Hard to Love You
Page 3
“Lily,” I try to get her to focus on me.
“Why do you think Brittany went after Dominic, Mason?” She tries to take a deep breath but is having trouble. “Brittany wanted to pay Cooper back for hurting her. She saw her opportunity to do that through MacKenzie.”
There is no point in trying to get any more information out of Lily while she’s so upset. I need to get the hell out of here and figure out what the f**k I’m going to do with this information. If Cooper really did sleep with Brittany then it’s going to crush Jaylinn, even if it did happen years ago. But what’s done is done and the fact that he slept with Hunter and Jaylinn’s step-sister is in the past. It doesn’t mean they won’t be disgusted about it though, and MacKenzie is going to be pissed off that she’s been dragged into this whole mess just because her brother couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
As I walk down the hallway to find my sister and Hailey, Cooper and Hunter come around the corner with murderous looks on their faces. Cooper and Hunter just stand there and stare me down, waiting for me to explain. The only problem is I can’t explain anything yet. As the three of us stand there, Hunter finally speaks up, “You f**ked up, ass**le, and you deserve what you have coming.” Hunter and I would normally have fought a couple of rounds now, but he’s changed since MacKenzie and Ryder. He’s wiser.
Ryder. My little baseball player in training. That’s what I want for Hailey and me, but I think I’ve really f**ked it up now.
“Where’d they go?” I ask both Hunter and Cooper.
“Tell us what happened, Mason?” Hunter fumes.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” I answer back.
Cooper chimes in, “Does it matter where they went, Asshole?”
I glare, hard, “Of course it matters. Don’t be a dick, Coop. Where’d they go?”
Hunter shoves his hands in his pockets, “They left.”
“No shit, but whose house did they go to?”
Cooper and Hunter exchange a look. I stand up, reaching in my pocket for my keys, but Cooper yanks them from my hands. “You were drinking, Asshole, you’re not driving.”
“Then take me to find her, damn it!” I feel the panic rising. I feel like the longer I wait, the worse it is getting. I can’t let her think anything happened but I can’t ask her to keep another secret either. This time she would not only being keeping this secret from MacKenzie, but also Hunter, Jaylinn and Cooper. The last secret almost ended us. I can’t ask her to do that again.
Hunter nods his head towards his truck. We all get in. I sit in the back and lay down across the seats while Cooper takes shotgun. I royally f**ked up, I know it.
We pull into Hunter’s driveway twenty minutes later. I sit up and look at the front door. Big mistake. MacKenzie is standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, shooting daggers at me.
Hunter chuckles. “Good luck man, I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of that.”
I climb out of the truck and trudge up the walkway, leaping up the two steps to the porch where MacKenzie is standing and meeting her eyes. She thinks by giving me the eyes that she’ll frighten me.
She shoves me hard, “I can’t believe you, Mason. Lily? Of all the people. Really?”
I adjust my hat, “Where is she?”
MacKenzie glances behind her before answering me, “Lily’s at the bar, stupid.”
I roll my eyes at her failed attempted to make look stupid. “Kenzie, stop messing around, I need to talk to Hailey.”
“She’s not here,” she shoots back.
Hailey is there, I can see her reflection in the glass door that MacKenzie reluctantly holds open. “If you don’t move your ass out of the way I’ll move you myself.”
MacKenzie looks surprised. She looks over my shoulder to Cooper and Hunter, I guess waiting for them to come to her defense. I know they won’t though. They wouldn’t have brought me here if that were the case. She huffs and moves out of the way.
I step into the house and catch a glimpse of Hailey’s blonde hair turning down the hallway. I look around the family room; Chloe and Jackson are sitting on the couch, eating popcorn with their feet propped up on the coffee table, enjoying the show I’m sure. Jackson gives a head nod and Chloe half smiles at me. When I walk into the kitchen Hailey is slipping her heels on. Once she is finished she picks up a full shot glass that sits on the kitchen table and downs it. She winces. I’m sure it’s from the burn but I can’t help feeling responsible.
“Boo …” I call, using the nickname that I’ve had for her forever. I wait for her to turn around and look at me but she doesn’t.
I wait another few seconds before taking one more step towards her, her body stiffens. I stop and wait. “Baby …”
“Don’t baby me, Mason.” She says with fury in her voice.
I want to tell her the real reason I was with Lily but I can’t chance anyone else hearing. “It wasn’t what it looked like. Hailey, you have to believe me. Did you see any lipstick on me?”
“No, but I just don’t understand why you’re lying to me about it. You never lie to me.” Her voice cracks. She’s livid. “You tell me everything.”
“I’m not lying now.”
She huffs, “You are. You promised that you would never lie to me, Mason. I trusted you. I trusted you with my heart and you know how God damn hard that is for me to do.”
The knife digs deeper into my heart. I’m f**king up badly by not telling her, but I can’t. “I swear I’m not.”
She takes a deep breath, “Then tell me what happened.”
I take a step towards her, wanting to turn her around so she can look me in the eyes and know I’m not lying. “Don’t come any closer. I mean it. I will cut your balls off and shove them down your throat and I’m not even playing.”
I try not to laugh because now is really not the time, but that’s my feisty Hailey. “Can you turn around then? Please.”
She picks up the bottle of vodka, forgetting about the shot glass and guzzles it for as long as she can before setting it back on the table and turning around to face me. Her eyes are bloodshot, her face is all blotchy and her lips are red from crying, but she’s still beautiful. Her hair is a mess, I’m sure she’s been running her hands through it. I reach forward to tuck a stray strand behind her ear but she flinches and turns her head.
“Why do you think Brittany went after Dominic, Mason?” She tries to take a deep breath but is having trouble. “Brittany wanted to pay Cooper back for hurting her. She saw her opportunity to do that through MacKenzie.”
There is no point in trying to get any more information out of Lily while she’s so upset. I need to get the hell out of here and figure out what the f**k I’m going to do with this information. If Cooper really did sleep with Brittany then it’s going to crush Jaylinn, even if it did happen years ago. But what’s done is done and the fact that he slept with Hunter and Jaylinn’s step-sister is in the past. It doesn’t mean they won’t be disgusted about it though, and MacKenzie is going to be pissed off that she’s been dragged into this whole mess just because her brother couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
As I walk down the hallway to find my sister and Hailey, Cooper and Hunter come around the corner with murderous looks on their faces. Cooper and Hunter just stand there and stare me down, waiting for me to explain. The only problem is I can’t explain anything yet. As the three of us stand there, Hunter finally speaks up, “You f**ked up, ass**le, and you deserve what you have coming.” Hunter and I would normally have fought a couple of rounds now, but he’s changed since MacKenzie and Ryder. He’s wiser.
Ryder. My little baseball player in training. That’s what I want for Hailey and me, but I think I’ve really f**ked it up now.
“Where’d they go?” I ask both Hunter and Cooper.
“Tell us what happened, Mason?” Hunter fumes.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” I answer back.
Cooper chimes in, “Does it matter where they went, Asshole?”
I glare, hard, “Of course it matters. Don’t be a dick, Coop. Where’d they go?”
Hunter shoves his hands in his pockets, “They left.”
“No shit, but whose house did they go to?”
Cooper and Hunter exchange a look. I stand up, reaching in my pocket for my keys, but Cooper yanks them from my hands. “You were drinking, Asshole, you’re not driving.”
“Then take me to find her, damn it!” I feel the panic rising. I feel like the longer I wait, the worse it is getting. I can’t let her think anything happened but I can’t ask her to keep another secret either. This time she would not only being keeping this secret from MacKenzie, but also Hunter, Jaylinn and Cooper. The last secret almost ended us. I can’t ask her to do that again.
Hunter nods his head towards his truck. We all get in. I sit in the back and lay down across the seats while Cooper takes shotgun. I royally f**ked up, I know it.
We pull into Hunter’s driveway twenty minutes later. I sit up and look at the front door. Big mistake. MacKenzie is standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, shooting daggers at me.
Hunter chuckles. “Good luck man, I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of that.”
I climb out of the truck and trudge up the walkway, leaping up the two steps to the porch where MacKenzie is standing and meeting her eyes. She thinks by giving me the eyes that she’ll frighten me.
She shoves me hard, “I can’t believe you, Mason. Lily? Of all the people. Really?”
I adjust my hat, “Where is she?”
MacKenzie glances behind her before answering me, “Lily’s at the bar, stupid.”
I roll my eyes at her failed attempted to make look stupid. “Kenzie, stop messing around, I need to talk to Hailey.”
“She’s not here,” she shoots back.
Hailey is there, I can see her reflection in the glass door that MacKenzie reluctantly holds open. “If you don’t move your ass out of the way I’ll move you myself.”
MacKenzie looks surprised. She looks over my shoulder to Cooper and Hunter, I guess waiting for them to come to her defense. I know they won’t though. They wouldn’t have brought me here if that were the case. She huffs and moves out of the way.
I step into the house and catch a glimpse of Hailey’s blonde hair turning down the hallway. I look around the family room; Chloe and Jackson are sitting on the couch, eating popcorn with their feet propped up on the coffee table, enjoying the show I’m sure. Jackson gives a head nod and Chloe half smiles at me. When I walk into the kitchen Hailey is slipping her heels on. Once she is finished she picks up a full shot glass that sits on the kitchen table and downs it. She winces. I’m sure it’s from the burn but I can’t help feeling responsible.
“Boo …” I call, using the nickname that I’ve had for her forever. I wait for her to turn around and look at me but she doesn’t.
I wait another few seconds before taking one more step towards her, her body stiffens. I stop and wait. “Baby …”
“Don’t baby me, Mason.” She says with fury in her voice.
I want to tell her the real reason I was with Lily but I can’t chance anyone else hearing. “It wasn’t what it looked like. Hailey, you have to believe me. Did you see any lipstick on me?”
“No, but I just don’t understand why you’re lying to me about it. You never lie to me.” Her voice cracks. She’s livid. “You tell me everything.”
“I’m not lying now.”
She huffs, “You are. You promised that you would never lie to me, Mason. I trusted you. I trusted you with my heart and you know how God damn hard that is for me to do.”
The knife digs deeper into my heart. I’m f**king up badly by not telling her, but I can’t. “I swear I’m not.”
She takes a deep breath, “Then tell me what happened.”
I take a step towards her, wanting to turn her around so she can look me in the eyes and know I’m not lying. “Don’t come any closer. I mean it. I will cut your balls off and shove them down your throat and I’m not even playing.”
I try not to laugh because now is really not the time, but that’s my feisty Hailey. “Can you turn around then? Please.”
She picks up the bottle of vodka, forgetting about the shot glass and guzzles it for as long as she can before setting it back on the table and turning around to face me. Her eyes are bloodshot, her face is all blotchy and her lips are red from crying, but she’s still beautiful. Her hair is a mess, I’m sure she’s been running her hands through it. I reach forward to tuck a stray strand behind her ear but she flinches and turns her head.
