The Tables Have Turned

Chapter 17

Visit Alex? That’s not a good idea since I haven’t been to his house ever since I got here. It would be awkward especially if his parents were there! Oh my God it would be horrible!

“No you’ll take the money from him on Monday,” I said quickly “Let’s go somewhere else.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and I looked out of the window to avoid his questioning gaze.

“His parents are good people Hailey so don’t worry,” Paul said.

That’s exactly what I’m worried about! I don’t want to see his parents giving me accusing glares because I hurt their son by being a bitch. I know that his parents are good. Heck, they are two of the best people I know!

“But I—” I tried to protest but I had no idea what to say.

“It’ll be fine, Hailey,” he said reassuringly as he drove down the road “If you feel uncomfortable just tell me and we’ll leave.”

I couldn’t argue with him without telling him the real reason behind it. He was the one driving anyway. I tried to convince myself that his parents won’t be home now. They’re probably working since it’s still in the afternoon.

I tried to calm myself down but I couldn’t stop the clenching of my stomach because of the nervousness.

Fifteen minutes later, Paul stopped the car and I looked out of the window to see a two-story building. There was a small garden in the front with colorful flowers. The exterior alone had a homey feeling so I couldn’t imagine how cozy the inside would be.

Biting my lip, I hesitantly opened my car door. I started regretting calling Paul in the first place.

Paul rang the doorbell and we waited for someone to open the door.

Suddenly, the door was opened revealing a brown haired girl.

“Hey,” Paul said casually as he walked in. She smiled slightly at him and opened the door wider and we went in. I don’t remember Alex having a sister.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Paul as I walked next to him.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging and that confused me more.

We arrived to a small T.V room. It had three couches, a coffee table, and a T.V. On the walls, there were a few pictures of Alex and his parents. It looked so warm and cozy.

I smiled when I saw a picture of Alex with his mom in front of the chimney in their old house—a house I have grown to love.

“Hey,” I jumped slightly when I heard Alex’s voice. I turned around; taking my gaze away from the picture I was looking at, and glanced at Alex.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw me. I smiled slightly and muttered a shy ‘hi’.

“Ten bucks, Parker,” Paul said, opening his hand in front of Alex.

Alex frowned and then looked back at me.

“Sorry,” I said, giving him an apologetic smile “I just couldn’t take another question about what is Call of Duty.”

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “They don’t know Call of Duty?”

“Nope,” I replied, shaking my head sadly. Such a pity… “And they are so loud!”

He snickered as he handed Paul the money.

“I’m ten bucks richer thanks to those annoying twins,” Paul said, making me laugh.

We head someone clear their throat and Alex’s eyes flashed in realization.

“Oh!” He said quickly “Guys this is Jenny; Jenny these are Paul and Hailey.”

“Nice to meet you,” we said to each other. I looked at her features again. She was pretty with her brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing black high-waist shorts and a white shirt tucked fashionably underneath them. But wasn’t she feeling cold?

I looked down at my jeans and simple purple V-neck, thinking how casual I looked next to her.

“You two are a cute couple,” She commented. I stared at her blankly for a second before noticing that she was talking about Paul and me.

We shared a look and I burst out laughing.

“Oh no we are not a couple,” I said when I calmed down.

“Why not?” She asked, frowning.

“I’m too good for him,” I said and at the same time Paul said “I’m too good for her.”

We started laughing and high-fived each other.

“You two should definitely be a couple,” She said. “You’ll be cuter than me and Alex.”

I smiled but it quickly vanished when I registered her words. Are they a couple…?

I looked at them again and noticed that they were now holding hands. I looked at Alex briefly before looking away so that he won’t be able to see what I was feeling, but I noticed the uncomfortable look on his face.

He was the only person who would know exactly what I am feeling even when I try to hide my emotions. I felt so vulnerable and exposed around him.

I didn’t want to feel like this. I didn’t want to feel like ripping their hands apart. I didn’t want to feel like strangling this girl and telling her to stay away from Alex. I didn’t want to envy her for being able to hold his hand while I sat there just staring at them.

I didn’t want to like Alex. I didn’t want my feelings for him to reappear. I’ve caused him enough trouble.

“Hailey!” Paul exclaimed as he pinched my shoulder

“Ow! What was that for?” I said angrily as I rubbed my now throbbing shoulder.

“I called you five times!” He replied.

“Sorry,” I smiled sheepishly “I spaced out.”

He rolled his eyes at me but I didn’t miss the amusement there.

“Maybe we should be a couple,” he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re a great guy, Paul, but we just don’t belong together,” I said, playing along.

“But Hailey, my heart wants you and only you!” he said and I wanted to laugh at his dramatic tone but I held it in.

“Paul you are making this so much harder! Please, just stop,” I said.

“Let me kiss you, Hailey, and you’ll see that we’re meant to be together,” he said and I saw the smirk forming on his lips. I considered going along and letting him kiss me to make Alex jealous but thought better of it. Alex would never get jealous because he doesn’t have feelings for me anymore. After all I did, I was pretty sure he would never like me again.

I pushed him playfully and he laughed.

“I know you want to,” he teased, winking at me.

“Of course I want to,” I said sarcastically.

“I know. No need to be shy, Hailey, it’s just a kiss,” he said.

“You’re so full of yourself,” I muttered, making him laugh.

“You know I was just kidding,” he said and I nodded, chuckling.

I looked away from Paul who was sitting next to me and my gaze fell on Alex and Jenny who were now kissing right in front of us.

Why is this hurting me that much? I bit my lip as I looked at the ground.

“Whoa! Whoa! Alex dude, we’re right here!” Paul said loudly and they pulled apart.

Jenny giggled as her cheeks turned a very light shade of pink.

“Sorry,” Alex replied.

I made the mistake of looking up. Alex’s gaze captured mine and he just stared at me. I didn’t look away for a few seconds but then something snapped inside me and I shifted my gaze. I just hope he didn’t see the pain in my eyes. But what was that look in his blue eyes?

“I have to go,” Jenny then said reluctantly as she frowned at her phone. “My mom wants me to go grocery shopping.”

“I’ll see you later,” I heard Alex say before he closed the front door.

“Another girl?” Paul asked when Alex came back to the room.

“Yeah,” Alex replied, shrugging.

“Dude you should stop going out with so much girls,” Paul said, frowning.

“You’re one to talk,” I muttered but he heard me.

“Hey! I may flirt a lot but I do not go out with a lot of girls,” he defended.

“True…” I replied. Actually, he has never told me about a date.

“I am supposed to go out with girls!” Alex said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But not a different one every day,” Paul pointed out.

“Why are we even talking about this?” Alex said “It’s none of your business anyway.”

Paul glared at him and I just sat there with no clue about what was going on.

“So,” I said as I felt the tension grow. “This is awkward.”

Paul burst out laughing and I chuckled.

“Don’t you like awkward situations?” Paul asked.

“I live for awkward situations!” I replied, grinning.

Alex shook his head at me as I laughed with Paul.

“I wonder if Chase and Emily already killed the twins,” I mused after a few minutes of silence.

“They are probably having the worst time ever,” Alex said, chuckling.

I immediately felt guilty for leaving them there. I should’ve stayed with them.

“I feel bad for leaving,” I muttered.

“Don’t,” Paul said. “Chase wasn’t going to let you stay all day anyway. He knows how annoying they are.”

“You think so?” I asked, my guilt fading slightly.

“Yeah,” he replied then added “That boy loves you too much.”

“You’re just jealous,” I teased him.

“No, I’m serious!” He replied. “The last time the twins came, he forced me to spend the day at his house!”

I laughed at him and shrugged. “I guess I’m lucky he loves me that much.”

“He loves you as much as he loves Emily,” Alex said.

“No, he doesn’t,” I replied. “I don’t expect him to love me as much as Emily, anyway. She’s his sister!”

“You’re right,” Paul said. “But he might love you more than a friend.”

He waggled his eyebrows at me and I rolled my eyes at him.

I opened my mouth to tell him a sarcastic reply but Alex spoke first.

“He doesn’t,” Alex growled and I shut my mouth, shocked.

Was that jealousy?

“How do you know?” Paul asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. I didn’t miss how his lips formed a smirk.

“I just do, okay?” Alex snapped, shifting his gaze to glare at the ground.

I felt my heart beat accelerate at the possibility of Alex being jealous. Maybe he still likes me? But he can’t! It’s just not possible, right?

Before I could dwell on that even longer, I heard the front door open then close. I tensed as I waited to see who that person was but I had an idea who it was.

“Hi sweetie,” Mrs. Parker’s familiar friendly voice spoke to Alex. A million memories rushed back and I felt like crying for some reason. I was not ready to face that. I was not ready to see his family again.

“Hi Paul,” she then said before I felt her gaze on me. I slowly forced myself to look up and tried my best to keep my face neutral. Maybe she won’t recognize me after two years.

“Hailey,” she said, shocked as her blue eyes –same as Alex’s—widened.

“Mrs. Parker,” I said my voice barely audible. I didn’t think it was appropriate to call her Eleanor like I used to.

There were a few minutes of suffocating silence and I was reconsidering my love for awkward situations.

“What brings you here?” She asked her voice blank. It wasn’t as friendly as it used to be when she talked to me. It didn’t hold that motherly tone of hers. It was almost cold. I knew that she wanted to know why I was in her house after what I did to Alex.

“I-I came here with Paul,” I said, looking down at my shoes. “But w-we’re leaving soon.”

She nodded stiffly and turned around to leave the room. Tears prickled my eyes as I longed to hear her motherly voice. I have always considered her as a second mother to me and she still reminds me of my own mother.

My mom…

Why? Why can his mother remind me of my mom? Why did I wish that she would hug me and tell me that she missed me after two years? Why did I wish that I was still loved by this family?

I didn’t deserve any of their love. I didn’t deserve them.

“Can we leave?” I asked Paul quietly.

“Yeah, of course,” he replied and I managed to give him a grateful smile.

Paul walked in front of me and I followed him to the front door.

“Bye, Alex,” I said quietly, looking down at my shoes.

He didn’t reply so I turned around to follow Paul since he was almost next to his car.

“Hailey,” he called and I stopped walking.

“Mmm?” I said.

“Are you okay?” he asked as I kept my gaze on his black shoes.

“No,” I replied and then turned around to leave before he could say anything else. I should’ve lied and said yes! I’m so stupid sometimes.

I almost groaned in frustration when his hand gripped my arm, stopping me from leaving.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. His voice sounded as if he actually cared. But did he? I mean he shouldn’t really care and I don’t expect him to.

“Nothing she just reminds me of my—” I shut my mouth when I noticed what I was about to say. Why don’t I ever think before talking?

I panicked when he urged me to go on.

“Er…” I said lamely. “I have to go.”

I quickly ripped my arm from his grip and ran to Paul’s car, not bothering to answer him when he called me again.

I put on my seatbelt and Paul drove away. He didn’t say anything as if he knew that I didn’t want to talk. He just drove in silence and I was grateful for that.

A few minutes later he pulled up in front of a house which I guessed was his.

We climbed out of the car and I followed him as he opened the front door and went in. He then led me to one of the rooms at the end of the hallway.

It was a neat room with a single bed and a couple of closets. A few shirts were on the wooden desk to the left.

I flopped down on the bed, lying on it with my face down.

“Make yourself at home,” he said sarcastically and I lifted my head to give him a grin.

 Moments of silence passed by as I tried to get Eleanor’s cold eyes from my head.

“Hailey?” Paul asked, almost hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” he said and I sat up to look at him curiously.

“Um I guess,” I replied, unsure.

“You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” he said and I nodded. “Why are you here? Living with Chase?”

I gulped and tried to stop the lump from forming in my throat. Didn’t he deserve an answer? I mean I haven’t told anyone yet and Paul is now my best friend. Only Chase and Emily know and it wasn’t me that told them. They had to know why I was moving in before I did so.

I was happy, though, because Chase and Emily didn’t tell anyone anything.

I’ve never talked to anyone about it and I guess it’s because talking about it makes it more real. I know I can’t change anything, though.

I sighed and looked down at his bed, playing with the yellow cover.

“I had nowhere else to go,” I said quietly. The next sentence was painful for me to say but I had to tell someone.

“My parents… They d-died,” I said as my eyes filled with tears.

Don’t cry, I kept telling myself but seriously it never works. I don’t like crying in front of people, I really don’t.

Paul hugged me when he recovered from the shock and I felt two tears escape my eyes. I wiped them away quickly before he could pull away so that he won’t see me crying.

“Do you want to rest for a bit? You look tired,” Paul suggested and I nodded gratefully. I was so glad he didn’t tell me the crap people always do. ‘They are still here with you.’ I know they’re not here so it doesn’t make me feel better! And the most common one: ‘I’m sorry.’ along with that look of pity. I hated that. I absolutely hated that.

Paul, however, didn’t say any of those things. He didn’t make me say more than I wanted and he didn’t pity me. Instead, he gently pushed me down on his bed and covered me with a blanket.

“Paul?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not going to tell anyone, right?”

“No, I’m not,” he said and I smiled slightly as my eyes closed.

“Thank you,” I mumbled sleepily. “You’re the best.”

I felt him kiss my cheek before I fell asleep.

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Hey! :)

Soo a part of the secret is revealed! :P Haha. Oh and yes! This story is going into the Watty Awards 2012 xD It's going to be under humor because I already have one under teen fiction and I can't enter more than one under the same category. I wasn't thinking about entering this story but what do I have to lose? It's fun xD

Thank you 17Serenity for the awesome cover :) --->

Check out this song written by dhere413 for this story xD It's in the external link --->

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