“What do they mean?”
“He’s locked himself up inside. He’s trying to open up. To trust.” At my look, he smirks. “He talks when he’s shitfaced.”
I release his sleeve. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
“Look, as long as you’re both alive…” He takes a deep breath, then smiles, softening his ominous words. “Yeah, then you can always fix things, princess. The world hasn’t ended. Just talk.”
“I will,” I vow and close the door behind him.
Chapter Fifteen
Kaden
Waking up achy and grumpy is a bad habit. I need to stop drinking so much.
But as my bleary eyes start to clear and I make out my room and the pills and glass of water by the bed side, as her scent drifts up and fills my senses, it all comes back to me.
Hailey.
I sit up too fast and the room starts spinning. Dizzy, I fist my hands into the covers and wait it out, gritting my teeth and willing my churning stomach to settle.
Hitting my head sucks. Then again… it may have knocked some sense into me. Why didn’t I call Hailey since she left? I was fucking angry, sure, but her accusations… I remember them now. At the time they didn’t make sense, and I was pissed she’d looked at my phone without permission.
But whose fault was it that she got suspicious? I kept her mostly locked out of my life.I never bothered to listen to what she accused me of. All I heard was her distrust, and then she was out the door and out of town.
Never paused to consider the fact that we may be more similar than I thought.
That we both have difficulty trusting others.
And that I didn’t help things any by keeping her at arm’s length when she let in the whole of me.
Not fair to her.
I’m gonna make it up to her. Clear this up. Make her see I could be good for her.
Christ, I’m as fucking nervous as I’ve ever been, and the dizziness isn’t helping. I swing my legs off the bed and swallow down bile. How am I to win my girl back when I’m feeling like shit?
Probably look it, too.
Hell.
And this beard… I tug on it. It’s grown too long and shaggy. I could trim it.
Or shave it off. Cut my hair. Matt shaved off his beard and cut his hair. Turned civilized.
If he could do it, I can do it, too.
Maybe not the hair. I like tying it back when I work. But the beard has to go.
Shall I do this? Show Hailey I can change. I am capable of it. I’m just a mechanic, a grease monkey, and she’s a fucking queen, but at least she will see I’m trying.
I sure damn hope it will be enough.
By the time I’ve managed to stand up without throwing up or faceplanting, I hear voices in th
e living room. And by the time I make it to my bedroom door and reach for the handle, it turns and Hailey appears in the opening.
Her hair piled up on top of her hair, golden strands framing her face, and wearing nothing.