He's going to think I'm rude.
746 Words
Calvin recognized the younger girl-the one he bumped into by the elevator.
"Let me go!" the girl shouted.
"Wait... Mrs. Drew?" Calvin muttered, recognizing the older woman also.
"Stay away from my family," Mrs. Drew warned.
"I don't give a damn about your family!" Hailey said.
"I want you out of this building, or I'll call security," Mrs. Drew said.
"Just know I have no intentions of taking anything from you," Hailey said calmly, walking past her. She paused when she noticed Calvin staring at her.
"s**t," she muttered, brushing past him. Their hands accidentally touched, and he stared at his hand.
"Calvin. You're here?" Mrs. Drew asked.
"Uh... yeah. Is everything alright?" he asked. She nodded with a smile.
"Yes, everything's fine. I just came to see how the party is going... well, that's an excuse to see my boys. I've missed them so much," she said, and he laughed.
"Your secrets are safe with me," he said. "Come on, let's go." He led her to the rooftop, where she joined Travis and Trevor while Calvin sat with his friends.
"What happened between you and Janice? I thought she was here for you," Eric asked, staring at Calvin.
"She's busy," he replied, pouring another drink.
"Busier than you?" Barry asked. Calvin sighed.
___
Hailey pressed her forehead against the bus window, watching the blurry streetlights streak past.
“Why did he have to be there?” she muttered under her breath. “Oh my God… this is embarrassing.”
The memory hit her again—Calvin’s confused expression, the moment she’d snapped at Mrs. Drew, the way his eyes lingered on her.
“He’s going to think I’m rude,” she groaned, covering her face. “Ugh. Why do I even care what he thinks? I don’t know him, and he definitely doesn’t know me.”
A beat passed.
“But still…” She bounced her foot anxiously against the floor, before realizing half the bus was staring at her like she’d lost her mind.
“Sorry,” she whispered, forcing herself to face the window.
Her phone rang. She sighed in relief when she saw Darcie’s name.
“Hailey, where are you?” Darcie asked immediately.
“I’m so sorry, Darcie. I had to leave,” Hailey said, her voice tight.
“What? Why?”
“I ran into my dad’s wife. She… threw me out.” Hailey tried to laugh, but the sound cracked.
“Wait—she came? But I thought—”
“You thought wrong,” Hailey whispered. “She humiliated me in front of..." She sighed. “I couldn’t stay. She just… hates me.”
Darcie’s voice softened. “Hailey, I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. If I’d known—”
“It’s not your fault. It’s just… life being life.” Hailey blinked rapidly, refusing to let tears fall. “I’m almost home.”
“Alright. Don’t dwell on it, okay?”
“I’ll try. Bye.”
She ended the call.
---
The silence wrapped around her as she opened the door, heavy and suffocating. The living room was as she’d left it—dim, tidy, painfully quiet. Her heels clicked once on the tiled floor before she slipped them off, sighing at the weight of the night finally settling in.
She made her way to her bedroom.
The familiar scent of vanilla and old books softened her shoulders. Her room wasn’t luxurious, but it was hers—her little sanctuary. The fading peach bedsheets were neatly arranged. A stack of medical textbooks sat on the small wooden desk beneath the window, surrounded by scattered sticky notes covered in her tiny handwriting. A lone potted plant rested by the lamp—healthy and thriving under the soft moon light.
On the wall above her bed hung a collage of photos: classmates she rarely spoke to, blurry memories of trips and moments she wanted to remember.
Hailey sank onto the bed and then lay back fully, staring at the ceiling. Warmth wrapped the room, yet tonight it felt cold.
She hugged her pillow, burying her face in its softness. Her sanctuary was supposed to shield her from the world, yet even this haven couldn’t contain the ache inside her.
She thought of the party—Mrs. Drew’s cold stare, her stepbrothers laughing with their wives. A laughter she wished she could join, even once.
A tear slipped free.
In the quiet of her room, Hailey finally let herself cry.
- Writer
