One Chance (Part One)

by T. Renee Fike

  “We’ll be there in about two hours, so we’ll talk when I get there,” he says angrily before hanging up.

  I make my way back to Haley’s room and am surprised to find Quinn crying at her bedside.

  “She’s going to be okay,” I say as I enter the room.

  “I know,” she says as she wipes her tears.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  “Because she didn’t deserve this. She did nothing wrong, yet here she lies.”

  “She could have gotten meningitis from anywhere,” I say not thinking.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” she yells as she stands up quickly.

  “I’m just saying it’s a possibility. We don’t know.”

  “I can guarantee that the damn party didn’t help it any.”

  “You’re right and I will take care of that.”

  “You know who set it up, right?”

  “Meg.”

  “Now why would she do that Liam?” Quinn asks all pissed off.

  “I’m not exactly sure, which is what I was trying to find out when you came down the stairs and started bitching.”

  “She did it for you.”

  “No she didn’t. I never asked her to do anything to Haley; in fact, I never even said anything bad about Haley in front of her.”

  “Then why did she plan that party?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is she threatened by Haley?”

  “What?” I ask confused on what the hell she’s talking about.

  “Meg, is she threatened by Haley?”

  “Not that I know of. Why?”

  “Because that’s all I can figure out. Meg’s jealous of Haley because she knows you, known you whatever, and wants to get rid of her.”

  “Meg has no reason to be jealous. She got along fine with Haley.”

  “Something changed.”

  “I don’t know what.”

  “When Meg went home with you last time, how did she seem around Haley?” Quinn asks.

  “Fine.”

  “No Liam, think,” she shouts.

  “I don’t know, last time at home was over the summer.”

  “Did anything happen?”

  “Shit,” I think recalling when we found Haley on the beach sleeping.

  “What?”

  “Haley was drugged at a party we think, but Meg was with me and my brother, there’s no way she could have drugged her.”

  “How was she after you guys found Haley?”

  “Fine I guess. She was leaving to go home that night.”

  “So, she wasn’t pissed or anything?”

  “Fuck.”

  “What?” Quinn yells.

  “Yeah, she was pissed because I wasn’t going home with her. But that had nothing to do with Haley. I was helping Isaac with football.”

  “So, could she think you stayed because of Haley?”

  “No, she’s not like that.”

  “Liam, Haley is sedated in a hospital bed, how far would she go?”

  “I will get to the bottom of this,” I say, getting more irritated by the minute.

  “You better, because if I have to, it’s going to get real fucking ugly.”

  “I said I’d handle it. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to sit with Haley,” I say as I walk over to the empty seat.

  “Fine, I’ll go update the others,” she says as she leaves.

  I grab Haley’s hand, holding it tight “I don’t honestly know how you are friends with that girl, but I’m glad she has your back. Haley, I will get to the bottom of this, I promise. Your mom and dad should be here soon, same with Kenzie and Brody. Brody’s ready to kick my ass, he’s probably going to try when he gets here. I told him I would look out for you and I’m sorry I let you down. You pissed me off with the bet thing, but Hails you have to know, I would never want anything like this to happen to you. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “You better hope like hell she forgives you, because I’m about to fucking kill you,” Brody says from the door looking more pissed off than ever.

  “Brody stop it, she doesn’t need to hear that,” Kenzie says as she walks over to her twin sister. “I’m here Hails, so is Brody.”

  “I’ll give you guys some time,” I say as I head for the door.

  It doesn’t take long for me to run into the Lawrences, along with my parents. “Oh sweetie, how’s she doing?” Mrs. Lawrence asks.

  “They have her sedated, so she can get some rest. She’s dehydrated, but she’s stable.”

  “How are you holding up?” Mrs. Lawrence asks.

  “I’m okay. I’ll be better when she wakes up,” I admit.

  “What room is she in?”

  “Room 412, right down this hall,” I say as I point to where her room is at. My parents go along with hers, while I walk back to the waiting room.

  “How’s she doing?” Rebecca and another girl Cara, asks.

  “She’s still sleeping. The sedative should wear off soon,” I say hopeful.

  “Her parents are here, right?” Quinn asks.

  “Yeah, they just got here along with Kenzie and Brody.”

  “Who were the other people?” Quinn asks.

  “My parents and my brother Isaac.”

  “Why?” she starts to ask.

  “We all grew up together. My family looks at Haley like family, there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for her.”

  “Yet somehow you missed that memo,” she states bitterly.

  “Knock it off you two. Haley doesn’t need you guys going head to head right now. She needs our support,” Cara says harshly.

  Haley

  I wake up feeling confused, trying to figure out where I’m at.

  “You’re in the hospital Haley,” it sounds like Kenzie telling me.

  “Kenz?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” she says rubbing my hand.

  “What’s going on?” I ask confused.

  “You’ve been in the hospital, you got sick and they brought you here to figure out what was wrong with you,” she says softly.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “You have meningitis.”

  “What?” I ask, thinking I didn’t hear her correctly.

  “It was bad Hails. You’ve been in and out of it for the past seven days.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Four days now.”

  “What? I have school.”

  “No, you need to let your body get better first. You were really lucky, Hails. The form of meningitis you had could have killed you.”

  “How did I get it?”

  “They aren’t sure, but it’s common that kids our age can get it at college.”

  “Hey,” Brody says as he enters the room.

  “Hi.”

  “It’s great to see you finally awake,” he says as he comes up and gives me a small hug.

  “It’s good to be awake,” I say feeling like I should say something else, “Are Mom and Dad here?”

  “Of course, I’ll go get them,” Kenzie says as she stands up and rushes out of the room.

  “Listen Hails, I’ve been thinking, I think you should transfer and come to school with me and Kenz,” Brody says as he squeezes my hand.

  “What? No, I like it here,” I say pulling my hand from his.

  “I know, but what happened to you, the hazing bullshit, it shouldn’t have happened to you,” he says as he stands and starts pacing.

  “It already happened. I’m dealing with it. It can’t go on forever.”

  “It’s done already,” he says as he stops pacing to look at me.

  “What do you mean?” I ask with a confused look.

  “Liam took care of it.”

  “It was his fault the whole thing even started,” I say in a higher pitched voice than I intended.

  “I know and I’ve had my words with him,” he says as he starts pacing again.

  “Brody, what did you do?” I ask, sitting up further on the hospital bed.
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  “I told him to fucking look out for you Hails, not make your life miserable,” he says an in irate tone.

  “He’s not completely at fault here,” I admit, looking directly at him.

  “What do you mean?” he asks looking confused.

  “I lied to him, it pissed him off, he was angry at me.”

  “Haley, there is nothing you could do that would make him have people slander you like that,” he says as he walks back to the chair beside my bed.

  “But there is.”

  “No there isn’t. He’s an asshole. I told him to stay the hell away from you.”

  “You didn’t need to do that Brody.”

  “Hails, I’d do anything for you, even if that means to protect you from my own dickhead of a brother,” he says as he takes a hold of my hand again.

  A few minutes later my parents come into the room with Kenzie and the Masters. They talk to me and all ask me the same questions, “How are you feeling? Can I get you anything? Blah blah blah.

  I end up staying at the hospital for five more days before I’m released to go home. Mom and Dad want me to go home with them; Brody wants me to transfer schools, while all I want is to get back to school and get on with my life.

  “Are you sure you want to go back there?” Brody asks.

  “Yes, I have some stuff I need to figure out, but I want to stay here, this is my school.”

  “Fine. Well, Kenzie and I are going to head back to school; you keep me posted if you need anything. Anything at all Hails,” he says before pulling me in for a big hug.

  “I promise, thank you,” I say before releasing him and going in to hug Kenzie.

  I say my goodbyes to them along with my parent’s and the Masters along with Isaac before looking at Quinn.

  “Are you ready to go home?”

  “God yes, I want life to get back to normal,” I say as I get into her car.

  “There are some things I need to talk to you about,” Quinn says nervously, as she gets inside the driver side.

  “What’s going on?”

  “The house is going to be different when we get there.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of what Meg did to you.”

  “How different?”

  “Most of the girls are gone from the house.”

  “Where did they go?”

  “Either dorms or found places off campus.”

  “So who’s at the house?”

  “Like seven of us.”

  “Who?”

  “You, me, Cara, Rebecca, Stacey, Mindy, and Nicole.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it. Everyone else was kicked out for playing a part in the hazing party.”

  “Kicked out of school or the sorority?”

  “The sorority. Meg may have more coming to her if you decide to press charges, which I think your Mom said something about.”

  “I just want it to go away. I want my life back.”

  “And you will, I just wanted you to know about the house.”

  “So what’s happening to Liam?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Why is that?” I ask confused, “He’s the one who started this.”

  “He didn’t have anything to do with the party, that was all Meg.”

  “Sure, like he didn’t know about it,” I say annoyed.

  “He didn’t. He wasn’t even in town; they had an away football game Haley. I can tell you he was pissed when he found out.”

  “Whatever, it doesn’t even matter anymore.”

  “Why doesn’t it?” she asks as she drives us home.

  “Everything went to hell. People are going to look at me and judge me for shit, maybe I should transfer.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “It’s still going to be hell.”

  “No it won’t. Trust me okay?”

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I ask my best friend.

  “Nothing, I just know things will get back to normal for you, hell for all of us.”

  “If you say so,” I say as we pull into the driveway. I get out of the car and we make our way inside. The place is spotless and it looks deserted, but then again, I guess it is. The girls that are still in the house come and greet me, welcoming me home. I couldn’t be happier to see them.

  For the rest of the day, the girls and I hang out and catch up on what I’ve missed for the last week. No one mentions Liam’s name and I’m thankful for it. I wish I could hate him for as much as I want to punch him.

  School gets back to normal for me. I go from class to class and no one says anything to me, it was like nothing ever happened. I’m not sure how, but I’m grateful for it. My professors all knew what was going on and have given me extra time to complete my assignments.

  So for the next two weeks, I do nothing but study and homework. Catching up on work sucks, but if it keeps me in my current standings, then it’s worth it.

  “Do you feel like going out tonight?” Quinn asks.

  “Sure,” I say surprising her.

  “Really?” she asks shocked.

  “Yeah, it’s been a few weeks and things seem to have calmed down a lot.”

  “Yay,” she chants.

  “Where are we going?”

  “A frat house down the road.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Have you heard from Liam yet?”

  “No, I don’t plan to either, why?”

  “Just curious.”

  “He won’t say anything to me. I’m sure he feels somewhat guilty, but he’ll go on like nothing ever happened.”

  “Do you think he’d say anything to you at home?”

  “Honestly, probably not.”

  “Huh,” she says surprising me.

  “Why?”

  “You both are stubborn as hell.”

  I can’t help but laugh, “Actually you’re right, we are, which is why it would never have worked out between us anyway.”

  “No, it couldn’t work out because you never told him how you felt.”

  “Have you seen Liam?” I ask as serious as I can.

  “Yes, who hasn’t?”

  “Then you know as well as I do, that it wouldn’t matter what I told him, it wouldn’t happen, I’m not his type.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “Have you looked at Meg?”

  “Yeah, and she’s a dumb bitch.”

  “But she’s beautiful. She has that perfect skin, perfect body; she fits the role of a hot quarterback’s girlfriend.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I’m just me.”

  “You are seriously delusional. Again, you can have your choice of any man you want, yet the one you want, you won’t let him know.”

  “I’ll find a new one. I’ll move on.”

  “Because it’s worked out so well for you so far,” she says before laughing.

  “Shut it, I will move on, starting tonight.”

  “I think you should talk to Liam.”

  “Why?”

  “I just think that there’s some things you guys need to settle first.”

  “There’s nothing to settle Quinn. I lied to him, he got angry, and he got me back. It sucks, but its life.”

  “But how do you know that’s all? You never came clean to him about how you felt,” she says sounding frustrated.

  “Seriously? It doesn’t matter; he’s with that vicious bitch.”

  “I think you should talk to Liam.”

  “You can think what you want. It’s not going to happen; he hates me for what I did to him,” I say harshly.

  “What he thinks you did to him,” she reminds me.

  “Well, I’m not going to tell him otherwise,” I snap.

  “Fine, I give up. You are such a stubborn woman,” Quinn says, throwing her hands up in the air.

  I grab a quick shower and throw on a pair of jeans with a sweater because it’s getting colder by the day.

  “You look cute,” S
tacey says as I walk down the stairs.

  “Thanks, are you coming along too?”

  “No, hanging out with the boyfriend,” she says with a smile.

  “Have fun then,” I say as I head towards Quinn who is already ready to walk out the door.

  “Ready to go?”

  “Yep,” I say as I follow her out, saying goodnight to the other ladies.

  We make the short walk down a few houses towards Liam’s house. I stop walking immediately, “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No, there’s something you need to know.”

  “What?” I practically yell for all to hear.

  “You know I wasn’t a fan of Liam, I thought he was an asshole.”

  “Yes, so then why are you bringing me here?” I ask pointing to his house.

  “You need to talk to him.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  “You’re wrong Haley. You both have a lot to say to one another.”

  “I haven’t seen or heard from him, what makes you think he wants to talk to me now?”

  “Because you didn’t see him at the hospital. You didn’t hear him, when he was talking to you when you were unconscious. As mad as he was at you for hurting him, nothing can get the image out of my head of how he talked and watched you Haley.”

  “What are you talking about? Liam wasn’t at the hospital.”

  “He didn’t leave. He slept night after night in the chair until the day you woke up, making sure that when you woke up, you wouldn’t be alone. He does care Hails.”

  “Then why didn’t he come back?”

  “Because he knew you’d blame him, and his brother was against it.”

  “I’m not surprised on that one; Brody seemed pretty pissed anytime Liam’s name was brought up.”

  “Oh, he was more than pissed. They got into quite a few arguments.”

  “So, what do you want me to do Quinn? Walk in there and pour my heart out to a man who will never be able to give me what I want?”

  “I want you to talk to him. You both have secrets and you both hurt each other. Yes, what you did was wrong, but what he did was also wrong. Two wrongs don’t make a right Haley.”

  “I can’t,” I say.

  “Can you listen to me then?” Liam asks out of nowhere. I turn so fast not expecting him to be standing there, yet there he is in all his sexy glory.

  “How did you know we were out here?”

  “I asked Quinn to bring you by. No one’s here Haley, I just wanted us to talk.”