I glanced over at Hadley knowing that she would want to know all about my one friend she had yet to meet, but I didn’t want to talk about Braxton or anything that pertained to him. Right now, I needed to stay focused on the positive things in my life, like the amazing girl sitting across from me. “Yeah.” I laughed. “He’s good.”
“Good. And how are your aunt and uncle? You know, I’ve been meaning to go over and say hi, but things just keep getting in the way.” I knew my mom was lying, but it was fine by me.
“They’re doing fine.”
“And Hadley, how do you get along with my lovely sister?” I was waiting for her to run screaming for the hills, but to my surprise Hadley answered in the most gracious way possible.
“She is definitely, lovely.” Hadley and my mother both started laughing in unison, and I couldn’t help but join in.
“So when is the big day?” I knew exactly where my mother was going with her line of questioning, and I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.
“Mom, leave it.” I growled.
“Oh Declan, stop. I’m just trying to get to know Hadley a little bit better.”
“Declan, it’s okay.” Hadley’s voice caught me off guard, and I sat back, giving her a chance to defend herself if need be. “February seventeenth.” I watched as Hadley tried to gage my reaction to what she was saying.
“Oh wow, that soon? How old are you Hadley, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“No, I don’t mind at all. I’m twenty-one.”
“That’s rather young to be getting married. So how did you and Ryan meet?”
I could tell that my mom’s line of questioning was starting to make Hadley uncomfortable, and I was about to jump in, but Hadley quickly stood up asking where the restroom was. I gave my mom a pointed stare as I stood and walked towards Hadley. “Come on, I’ll show you.” As we approached the bathroom, I took it upon myself to apologize on behalf of my mother. “Look…I’m really sorry for my mom. She means well, I swear.”
Hadley’s hand came out from behind her back and pressed it gently to my chest. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, Declan. She’s sweet. I think she just wonders about my intentions with her son.” She giggled. “I’ll be back out shortly.”
I nodded and made my way back out to the living room where my mother sat sipping on her glass of water. “Mom, what the hell was that?” I half-shouted.
“What?”
“Oh don’t play innocent. You know exactly what you were doing.”
“I’m sorry, Declan. I just want to make sure this girl isn’t going to break your heart.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Mom, what the hell are you talking about? She’s engaged to my cousin.”
“Don’t play coy with me. I see the way you look at her, son.”
I rolled my eyes at my mother’s ridiculous accusations. “You’re crazy, Mom. I don’t look at her any differently than I do any other girl. Like I said, she’s engaged to my cousin.”
“Then why did you bring her here, to meet me? We haven’t seen each other in over a year, and the first time I see you, you’re with a girl? A girl that is engaged to your cousin, as you say. What is that?”
This was most definitely not a conversation I wanted to have with my mom, now or ever. “She just a girl, Mom. We were out walking, and I thought I would stop by and say hi to you. She just so happened to be with me. It doesn’t mean anything.” Of course every single word coming out of my mouth was a lie, but my mom didn’t need to know that I was pining for a girl I would never have.
“If you say so.” She laughed.
“I do.” I was about to ask my mom a question, but Hadley suddenly appeared, and I was taken aback.
“I need to be getting back. It was a pleasure to meet you, Rita. Thank you for your hospitality.” Hadley’s tone of voice had turned cold, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened while she was in the restroom that had made her that way.
“It was a pleasure to meet you as well, dear. You’re welcome back here anytime, you hear me?” My mom was standing in front of Hadley holding her hands as she said her good-byes.
“Thank you.” Hadley replied as she gave my mom a quick hug and headed towards the front door.
I walked over to my mom and pulled her into a deep hug. “I love you Mom. I’ll come see you for Thanksgiving.”
“Don’t worry about it, love. I have to work a double that day. Have fun with your cousin. I love you, Declan.” She pressed her soft lips to my cheek, and I instantly began missing her.
Hadley was already outside waiting for me when I made it to the door. I reached out for her to take my hand, but she was already walking in front of me. I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach her now, but I knew I had to say something. “Hadley, are you okay?” She abruptly turned in my direction.
“Why wouldn’t it be? It’s just getting late, we should probably be getting back. I don’t want Ryan to worry about where I am.”
And just like that, she was back to being my cousin’s fiancé, and not the Hadley that I had just spent the last two hours with. She was hardened and on edge, and I suddenly yearned for the Hadley that had first agreed to go on a walk with me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the one I was with.
TWENTY-NINE
Hadley
I stood in the hallway of Declan’s mom’s house in complete and utter shock. This entire time I was completely convinced that I was who he wanted. That, in some twisted and weird way that we would find ourselves together somehow, but now…now I just felt anger. When I turned the corner and he played dumb, pretending not to know why I was suddenly pissed off, it pissed me off even more. I mean, how stupid did he think I was. I knew it wasn’t really fair for me to be that mad at him when I was the one who was with his cousin, but I couldn’t help my reaction. I guess some small part of me wanted him to want me, even though he couldn’t have me.
“Can you slow down just a bit?” Declan was half yelling in my direction as I walked a good twenty feet in front of him. “Hadley, would you please stop for a second?”
I quickly turned in his direction as he neared closer, “WHAT?” I shouted.
“What is your deal? I thought we were having a good time, and now you’re acting…like this.”
As much as I didn’t want to explain it to him, I almost felt as though I owed it to him. He had been nothing but nice to me, and I was now acting like a raging bitch. “Why do you care, I’m just some girl.” I turned back around and started running down the beach towards Ryan’s house. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it very far before Declan was all but tackling me onto the sand.
“Get off of me, Declan.” I was fighting against his muscular arms as he tried to pin them on the sand beneath me.
“Would you stop for a second, and just listen to me.”
I could see the pain in his eyes, and my anger instantly began to dissipate. I stopped fighting against him, and lay still beneath his body that was now straddling me. “What?” I whispered.
“Do you honestly think that you are just some girl to me? Do you really think I would go out of my way to introduce you to my mom, of all people? Don’t you get it, Hadley? I’m crazy about you, like ridiculously and insanely crazy about you. But you’re not mine to have. How do you think it makes me feel to hear you talk about you and my cousin? It is literally ripping me in two every time I have to listen to you talk about your wedding, or just the two of you in general.”
That’s when it all came crashing down on me like a tidal wave. He really did feel the same way I did. He wanted me just as much, if not more, than I wanted him, but out of respect for his asshole cousin, he wasn’t doing anything about it. I wanted to cry. I wanted to push him off of me and go running away from the entire fucked up situation, but I couldn’t. No, instead…I pulled him down to me and crashed my lips onto his.
He tasted like the sea, and I couldn’t get enough of him. I wanted him to take me right then and there, to hell with anyone who sa
w…Ryan included. I half expected him to put up a fight, to tell me that we couldn’t do this out of respect for Ryan, but he didn’t. Instead, he clutched at my back, pulling me up to him, moving his lips passionately against mine. His tongue traced my lips, and I instantly opened my mouth to accept him. I let go of every insecurity and fear that I had, and let myself be in this moment with him, one hundred percent.
I wasn’t ready for this moment with him to be over, but I soon started to feel my pants become damp, and when we both pulled away from one another, we realized why. The tide was coming in, and from what I could tell and feel, it was closer than either of us thought. Declan quickly jumped off of me, pulling me up with him, as we ran towards the house. We were both out of breath, for more than one reason, when we got back to Ryan’s. I wasn’t ready to not be around him just yet, and I also wasn’t sure how I would explain my wet clothing to Ryan, so we both ducked into the guesthouse. I figured PJ would be in there, but to my surprise, it was completely empty.
“I’ll go grab us some towels.” I looked away from him shyly as I made my way over to the linen closet, but when I turned around to go back into the living room where he was standing, he was no longer there.
I ran into the living room in search of Declan, but he literally had vanished into thin air. I clutched the towel to my chest as I continued to search the entire guesthouse for him, but I was still coming up empty handed. When I made my way back out to the front entryway, I was shocked to find Ryan standing in the very spot that Declan had just been.
“Hey.” I stammered. “What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” He joked. “What happened to your pants?” He pointed down at the giant wet spot, and I played dumb.
“I tripped while I was out for a walk, and fell just as the tide was coming in.”
Ryan walked towards me, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” He wrapped me in his arms, leaning in to kiss me, but I quickly turned my head and hugged him instead.
“You’re funny.” I pulled back from his embrace and started blotting my pants with the towel.
“You know…you could just take those pesky things off. I can even help you.” He reached out for the waistband of my pants, but I pulled back in a teasing manner.
“I don’t think mommy dearest would approve of us fornicating in this luxurious guesthouse.” I half joked.
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” He gave me a wicked grin, and I couldn’t help but almost be repulsed by his advances.
“I’m going to get ready for dinner. I’ll be in in just a bit.”
I could tell that my brush off immediately irritated Ryan, but I just couldn’t find it in me to care. “Fine.”
“Hey, babe?”
“Yeah?” He quickly turned around, thinking I had changed my mind.
“Can you send PJ out here, please?”
His face fell in disappointment, and I started to really feel bad for him. “Sure.”
“Thanks.” I shouted over my shoulder as I made my way into the back bedroom where PJ’s clothes were to try and find something to wear that would appease Ryan’s beast of a mom.
A few minutes later I heard the door open, and I shouted for PJ to come back into the extra room. When I turned to ask her what top she thought would be less offensive to Ryan’s mom, she busted out in laughter. I wanted to be offended, but I just couldn’t. Instead, I started laughing right along with her. Of course I had no idea why she was laughing so hard, but it was practically contagious. We both fell to the floor, grabbing our stomachs in pain as we continued to laugh at a very loud volume. When we both began to settle down, I could barely get the words out to ask her what was so funny.
“You should’ve seen what just happened inside.” She laughed.
I instantly stopped laughing, drying my eyes with the back of my sleeve. “What?”
“Oh my god, settle down. When Ryan came in to tell me to come out here, he looked pissed. So naturally I asked him what was wrong.”
“Because I’m sure you were extremely concerned.” I joked.
“Well, yeah.” She smiled. “He started saying how he tried to get you out of your wet pants, and girl, if you could’ve seen the look on Declan’s face…priceless. But it got even better when I asked him if he was just a one pump chump, or if you turned him down, and when he said you shot him down hard…no pun intended, Declan nearly lost his shit. He seriously was laughing so hard, I thought beer would start coming out of his nose. It was amazing.”
I was relieved to know that Declan was happy I turned down Ryan, but I was also a little bit hurt that he hadn’t even told me he was going back to the main house. Maybe Ryan was coming out, and he didn’t want to have to explain himself, who knows. I laughed along with PJ as she finished her story, and then she pointed at the light blue, long-sleeved maxi dress I was holding up.
“Wear that one. You’ll look hot.”
“PJ, I’m not trying to look hot, I’m trying to look acceptable for dinner with Ryan’s family.” I sighed at how annoying she could be sometimes.
“That’s what I said, acceptable.”
“Whatever.” I pouted. “I’m going to change and then I’ll meet you inside.”
“Hey Hads?”
“Yeah.” I turned to face PJ before she left.
“How did your pants get wet?” She laughed.
“Bye, PJ.” I waved and closed the bathroom door behind me. As much as I was dying to tell her all about my day, right now just wasn’t the right time. Who knew if it would ever be.
THIRTY
Declan
I almost didn’t have it in me to leave after everyone went to bed. As much as I wanted to say good-bye to her, my heart just couldn’t take it. I knew she would look at me with those impossibly beautiful blue eyes of hers, and I wouldn’t be able to walk away. I had already taken far more time than I should have to spend a couple extra days with her, and now it was imperative that I leave.
I quietly grabbed my duffel bag, slung it over my shoulder, and snuck out the front door. I looked back up at the window where she was soundly sleeping as I opened the door to the cab that was waiting for me. I silently whispered good-bye to her, and slid into the back seat. As much as I wanted to look back one last time, I forced myself to look ahead. Maybe one day, she would forgive me and all would go back to the way that it was…before we met. As much as I wanted to stay, I just couldn’t bring myself to be around her and my cousin. Holidays maybe.
I sent a quick text to Braxton as the cab neared the airport.
On my way home.
I’ll text ya when all
is said and done. Get
well soon, bro.
D
I didn’t expect him to respond because of the lateness of the hour, but shockingly he did.
I don’t even know
how to thank you.
Be careful & good
luck, bro.
B
I tucked my phone into my front pocket as I paid the cabbie and made my way into the silent airport. It was amazing how quiet and deserted this place was at two in the morning. It was a welcome comfort as I grappled with the disappointment I was feeling in myself. Against my better judgment, after I checked in for my flight, I decided to send PJ a quick text just to prove I wasn’t a complete asshole.
A little while later, they started calling for my flight and I quickly boarded my plane, taking my seat in first class, and slipping into a deep slumber. I immediately knew I was dreaming when Hadley showed up in the seat across the aisle from me. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about planes that always made me dream of her, but it was a welcome fantasy. She didn’t say a word to me, just looked at me with those piercing eyes and smiled. I didn’t need her to say anything, all I needed was for her to look my way and I was toast. I opened my mouth to tell her how sorry I was for leaving the way I did, but then I heard a loud binging above me.
I was jolted awake as the plane hit an
extreme amount of turbulence. I was never one to be afraid of flying, given the fact that I do it all the time, but when the turbulence wouldn’t stop and the ride got rougher, I started to internally freak out. What if this was it for me? What if I had just spent the last week with the girl of my dreams, and I never even told her how much I care about her? This couldn’t be how my life ended.
I closed my eyes tight and took in a deep breath, hoping to calm myself down enough to think clearly. I tried to de-clutter my mind and focus on the important things, but it seemed nearly impossible. All that kept playing in my head were the million and one stories in the news about all the damn plane crashes, and hijackings. Obviously I knew this wasn’t anything that serious, but who’s to say that they didn’t think the exact same thing when they were going down?
The plane hit a deep pocket, and my stomach flipped around like it does when you’re on a roller coaster. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to throw up or just go ahead and off myself before falling from the sky in a huge metal plane. I looked around the cabin, and noticed that at least I wasn’t the only one freaking out about our current predicament. I watched as mothers clung to their children, siblings held one another’s hands, couples kissed as they held onto each other, and even a business man folding his hands and praying, and all I could think…was that I didn’t have any of that.
It wasn’t like I didn’t want to have someone to come home to every night, or someone to travel the world with me when I went and fought, I just couldn’t have the one person my heart yearned for. How was I supposed to move on when Hadley so clearly had my heart? As I sat there contemplating my life and the direction it was taking, the pilot came on over the intercom to let us know that we had made it through the rough patch, and it should be smooth sailing the rest of the way to Phoenix. If I was a man of faith, I would’ve gotten on my knees and thanked God for letting me survive what very easily could’ve been my ending.
~~~~
As soon as we landed in Phoenix, I rushed off of the plane and turned my phone back on. My phone alerted me to two new voicemails, and a new text message. I quickly opened up the text message that was from PJ, and practically fell over. Her text was frantic, full of shouty capital letters, and practically unreadable. I wasn’t sure the message she was trying to convey, so I decided to listen to my voicemails on my way out to get a cab.
Simple Lies Page 15