!!

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© 2017 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something Real

[ Chapter 27 ] Are You Drunk?

*Taking place while Hayden spent his night with Axel and Eddy*

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Usually, I hated being on this side of town; but tonight, knowing Hayden would have a romantic picnic set up for us on the beach, I didn't mind the extra hour drive.

"Order for Scarlett?" The hostess asked me once again. I smiled politely, holding out my card for her to scan. "Two sandwiches with French fries and the lava cake for dessert?"

"Yes," I nodded.

The awkwardness loomed over us as she continued to finish bagging up our order and charging the card. She gave me a panicked smile after nearly dropping the packets of ketchup Hayden had insisted I ask for.

Why he wanted ketchup on turkey sandwiches was beyond me.

"Have anything exciting planned for this evening?" She continued in an attempt to make conversation.

"Just dinner with a friend," I shook my head. "Nothing too special."

"Well, either way, it sounds a lot more fun than the night we're having," she teased, gesturing back towards the crowded sports bar. "Some company from New York has it's employee's staying at the resort down the street. They apparently can't find any other restaurant to let loose in on this side of town."

"I can imagine," I gawked as the bartender spilt beer across the bar. This place was a mess. "Is it the Reynolds' Resort? I know the owner."

"You're a lucky girl," she commented as she finally handed over my things. "I hear he's the most eligible bachelor on the east coast. Or any coast for that matter."

"Yeah," I laughed back at her. "Something like that."

"Have a good night," she waved me off before scurrying back towards the bar. They needed all the help they could get back there.

I turned, keeping my eyes trained in on the receipt as I tried to figure the total for myself. For the life of me I couldn't add up the numbers.

"Woah," a familiar gruff voice pulled me out of my daze. Zane smiled at the sight of me, placing a hand on either of my shoulders to steady me. "What are you doing here, Scarlett?"

"Picking up dinner," I said. "Hayden's taking some pictures of the beach and got hungry. I'm just here to pick the up food."

"Oh," Zane nodded. "I was half hoping you were stopping by the hotel to surprise me."

I couldn't ignore the guilt that flooded over me with his words.

"Zane-"

"No. I was kidding, really. Don't worry about it."

"I know we haven't seen a lot of each other lately," I tried. "But it's just been hectic with the wedding next week..."

"You're busy, I get it," Zane sighed, running a hand through his hair uncomfortably. "I just thought I was a bigger priority to you than Hayden, that's all."

"That's a little rude," I scoffed without thinking much of it. "Not that you're not important to me Zane, but taking a shot at Hayden isn't very becoming of a gentlemen like yourself."

"Sure," Zane narrowed his eyes my way. "Just like spending so much time with your step brother is helping your reputation."

The physical blow that plowed over me with his words was debilitating at best. I had honestly never seen him like this.

"Are you drunk or something?"

"Why the hell would you ask me that?" He sighed. "I'm just upset that I haven't seen you in over a week. I'm sorry Scarlett-"

"No," I shook my head. "I'm sorry that I haven't been as available to you, but please do not start questioning my relationship with Hayden or why I haven't been able to make time with you. We both know how important this wedding is to my mother and Elias, not to mention Hayden, Jay, Wren and I."

Zane took a step back, holding his hands up in defense. "I know, I'm sorry. I lashed out and Hayden got the brunt of it. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

I frowned, glancing back down at the bag of food in my hands. "Not tonight, I've got to get back."

"Please?" He vied with a pleading smile. "Just one drink for the road. I'll make it quick. I just want to remind you that I'm here for you."

"A text or a phone call tomorrow would probably suffice," I offered before shaking my head at myself. "But okay. Just let me call Hayden."

"I'll be waiting out back." He smiled, planting a kiss on my cheek there after. Watching as he strolled through the large crowd towards the patio at the back of the restaurant, I pulled my phone out of my bag.

Hayden would love the excuse I had, I just knew it.

-

"What kind of photos is Hayden taking on the beach?" Zane asked lightly before taking a sip of his whisky. "I actually thought he quit taking photos after he left U-Pen."

I myself had barely touched the glass of white wine that he had ordered for me. I knew I'd need to keep a level head for the drive back home, especially now that I wouldn't be able to meet Hayden after this. There wouldn't be time enough to sober up.

"I think he did for a little bit," I agreed, tapping the edge of the wine glass. "But he took quite a few photos of Jay during his tryout game. He's amazing with a camera."

"Tell me about it," Zane laughed before pulling out his phone. I waited on the edge of my seat for him to finally turn his phone in my direction. Sitting on his screen were several pictures of Axel, Zane, Eddy and Jay on the football field wearing U-Pen colors.

"Oh my god," I breathed, taking a minute to look through the lot of of photos.

"Hayden's great with action shots," Zane chuckled.

"Why do you think he quit taking photos then?" I asked, taking note of the way Zane's face twisted with my question.

Keeping my main focus honed in on his phone, I made sure to keep an eye on my supposed boyfriend as he dodged my question. "I don't know."

"Sure you do," I shrugged. "It's probably the same reason he can't stand any of you."

Zane sat up in his chair, taking hold of his phone once again. "Did he tell you?"

"No," I leaned in. "Because no one will explain to me what happened. You keep telling me to ask Hayden, but then Hayden won't say two words about it. This has been going on for weeks now, Zane. I just need someone to tell me the truth."

Zane shook his head, the man shoving his phone into his pocket in an attempt to ignore me a second time.

"He hates you, Zane," I reiterated. "He hates all of you. After I met Axel, I wasn't surprised, but you and Eddy are two other stories entirely. Eddy was sweet and funny and so are you. I don't get why Hayden would overlook that if it was something unimportant."

"It was important," Zane mumbled under his breath. The sound of the waves crashing up onto the sand down below us almost drowned out his words, but I did catch them. "Hayden's got just reason to dislike us."

"Why?"

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Zane somehow mustered up the courage to open his eyes and focus his attention squarely on me. "I want you to know that this happened a long time ago, and it's certainly not my place to be telling you all this."

Zane took a second to down the remainder of his drink, gently setting the glass on the table afterwards. This leaving us to the true matter at hand.

"About seven months ago, right before Christmas break, Eddy, Jay and I were at football tryouts," he started. "Seeing as Eddy, Ax and I were on the board of athletics after moving on to grad school, we were the ones who helped in the decision of whom add the team for the following year."

"You guys helped Jay make the team," I summed up, receiving a nod from Zane.

"We even offered a spot to Hayden, even though back then he was just Jay's little brother, but he didn't want anything to do with the sport," Zane paused as he looked down at his shoes. "Jay made the perfect addition to our group."

"And Hayden?" I asked. "What does he have to do with all this?"

"He was Jay's little brother to Eddy and I, just someone to pull pranks on from time to time. But after his freshmen year, Axel must have seen something in him," Zane frowned at the mention. "Out of no where he took the kid under his wing and groomed him into this ladies man."

The man sat back in his chair, allowing for me to get up and take the seat next to him.

"Axel had him pulling a girl just about every night. He said once that he wanted the campus to be in good hands after we left, and apparently Hayden was the guy for the job. Maybe he was too good."

"What makes you say that," I laughed.

Zane gave me a look, one that quieted my laughter. "The week before Christmas break last year, Axel told us that Hayden got a girl pregnant. Some one night stand gone wrong, or something. Hayden was trying to be an stand up guy about the whole thing, but Axel got him to blow the girl off." Zane almost shivered at the memory. "A few days after Hayden heard she was pregnant, she called him and told him she had a miscarriage. It was over and Hayden didn't know how to handle it."

"So what happened?" I prompted.

"After football tryouts ended, we basically had the stadium to ourselves, so we invited Axel to come over and hang out with us. He ended up bringing Hayden with him." Zane tapped his foot anxiously against the ground. "The kid was a mess. He was hammered beyond belief, and Axel brought a six pack with him anyways. Hayden ended up breaking a bottle near the field. There was glass everywhere."

Zane leaned back in towards me, almost as if his next words would be judged by anyone around us.

"Axel got pretty heavily into smoking while we were in college, so while we were in the stadium, he lit on up. I was pretty drunk myself, so I don't remember exactly what happened, but Hayden punched Axel for some reason..." Zane trailed off.

"It caught on fire," I whispered, feeling the sting that those words left behind.

"We ran. It was such a new stadium, that there weren't any cameras, so no one could pin it on us. Only Hayden didn't see us leave. He stayed, trying to put out the fire-"

"You guys left him there?" I almost gaged in disgust.

"I didn't know Scarlett," he defended. "We were halfway across campus when the fire truck came around. By the time Hayden decided to run campus police had him all cuffed up. There was no way we could have saved his ass."

"So instead you left him," I laughed. "Did you let him take the fall too?"

"It wasn't like that!"

"It sure as hell sounds like it!" I spat back, crossing my arms over my chest. Zane shook his head at me, giving me a minute to calm down before he continued.

"Elias payed off the dean and the police so it wouldn't hit the papers, but as punishment, Hayden was expelled. After that happened, we didn't hear from him. Jay somehow graduated a semester early, and within a few weeks Elias had them moved out to Beverly Hills. I'm assuming that's when he met your mom."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess I have you, Axel and Eddy to thank for hooking up my mother and Elias."

I stood up from my seat, stalking my way around Zane chair in trying to make a stealth escape from the messed up situation that was this evening.

"Scarlett-"

"What?" I whined, turning as he caught hold of my arm. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry Hayden hates you because of this? That you shouldn't be blamed for a crime you definitely committed? I'm sorry Zane, but no. I won't take your side on this."

"I'm not asking you to," Zane agreed. "I told you all of that knowing this would be your reaction. I just want you to know that I'm not that guy anymore. I'm not the guy who would leave a friend behind in a time of need."

"Then prove it," I shook his hand off me. "Because right now, all I see in front of me is a drunk resort manager who needs to get back before his next shift starts."

I turned on my heel, not daring to look back as a single tear slid down my cheek. Hayden deserved better than those guys, and now, I knew I deserved better too.

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Show of comments - did literally anyone see that coming? It took me forever to perfect that plot twist 😜

Do you guys think Scarlett should have sided with Zane? Or are we all happy she consoled Hayden in the end?

And I'm so sorry for the wait guys! I had a doctors appointment yesterday and entirely spaced the update!

The next chapter will be up on August 2nd!

Remember to vote guys!

Thank you all!

Ps: remember to check out The Distance Rule!