“Do you feel weird being here with me?” Hayden asked suddenly.
He and Brooklynn had been in New Orleans for two days and were currently relaxing by the pool at their hotel.
“Why would I?” she replied with a shrug.
“This just seems…romantic, I guess.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with two people vacationing together. Especially after the week we’ve dealt with.”
“Yeah…I dunno…it just feels like this is something you should do with someone special.”
They were both silent for awhile, enjoying the sun and the light breeze, when Brooklynn broke the serenity.
“When did you fall for Taylor?”
Hayden looked over to her. “What do you mean?”
“When did you realize you wanted to be more than friends?”
“I realized that I liked her when we were fourteen, I guess…maybe it was fifteen, but I mean, somewhere in there. I remember, we were at the mall, just wandering around, and this kid that liked her was there too, and he kept following us from store to store. And he was this creepy little greasy kid, ya know, not someone that she’d even look at. And she kept holding my hand and putting her arm around me, trying to make this kid think that I was her boyfriend. And she’d done that so many times…we hugged and held hands from the time we were kids…but this time, this time, that contact with her gave me goose bumps. I never wanted to let go of her hand…”
“I feel that way about Scott,” she sighed. “I love him so much, and now he hates me…”
“He doesn’t hate you, Brook. He’s crazy about you. He’s just hurt right now, that’s all. I guarantee that you two will work things out as soon as we get back.”
“I hope you’re right…I don’t wanna lose him.”
In New York, Taylor was feeling completely lost. She couldn’t believe that Sam had done what he’d done. She had an even harder time believing that Brooklynn had been a part of it. Though she was ready to go back home, she wasn’t ready to face everyone. Hayden had called to make sure she was alright, but he had since left for New Orleans, and she had no way of getting in contact with him.
Taylor didn’t know how she would deal with Brooklynn when she finally had her face to face. She didn’t even know how she was supposed to ‘move on’ from all of these problems. The only thing that she knew for sure, was that she was finished with Sam Mullholand for good.
Brooklynn and Hayden returned from Louisiana with more questions and uncertainties than they’d had when they left. Hayden was anxiously awaiting Taylor’s return. Brooklynn was hoping to hear from Scott. Their two weeks in tropical paradise had allowed the pair to find out more about each other than they had ever thought possible. The result of this, was the two became incredibly close.
A few nights after their return, the friends decided to go out for dinner together.
“I love this place…where did you find it?” Hayden asked as they settled into a little booth near the dance floor.
“On accident, actually. Scott and I got lost and wound up here once,” Brook smiled.
The place was a busy lounge with a live band and a dance floor. Booths on different levels cluttered the perimeter and round tables filled in the rest of the space.
Hayden was looking around, taking the place in, when something caught his attention. Something he knew would lead to a bad evening.
“What’s wrong?” Brook asked, noticing his expression.
“Oh, nothing,” he smiled.
But it was too late. Brooklynn followed his gaze and saw what had him troubled.
Scott was there. And he wasn’t alone. A petite brunette had her arms draped lazily around his shoulders. Her lips were locked with his. His hands were rested on her backside. The two, swaying gently to the music on the dance floor, were completely immersed in one another.
Brooklynn’s eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched as she glared across the room.
“Brook, calm down, okay…let’s just go…” Hayden felt panic rise through his body. He knew that the only thing that could come next, if he didn’t get her out of the lounge, was trouble.
“Who is she?” Brooklynn’s voice was low and venomous.
“Her name’s Jenna…but Brook, let’s get of here…”
“How do you know her?”
“She’s a year younger than us…one of Natalie’s friends…can we please just leave?”
“I’m having a great time, Scott,” Jenna Bower gushed as she lightly ran her nails over the nape of his neck.
“So am I…” he smiled, pulling her body closer to his.
Jenna happened to glance up and spot a girl with curly dark hair glaring down at her. She recognized the girl as Scott’s ex-girlfriend, Brooklynn Farrell.
“Did you ever come here with Brooklynn?” Jenna asked casually.
“Yeah…this use to kinda be ‘our place’…why?” he looked down at her.
“She’s here…and she doesn’t look happy. I thought you said you two broke up?”
Scott followed Jenna’s gaze and saw Brooklynn and Hayden.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, then turned his attentions back to Jenna. “Just ignore her, alright. Pretend she isn’t there.”
Jenna nodded in agreement, but gave Brooklynn a cocky grin over Scott’s shoulder.
“Let’s go, Brook…we’ll go somewhere else or I can take you home,” Hayden pleaded.
She ignored him and got up from the table. Brooklynn walked down to Scott and the girl.
“Who’s your friend, Scott?” she questioned coolly.
He let out an aggravated sigh then turned to look at Brooklynn.
“What difference does it make to you?”
“A lot of difference. You’re my boyfriend…what the hell do you think you’re doing with her?” Scott raised his eyebrows and slowly began to laugh.
“I’m your boyfriend? What am I doing? What kind of drugs are you on? You cheated on me, Brooklynn…I’m NOT your boyfriend anymore…”
Hayden had joined them by now and was lingering back, not wanting to get into the middle. Jenna seemed to have the same idea.
“I made a mistake…you love me, and I love you…we aren’t broken up.”
“Are you serious?” he asked in amused bewilderment. She didn’t say a word, just stood there with her arms folded over her chest.
“You are serious…ohmygod…you are so naïve…you cheated on me with my best friend. You broke my heart…at least I thought you did. Now I realize that I don’t love you…and you don’t seem to be missing me, either. I mean, hell, first you run off with Hayden for two weeks, and now you’re sharing a romantic evening. What’s the deal? You can’t figure out which one of us you want, so you figured you try us all out, right?”
She slapped him across the face. Hard. He glared at her, trying to contain his anger. “First you cheat, then you slap me…you're such an evile little whore, Brooklynn…I hate you.”
And with that, tears sprung to her yes, and she ran away from Scott. Hayden ran after her.
She was sitting in his car, crying softly. He got in and sat next to her.
“How could he be so mean to me?” she didn’t look up at her friend, just kept crying into her hands.
“I told you not to go over there…I told you we should just leave,” he explained gently.
“You also told me that we’d be together again by the time you and I got back,” she snapped.
Hayden sighed and started the car.
“I’m not gonna fight with you, Brook, but how on earth could you think the two of you were still together?”
“I don’t…I didn’t…I just wanted to see what he’d say…”
“I warned you. I know it sounds like I don’t care, but I told you to just walk away.”
“Would you slow down…all we need is for you to wreck the damn car,” she told him seriously. “And you know I couldn’t just walk away. You can’t just walk away from Taylor.”
“She comes home in a week…” Hayden sighed.
“I’m not ready to face her…I’m afraid she’ll hate me forever,” Brooklynn spoke quietly.
“I’ll talk to her for you if you want. Then you can explain everything to her, just like you explained it to me.”
“She’s not gonna believe me. You know how she is. If you hurt her, she hates you…and that girl can hold a grudge against anyone.”
“Like I said…I’ll talk to her. You two have been friends for six years…I really don’t think she’ll throw that away over one mistake.”
“She completely spazzed on me in front of Jenna, in the middle of this restaurant,” Scott recounted his night with his best friend.
After dropping Jenna off at home, he’d headed over to Sam’s.
“Unbelievable…she’s obviously still crazy about you,” Sam shook his head as he took a long drag from his cigarette.
“I don’t trust her, though.”
“But you trust me?”
“Have you met Jenna yet?” Scott pointed out.
“You know I wouldn’t do that to you twice. The beating I took for the first time makes me never wanna mess with you again…” Sam smiled.
“You still ain’t meetin’ her,” Scott smiled back.
Taylor let out a sigh as the plane touched down at the Pittsburgh airport, partly from relief, partly from anticipation. She wasn’t sure what would happen now that she was home again. Eventually, she, Sam and Taylor would all have to face one another, and that thought filled her with a dread unlike any she’d ever known.
Her mom had decided to stay in New York for another week or so. Mrs. Kelso missed her family and loved being around them. So, Taylor took the long flight back home alone.
Hayden stood expectantly outside of the terminal where Taylor would be coming. She had called a few days earlier and asked if he’d pick her up from the airport.
People began filing off the plane, smiling and waving to loved ones.
His eyes roamed the crowd for her, and once he spotted her, he immediately saw that she wasn’t the same Taylor that had left.
The black had been stripped from her hair, and the once long locks had been cut to just below her chin. The ring in her eyebrow had been removed, and he guessed the tongue ring was gone as well. Her once harsh and dark make-up had been replaced with a light and natural style. She wore a pair of faded, loose blue jeans and a little white tee-shirt.
“You hate it, don’t you…” she bit her lip, noticing the shock on his face.
“No…you look beautiful…” he breathed with a soft smile.
She hugged him tightly and he held her as close to him as he could. He could smell the strawberry shampoo in her hair.
“I missed you,” he whispered, longing to tell her how he loved her as well.
“I missed you too, Hayden,” she let go of his body. “Let’s go get my stuff and go home.”
Sam glanced at his watch just as he saw the headlights turn into the gravel driveway.
The car parked and the lights turned off. He stood as he heard the doors open then slam shut.
“What are you doing here?” Taylor asked in surprise. She hadn’t expected to find Sam waiting on her front stoop.
“I need to talk to you,” Sam forced himself to speak. He had never been more nervous in his entire life.
“What could you possibly say to me, Sam?” she held her ground five feet away. Hayden was on the other side of the car, watching, waiting.
“Please, just, let me explain, or at least try,” Sam pleaded. He was on the verge of losing it. She had never been so cool and calm when they were fighting, and he knew that that was a bad sign.
“Gimme a minute,” she told Hayden quietly.
He nodded then went into the house.
Sam walked down to Taylor, stopping just inches from her face.
“How’s the baby?” he whispered, laying a hand on her stomach.
“Fine…now what do you want, Sam?” she sighed.
“You look beautiful,” he continued, bringing his hand to her cheek.
“Fuck you, Sam,” she smacked his hand away from her. “Say what you want to say and leave,” she shoved him backwards.
“I love you, Tay…and we’re about to be parents. I messed up, alright, I know that, and I’m sorry. But I do love you…I do,” he fought to hold back tears. “Listen, Taylor, do this for the baby, if not for me…our baby deserves to have a real family, a mother and a father.”
“I’m only going to say this once, and I mean it, so listen up and listen good. I hate you. Ever ounce of love I ever had for you died the day you told me about you and Brooklynn. I loathe you. You disgust me. And this baby is mine. Do you understand me? Mine. You never wanted it to begin with, so you’ll never have to deal with it. Stay away from me, Sam Mullholand. Stay away from me, and stay away from my baby,” her voice was cold and serious, her eyes flashed as they glared at him, daring him to say or try anything.
But all he did, was leave. He got into his truck and drove away.
Once Sam was out of sight, Taylor grabbed her suitcase and went inside.
“You okay?” Hayden asked when she walked into her bedroom, where he had been waiting for her.
“Never been better,” she smiled, dropping her suitcase onto her bed.
“Did you guys work things out?” he questioned as a wave of sickness washed over him.
“No…he’s gone. For good this time. I hate him and I don’t want him in my life ever again.”
“That’s good. You don’t need that kind of stress and frustration,” Hayden assured her. “And you should hate him. You have every right to hate him.”
She sighed and lowered herself onto her bed. “I don’t hate him. I can’t hate him. I want to hate him, but, I just can’t. But the easiest way to get over him is to kick him out of my life. So I did…but I miss him already.”
Hayden sat beside her and pulled her into a hug.
“Everything’s gonna work out. It’s better this way,” he soothed.
“I hope I’m doing the right thing…”
“Just do what feels right…and ask questions later.”
Meanwhile, Sam was pulled off to the side of the road, thinking of everything she’d said to him. He was broken beyond repair. For the first time since he’d found out about his mother’s infidelity, he was crying. He hated his mother for hurting his father the way she did, and he realized that he had hurt Taylor in exactly the same way. He had become the kind of person he swore he’d never be.
“Tell me a secret,” Jenna smiled up at Scott.
The two were laying on the couch in her living room watching T.V. together.
“Like what?” he countered.
“Just a secret…about you…tell me something that hardly anyone knows.”
“I don’t have any secrets…not really…”
“There as to be something—some strange or little known fact…everyone has a secret,” she sat up and looked down at him.
“I’ve got a freakish obsession with Ritz crackers and peanut butter,” Scott answered seriously.
Jenna laughed. “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it!”
He smiled at her. “Alright, you ask me what you want to know and I’ll tell ya.”
“Okay…vices?”
“Marlboros, peanut butter, and Code Red Mountain Dew.”
“Ambitions?”
“Electrical Engineer and Professional Bowler.”
She smiled. “How many girls have you been with?”
"None."
“Liar. Tell me the truth,” she smiled even wider.
“I’m being serious. I’m still an innocent,” he held his right hand up and replied calmly.
“That’s so sweet…” her smile faded into a softer, more sincere one. “Why though? Any specific reason?”
“Just haven’t found anyone that had the same feelings for me as I had for them, ya know. I don’t want to be in love with her, be with her, and have her not love me back,” Scott shrugged.
“That’s so cute…” Jenna gushed before kissing him.
“What about you? How many guys have you been with?” he asked suddenly.
“Three,” she answered nonchalantly.
Scott raised his eyebrows in mild shock. Jenna had seemed so innocent and sweet to him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she bit her lip, reading his expression. “Two of them were a mistake, one I really loved.”
“I didn’t say anything. I just didn’t think you were that experienced, that’s all.”
“Does it bother you?”
“A little, I guess,” he shrugged.
“It shouldn’t…you’re all that matters to me now.”
Scott snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her gently.
The next morning, when Taylor went down to breakfast, she found her dad sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.
He looked up when he heard her walk in, and for the first time, Taylor realized how old he was getting. His hair was graying and wrinkles were beginning to show on his handsome face.
“Morning, daddy,” she smiled.
“Morning…how you feeling?” he asked folding the paper up and dropping it onto the table.
“Okay, I guess…I’m tired,” she poured herself a glass of juice.
“Come sit down for a second, Tay,” Mr. Kelso pulled the seat next to him away from the table.
His daughter gave him a wary look, but sat down.
“What’s up?” she asked nervously. For the past three years, and words shared between herself and her father were not loving or kind. Considering the situation, she was expecting a verbal lashing unlike any other, despite the niceties of earlier.
“I just wanted to let you know, that, you’ve got a rough couple of months ahead of you. And after that baby is born, it’s only going to get harder…and no matter what’s happened in the past…I love you. And your mother loves you, and we want to help you in any way we can,” he explained gently.
Tears stung Taylor’s eyes. Her father had spoken those three words that she’d waited so long to hear from him.
“Thanks, daddy,” she choked out.
And then, he shocked her further by hugging her tightly and kissing her forehead before quickly leaving the room.