God, I hoped she didn’t do that. I’d enjoyed talking to her. I wanted her in my life. Don’t make me be a dick, Hailey. Don’t ruin this.

When the D-Bags took the stage, then stepped off the stage, and she still wasn’t there, I was both relieved and saddened. I’d wanted to hang out with her again, because with her living on the east coast and me being based in Seattle, it might be a long time before I saw her. And I still didn’t know how to explain who she was if she did come visit me. I felt…trapped. Screwed no matter what I did, and I’d really been hoping to never feel that way again.

As I contemplated that, my phone buzzed in my pocket with a new text message. I hoped it was Kiera as I pulled it out. I kind of wanted to talk to her about this intense feeling of loss that I was having. Maybe she could help me understand it. Maybe I could even tell her the truth. Maybe I could beg her to leave Gavin out of it, out of my life. Maybe it wouldn’t be the issue I was afraid it would be. Surely, Kiera would understand why I didn’t want a relationship with him, and maybe she would never bring him up to me. In the end, maybe she would respect my wishes and pretend he was dead, like I did. Maybe.

But the text wasn’t from Kiera. It was from Hailey, and what it said…well, I could feel the knife plunging into my back as I read it. ‘Don’t be mad. I gave your number to Dad. He insisted once he found out I saw you. He wants to talk to you. Please don’t be mad.’

I wasn’t just mad, I was fucking livid. I was also instantly ill. He knows how to contact me. He can reach out to me whenever he wants to. He can talk to me. Why the fuck would she give him my number? I wanted to text her back, tell her to never contact me again, but I couldn’t get my shell-shocked fingers to work, and the phone dropped from my hand.

Matt was nearby, and he bent down and picked it up. “Kell?” he said, handing it to me. “Are you okay? You look sick. Do you need my bucket?” Before I could say anything, he twisted around and shouted, “Griffin! My bucket!”

I heard Griffin tell him, “Coming!” but that was all I was aware of. She told her dad…she told him. Fuck, fuck, fuck…

Matt’s hand went to my shoulder just as Griffin appeared and shoved Matt’s bucket in my face. “You sick, bro?” he asked.