Take Me On

“He’s not going to hurt you, either,” West says softly as he notices where my attention still lies. “I promise you—it’s over.”


I shift and West drops his arm. The three of them stop their conversation and survey me like I’ve grown antlers and a red nose. West takes my fingers and rubs his thumb over my hand. Typically that touch weakens my knees, but right now, I’m full of angst and panic and all I can think about is returning to the building. “I’ll be back, okay?”

West glances at my family, then back at me. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No,” I say way too quickly. This is one of the things West hates—when I live inside my head. It’s also one of the things that drove me away from my family. “I’ve got to talk to Mrs. Collins about something. Just...talk.”

“All right.” He squeezes my hand and lets me go.

I sprint into the building and down the hall. The teachers lock their doors behind them and I pray Mrs. Collins hasn’t bolted. In the main office, one secretary is already gone and the other one holds her purse. “Can I help you?”

I don’t say anything as I skid to a halt in the doorframe of Mrs. Collins’s office. My heart pounds and my chest moves rapidly with my breaths. Mrs. Collins has her car keys in one hand and a bundle of folders in the other. She’s leaving. I’m too late.

Her forehead furrows. “Did you forget something, Haley?”

I force out the words before I lose my courage. “My ex-boyfriend hit me.”

I said it... I said the words. My vision becomes fuzzy as I wait for the world to implode...as I wait for her hate and judgment and then I realize I crave her belief.

“He hit me.” Suddenly the words aren’t as painful. “He hit me and it wasn’t okay.”

Mrs. Collins sets her files and keys on the side of her desk. “No, it wasn’t okay. Why don’t you shut the door behind you and take a seat?”

Before I can do either of those things, I desperately search her eyes to see if she’ll tell me the truth. “Am I going to be okay?”

“What do you think?” she asks in a kind, thoughtful way. In a way that makes me think that I may already know the answer.

My mouth pops open and Mrs. Collins moves around me and gently shuts the door. She’s quiet as she slides around me again and sits behind her desk. “You look okay. You sound okay. And you’re here talking to me. How do you feel?”

I sink into the chair across from her and drop my book bag to the floor. “I’m tired of handling this on my own because—” I wave my hand in front of my heart “—keeping it inside isn’t working out for me.”

She nods like she understands...like really understands. And the sincerity in her eyes gives me a flash of hope. “How about we start at the beginning? When did you first meet him?”





West

Holding on to her elbows, Haley toes a rotted piece of floorboard in the corner of the living room. Isaiah gave Kaden and me a lead on the place. It turns out he lived here for a couple of months.

“What do you think Jax will do?” she asks. I glance away, unable to endure the worry lines on her forehead. Next week, Kaden, Haley and I are graduating. Haley’s determined to stay in the camper and save her money for college and Jax...Jax is considering heading home.

“I don’t know. He’s worried about his mom and brothers.”

Haley bites her bottom lip and assesses the walls.

“It’ll look better once we get furniture,” I say.

“The floor will fall through when you get furniture.”

“Not true.” I grab Haley’s hand and guide her into the only bedroom. “See.” I motion to the mattress and box springs I bought today. “Floorboards are still intact.”

Haley claps her hands together and the pride radiating from her eyes causes me to grin. “You bought furniture!”

“Yep.” And in one solid motion, I bend over, connect with Haley at her knees and flip her onto the mattress. “And I’m bent on trying it out.”

She giggles and I love the sight of her light brown hair sprawled all around her. The strap of Haley’s pink tank top slips off her shoulder and my heart freezes at the sight. “You’re beautiful.”

Haley becomes serious as she raises her fingers to my face and traces an outline of where my eye had been swollen weeks before. “You fought for me.”

“Yes.” And I’ll be fighting again. Not for her so much as for me. I’m staying amateur and will be in the cage again in the fall. Haley’s deferred the training to John, but what I like is that she’s training along with me, though Haley has yet to decide if she’s returning to the tournament ring.

I yank my shirt off and lower my head to taste Haley’s lips. Shock registers through my body when she presses a hand against my chest. “I have something to show you.”

“What?”