“So,” I said. “I was thinking that since we’re already sitting together, we could be study partners. I have a feeling this class is going to be a killer so we’ll both need the extra help.”
Hailey looked at me for a second before she looked away again. It seemed like she was thinking about my offer.
I couldn’t tell if I had insulted her by implying she might need help, but it was the truth. That professor wasn’t fucking around. It would be easier on both of us if we had someone around to help us study.
Plus, I just wanted an excuse to see her outside of class. I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere in the confines of that lab.
“Sure,” Hailey said with a shrug. “Whatever.”
With that, she hurried off to her next class. I watched her disappear with a smile.
She wasn’t interested in me yet, but by the end of the semester, she would be.
***
I sat on my mom’s porch holding my acceptance letter and remembering that day.
The first time I saw Hailey seemed so insignificant at the time. She was just a cute girl in my biology class. I was attracted to her and determined to get to know her better.
At that point, I had never met a girl who didn’t want to date me. Hailey threw me completely off my game and I liked her more for it.
That entire semester flew by in a blur. Hailey and I studied together almost every day and we both ended up acing that stupid Bio 101 class. We set the curve on almost every test. We slowly became friends and when the final grades came out, I suggested we go out to celebrate. That was the night things shifted between us.
I had always wanted more with Hailey, but that was the night she finally saw something worthwhile in me.
I smiled to myself as the memory washed over me. It had been years since I ha
d last seen Hailey, but I could still picture her face clearly in my mind. I was sure she was just as beautiful as ever.
Sitting there, holding my future in my hands, I wondered what she was doing. I imagined what her life was like now. Did she look the same? Where had her life taken her? Was she still in Bradberry? Had she moved somewhere far away? Was her life everything she always wished it would be?
Did she still think of me like I still thought of her?
Chapter Three: Hailey
“Noah!” I yelled. “Hurry up, sweetie! Mommy’s going to be late!”
I ran around my apartment, grabbing my things and quickly throwing Noah’s backpack together.
He was moving slower than ever that morning and I knew I was going to be late for class. It was my first day of medical school and I couldn’t afford to miss a thing.
When Noah’s backpack was packed, I grabbed his lunch from the fridge and threw it inside. I zipped up the backpack and ran to Noah’s room.
Noah was sitting on his bed with his shoes on his feet. He had one foot tucked underneath him and the other poised on the ground. He held the shoelaces in his hands, trying desperately to tie them properly. I smiled and sunk to my knees.
“Here,” I said. “Let me help you.”
“No!” Noah said, jerking his foot away from me. “I can do it!”
His face was set in the stubborn lines I was encountering more and more frequently lately.
I swallowed a sigh.
“Honey,” I said patiently. “Mommy can’t be late for class today, okay? We have to go. You can tie your shoes tomorrow.”
“But…” he began, but I cut him off with a look. That look was more powerful than any of the protests he could throw my way. He knew that look meant I wasn’t having any of it.
He settled down with a pout.