The Hazed Series (New Edition)

by Brittany Butler

  Hot tears threaten to spill from my eyes. “Are you safe?”

  “I don’t know why I wouldn’t be. They got their vengeance…I had no part in that.”

  “But they could come after you?’ He sighs and tries to look away from me. “Hayze, answer me!”

  “Yeah, baby, they could. I’m not really worried about that though…”

  A stream of tears are running down my face. “How are you not worried?”

  “I’ve known that guy my whole life, he won’t baby; I promise nothing will happen to me. I’m worried about the investigation.”

  “Why? You said you had no part in it,” I say, horrified at the direction the conversation is going in.

  “I didn’t, but they won’t see it like that…I was his roommate, we fought all the time, we got arrested for fighting each other…Who do you think they’ll look at?”

  “You think you could be charged with his disappearance?”

  He shrugs his shoulders. “Anything’s possible.”

  “I don’t think I can go into work tonight.”

  He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. “I’ll text Randy, he knows what’s going on.”

  As Hayze drives us back to the apartment, I try to be strong, but Hayze keeps his hand on my leg, and kisses me at every red-light.

  When we go back to the apartment, Hayze got in the shower and I lays on his bed, waiting for him to get out. I want to lay here with him until this blows over. As the shower turns off in the bathroom, someone knocks on the front door.

  I open the door finding two men dressed in suits. The one in front of me pulls his shades off, and reaches in his jacket, pulling out a badge.

  “Detective Darnell. Mind if I come in for a minute?” He asks, looking behind my shoulder. I glance to the other man before answering.

  “Detective Monroe.”

  “I think you have the wrong place,” I say, not moving to let them in.

  “Is Hayze Clarke home?” Darnell asks.

  Sighing, I grip the door until my knuckles turn white and step out of their way. They came in our apartment, looking around the small space before sitting on our couch.

  When Hayze walks out, he looks at me. Knowing what he needs, I pull a chair from our small dining room table and drag it beside the recliner where Hayze is sitting.

  “We need to ask you a few questions about Joel Easton,” Darnell says. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “I ate with him on campus,” Hayze recalls, thinking. “It’s been over a month.”

  “And that’s the last time you saw him at all?” He asks.

  “Correct.”

  Both detectives make notes, and I look to Hayze. He smiles, attempting to calm me down, but it does nothing for me. I know he didn’t do anything, but if the detectives dig further into Hayze, they’ll find a shady past and enough reason to believe he’s responsible if Joel doesn’t turn up.

  “Describe your relationship with Joel Easton.”

  He shifts uncomfortably. “We were friends and roommates for years.”

  Detective Darnell flips through his notebook. He found something, pointed to it and began reading. “On Christmas Eve of last year you both were arrested for fighting outside your apartment. Can you explain that?” He interrogates, looking up to watch Hayze.

  Hayze laughs once, playing it off as a joke. “Our girlfriends were out of town that week,” he says, motioning to me. “We were drinkin’ too much and he got mad I beat him at blackjack.”

  He looks at me as if noticing me for the first time since we sat down. “You’re Taylor Thompson?”

  “I am,” I say. He made more notes before looking up again.

  “Was that the only disagreement you two ever had?” Darnell asks.

  Hayze shrugs, “That’s the only one like that.”

  “Why did Joel move out?” Darnell asked.

  “Taylor moved in and he had a few friends that started stayin’ over here a lot. It just got crowded, so he left.”

  “What are his friend’s names?” Darnell continues the questioning.

  “He called one of them Jen. I’m not sure about the others,” Hayze answers.

  “How many were there?” Darnell ask, leaning up on the couch.

  “She was over here most. The others were usually random,” Hayze says.

  “Do you know anyone that disliked Joel?”

  Hayze sighs, sitting back in the recliner. He rubs his palms against the dark denim of his jeans, thinking. “Not that I know of.”

  Darnell flipped his notebook closed. We all stand, waiting for this to be over. He pulls out a card, hands it to Hayze then walks over to the door. “If you think of anything else, call me.”

  Hayze clutches the card in his hands, nodding. “You do the same. I’ll do anything I can to get him back safe.”

  I follow behind them and close the door as they left. Hayze seemed to be holding up, much better than I thought he would.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, crouching on the floor in front of him.

  “Kind of relieved to get it out of the way,” he answers honestly.

  “I thought it went good. Don’t you think?” I ask.

  “Me too, Baby.”

  I stand and offer my hand. “Come to bed with me.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he says, grinning,

  “Not like that! I want to sleep…I just want you with me.”

  He slaps my backside as I pass by him. I gave him a stern look before laying in his bed. He stops at the end of the bed and pulls his shirt off. Seeing him without a shirt is always like the first time. The black ink running up his arms screams for me to trace them. From the roman numerals to the words, I know they each have a purpose and mostly likely a bad memory attached to them.

  He is watching me, but I don’t look away; not even when he unbuttoned his jeans and collapsed beside me. His arms engulf me, and I fight hard to keep my hands to myself.

  His eyes capture mine, but I can’t stop my sight from dropping to his lips. My eyes dance to his then back to his mouth too many times to count. Not trusting myself, I roll over, which only made him chuckle and pull me closer. He places a kiss on my shoulders. We lay there, perfectly still, neither of us saying a word. Until I can’t take it anymore.

  Sighing, I roll over to face him. “Thanks for being patient with me.”

  He laughs once, then looks at me like I am crazy. “I think I should be the one sayin’ that.”

  “I haven’t been easy to deal with through all of this. I’m always back and forth…I know that makes it tough on you. Not only do you have to worry about your problems, but you have to worry about my reaction.”

  “I just keep wondering when you’re gonna run for the hills.”

  I smile, “At this point I don’t think anything will make me run.”

  He looks at me, smirking, he props his head on his hand. “Well…”

  I clamp my hand over his mouth. “Don’t get any ideas.”

  I move my hands and press my lips against his. At first he’s shocked, but the surprise wears off and need takes over. I hooked my leg around him and rolled on top.

  “What are you doing?” He asks.

  “Shut up and kiss me,” I say and he chuckles.

  I tug my shirt over my head and bring my lips back to his. I wasn’t sure why I was doing this, but I knew I needed him.

  His hands drop to my back. Running his fingers over my bra strap, he smiles. “My patience is being tested now.”

  I sit up, pinch the back of my bra, and let it fall from my body. He flipped me onto my back, and his mouth trailed down my neck, my chest, and down my stomach. He slips my jeans down and throws them to the side of the bed. In record time, he kicks his boxers off.

  With anything between us, he sits above me, panting. It’s always the same. We find ourselves in this position, looking at each other, waiting for the confirmation we need. I bite my lip and nod my head. That was all it took for h
im.

  His lips meet mine and his hand moves down to the place only he had touched. I wrap my hands around his neck and gather my fingers through his hair. After months of being separated, I can’t get close enough.

  After the day we had, this may not be the best way to end it. But I want to forgive and forget. When he withdrew his fingers, I wrap my legs around his waist.

  “Is this what you want?” He ask.

  I nod, but that isn’t enough.

  “Say it.”

  He slaps mindlessly around the bedside table. I hear the package crinkle, and his face lights with a grin. He brings it to his mouth, slowly tearing the foil square package and rolls it into place.

  “I want you.”

  With those words, he is inside me. My fingers weave through his hair, tugging as he went deeper. As he continues, I meet the match of his thrust and the pressure turns into pleasure.

  I cry out and fist the sheets. “Why did we stop doing this?”

  Without missing a beat, he chuckles and places a kiss on my lips. His mouth trails down my neck and lands on my chest. When his fingers slide down my stomach, and add to the mix, my body tensed.

  Between his efforts and not having him in months, I can feel myself quickly going over the edge. He could sense this, and he picks up the beat as I pull him closer.

  His mouth lands on mine as I cry out. He trembles above me and I know he needed this as much as I did.

  When he collapses on me, he doesn’t move right away. We lay there, thinking about what just happened, and what it means for us.

  He rolls over and pulls me close to him. His mouth nuzzles in my neck. “I love you. This time I really mean it.”

  “Um, I love you, too. But, what exactly is that supposed to mean?” I ask, slightly offended.

  “It’s different this time.”

  I lay beside him, staring at the wall, and thinking. When I look back at the year I’ve had, I can’t imagine it going differently. We’ve been through hell, and today proved that we may not get out anytime soon. But something is different. Maybe we’ve accepted each other for what we are.

  “I know what you mean,” I say.

  “When we wake up, this shit will be over.”

  I didn’t say anything, I just nod. The truth is, this won’t be over. In fact, this could get much worse. The thought of running away and taking Hayze with me was sounding better by the second.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Hayze

  I walk in the living room, still comatose from fourteen-hours of sleep. Taylor is standing in the kitchen in one of my t-shirts, pouring a glass of coffee. It is in these moments I wish I could take my past back. She suffered because of me, yet she came back; she is unlike anyone I’d ever known. She makes me want to be better for her, and this time, I’m not letting her go.

  “Good morning, sleepy head,” she says.

  “Mornin’, how long have you been up?”

  “Not long,” she says. She bites her bottom lip as she always does when she’s nervous. “Your mom kept calling so I answered your phone. She wants you to call her back.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’re not mad I answered your phone? What if you had ‘mom’ saved under some girl’s number and I found out?” She asks, laughing.

  I walk around the counter and wrap my arms around her middle. “First of all, I have nothing to hide from you…. And second, you came up with that scenario pretty fast, do I need to go through your phone?”

  I nuzzle my face in her neck and she giggles. “Maybe,” she answers.

  “So, last night?”

  “It definitely changed things,” she says.

  I take a step back, looking at her. “Oh yeah?”

  “We obviously can’t stay away from each other, why not do this?”

  “It’ll be different this time, I swear.” I kiss her then grab my phone from the counter. With much reluctance, I press my mom’s name and she answers on the first ring.

  “Honey, I’ve been trying to get you on the phone since last night,” she says.

  “What’s up?” I ask, glancing at Taylor from the corner of my eye.

  “Well, nothing too urgent. I just wanted you to know…In case you’ve changed your mind.”

  I walk to my bedroom and close the door behind me. “What is it?”

  “It’s your dad, honey…If you want to go see him, you don’t have long to do it.”

  I laugh, “He’s been sayin’ that for years.”

  “It’s different this time.”

  “Did he write you or something?” I ask.

  “No, for some reason he has me listed on his medical consent. He’s been in and out of the hospital. I didn’t tell you then, but it’s bad now.”

  I catch the time on my clock and tear clothes from my closet. “Alright. I need to get to class.”

  “It would be okay to miss class if you want to visit him,” she says.

  “I know it would, but I don’t want to,” I reply.

  “If you can’t go alone, I’ll go.”

  “I’m not going,” I say with finality.

  “Don’t be like that, Hayze. I know he’s done some bad things, but you need to let go of your anger. Make sure he knows how you feel before he passes.”

  I laugh once as I pulled a shirt over my head. “If he died right now I’m pretty sure he’d know how I felt.”

  “He won’t be here much longer, and it’s up to you if he hurts you forever…”

  “He’s never been here. I’m hangin’ up the phone. I’m not wasting another second talking about that man.”

  She sniffles, “Just think about it, Hayze. I love you.”

  I tug jeans on and head out the door. Taylor stands across the room, watching me closely. She doesn’t say anything, but I know she wants to ask. I grab her backpack and stand at the front door.

  “Ready?” I ask, seeing that she had time to put on clothes.

  “If you are,” she says, with narrow eyes. “What’s with the yelling?”

  I open the door for her, then follow her to my car. “It was nothing.”

  She rolls her eyes as she slides in the passenger side. “If it has something to do with Joel, I need to know.”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “We’re going to class for the first time after all this happened…Don’t leave me in the dark. People will be talking,” she says, her eyes were pleading with me.

  “There’s nothing you need to know,” I assure her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

  “You sure about that? You send me away, he disappears, and now you’re keeping something from me,” she says, pulling her seatbelt on. She crosses her arms, waiting for me to elaborate.

  Annoyed that she can’t drop it, I slam the mustang in gear and stomp the accelerator. Within seconds, I’m pulling into the university. But she doesn’t stop.

  “Well?” She asks.

  “That was my mom on the phone. There’s a lot of things you don’t know, Taylor.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” she says. She slings her bag on her shoulders and turns from me. “See ya after class.” And just like that, she left me.

  Needing to get the fuck out of here, I grab my notebook and slam the door. The last thing I want to do is sit in a class, but I walk toward the building anyway. I duck my head, careful not be seen. The one thing I hate about this campus is that I’ve went to school with a lot of the students my whole life. They had always watched me with curiosity, but now their glares were accusatory.

  “Hayze! Wait up!”

  I turn, finding Chandler. I stop and wait for him to catch up. He has gained weight, and looks like he is taking care of himself. He looks better than last time I ran into him.

  “What’s goin’ on, man?” He asks.

  “Headed to class,” I say, and point aimlessly behind me. But he doesn’t get the point; he lingers, checking behind him occasionally. I know he wanted to asks, but he is afraid.
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br />   “Have you heard from him?” He finally spits out.

  “If I’d heard from him, he wouldn’t be missing.”

  He smirks. “Good to see you haven’t changed, fucker. What happened?”

  I shrug, and wait for a group of students to walk by. “I was in Houston with Taylor.”

  He shakes his head slowly, thinking. “Sounds like a well thought out alibi.”

  “I didn’t have shit to do with it.”

  “But you know who did?” He asks. He already knows the answer, but he needs confirmation.

  “He paid me a visit last week. He’s been pissed at Joel.”

  His fist clenched at his side. He paces down the dated hall and stands in front of me again. “Fuckin’ dick. He can’t get away with it.”

  “I’m not getting’ involved. You shouldn’t either,” I say, warning him.

  “I’m not letting this go,” he seethes.

  I rub the back of my neck, frustrated. “I warned you.”

  A hand slaps my back, I turn, already on the defense. Josh, who was friends with Joel, is standing behind me. I never liked this guy.

  “You guys talking about where you hid the body?” He asks, laughing.

  “Knock it off,” Chandler warns.

  “I’m just giving you a hard time,” he says and slaps me on the back again. It took every ounce of self-control I have not to hit him. I didn’t like him in high school, and I don’t like him now. “He’s probably with some girl, he’ll show up in a few days. But you should hear what people are sayin’.”

  “We don’t care,” Chandler says, coming to my defense.

  He can see the look on my face, and he knows I can’t take more of his shit. I know what people are saying, and it doesn’t look good to have someone like him yelling it in front of the entire campus.

  “It’s not so much you,” he says, pointing to Chandler. “It’s him.”

  He looks around then reaches in his back pocket.” Hey, are you still sellin’?”

  “You’ve got to be the dumbest…” Chandler starts.

  I step in front of Josh. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on with Joel. I was with my girlfriend all weekend. I don’t have the patience to for you today, get the hell out of here.”