Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 145038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
“Olly,” she says, but her thought is caught or lost.
“Be terrible and get some sleep.” He kisses her cheeks, then her forehead. “Do it for yourself, Hailstorm. And if not that, then for Phoebe. My sister is losing her hair over you.”
“Am not.” I cross my arms.
Oliver just smiles, then lifts a hand in a farewell as he strolls out of the grocery store. Leaving me with my best friend.
It shouldn’t be tense. Or awkward, but Hailey is staring more at her combat boots than at me. The grocery cart lies between us.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” I say. “Whatever’s bothering you.” Maybe I shouldn’t give her an escape hatch, but can I really prod her right now? “Let’s just check out.” I’m about to push the cart, but she grabs on to the handle to stop me.
“It’s just…I’ve…” Her gray eyes flash up to me nervously. “There’s a lot going on with…” She takes a breath. “You know I’ve always liked Carter.” Even saying his name, blush creeps up her neck. “I crushed on him so hard when I first met him at seventeen. Like immediately. It’s not just that he’s really talented. He lights up a room, and I-I don’t know, it felt like he lit me up, too.”
My lips lift higher, then I realize she said felt. Past tense. “Has that changed?”
“I thought we’d be like my parents. Me and him. You know that.”
“Yeah.” Of course I remember Hailey fantasizing about this epic grifter romance between her and the master forger. But that was well before our lives were overturned. “Do you not want that anymore because you see Addison and Everett differently?” They lied to Hailey, to all of us. It wouldn’t be easy to idolize them anymore.
“I don’t know if I want to be anything like my mom,” Hailey admits, her voice cracking. “Carter hates being stuck in one place for so long, and I thought I did, too. I thought I’d hate this, Phebs, but I-I don’t want to go. I know gossip is everywhere, even about us, but I like being in a small town. I love the festivals and the way people recognize me and smile—even if I look moody, they smile. Because they’ve seen me around, they know of me, and it makes me feel like…like maybe I belong somewhere.” Her face scrunches in an ugly cry.
I come forward, my stomach in knots, but she squeaks out, “Wait.”
Pulling back, I stay on the other side of the cart.
“He’s going to leave,” Hailey says, wiping at her eyes. “Carter told me up front and said that it’s better if we don’t hook up while he’s here. He could tell I’m not doing well, and he didn’t want to add to it by having sex and then taking off.” She sniffs, controlling the waterworks. “We’ve slept together when I was younger, you know, but I-I agreed with him because I don’t think I can handle him leaving after restarting something. Not now.” She grips the handlebar again. “It’s already hard enough knowing he’s going back to England.”
I mull this over. “It’s okay to envision something different for yourself, Hails. It’s okay to feel like what you wanted in the past might not be what you need now.”
“Is that how you feel with my brother?” she asks quietly.
Have I always wanted Rocky? Yes. Is he what I need now?
He’s all I need.
But I also never thought I’d be with him this honestly. “I think in my case, I just never let myself envision anything. Not a relationship, not a real future together, nothing. I didn’t want to need him as much as I do.”
Hailey seems understanding, but she gets in her head, and tears squeeze out of the corners of her cinched eyes. “It shouldn’t be this complicated.”
“What shouldn’t?”
“Emotions. Sex.” Her nose reddens as she restrains another onslaught of tears.
“I feel like you’re still not telling me something,” I breathe.
Her gaze is on mine, but she picks at her chipped black polish, nervous again.
“Is it about Jake?” I wonder, since my flirty senses have been tingling. “It’s okay if you like him. It’s not like I’m actually with him—it wouldn’t bother me.”
She’s quiet.
“And what’s not to like, right?” I go on. “He’s handsome and he’s sweet to you, and he’ll be here. He’s not leaving Victoria. I honestly think he might have feelings for you, too. But I haven’t asked him…and I’m rambling.”
“I do like Jake,” Hailey admits softly and begins to stare off at the bunny decor. “I think I like his heart. I think I’ve always liked their hearts the most. How deep they are. How you can keep reaching and reaching, but you’ll never touch the bottom. It’s easy to just…fall into.” She’s dazed.
Their hearts?
“But it’s not like…it’s not serious,” she says, her focus returning to me. She rubs at her tired, watery gaze. “I wouldn’t date him.”