-1Chapter 7- Numb

If there was ever a time where a woman could give the incredible hulk a run for his money…then that time would be now. I could probably lift or tear through 5 buses if I wanted.

Ugh, I’m just so angry, so frustrated, so hurt, so just all these emotions bottled in one. It wasn’t just that those morons hurt or possibly hurt Bren that made me angry, believe me it was, but it was more than that. It was the thought that has been plaguing my mind for awhile…that I’m treated differently.

Ever since mom left, nothing has been quite right. For the first 5 months or so, dad was just depressed, barely speaking to anyone or even doing anything besides going to work, but then one day he suddenly started yelling at me for some reason.

---

I was in the living room, sitting on the couch., watching reruns of Flavor of Love when I heard the door open. I looked up to see it was dad that came home.

“Hi dad. How was work?” I asked happily.

He gave me this look, like don’t talk to me or I’ll kill you look. “Fine.” he simply answered. My woman’s intuition told me something was wrong. My gut instinct told me to ask about it. I should have never asked….

“Is something wrong? I mean you usually have more to say about how work went then just a simple fine.”

He slowly turned to me, his right hand shaking. “Is something wrong? Is something wrong?! What the hell do you think! My wife is gone. I have two children to take care of. And now my boss is laying me off and you have the nerve to ask what is wrong. Damn it all to hell! Why must you mock me! Why did you leave me all alone!” he suddenly grabbed me and started shaking me.

“Stop it! You’re scaring me!” I yelled. “Let go!”

“I’m scaring you?! You scared me when I learned you had to go to rehab and could possibly die if you didn’t get treatment soon. And I’m not letting you go till you tell me why you turned to drugs! And why you left me in shambles!”

“Dad! It’s me, Hailey!” I tried to get through to him that I was his daughter, not his wife.

“Why are you lying to me? Why are torturing me like this? My life is a wreck because of this. Because of you. I’m fired because of you! It’s all your fault! All your fault!” he echoed these words over and over as he slapped me. Very hard. I was on the ground, crying.

My face hurt like a son of a bitch. He kept on hurting me. Kicking me. Punching me. Anything to let his anger out. Lucky for me, a neighbor just happened to pop in at the very time to see what happened. I really don’t remember what happened after that. I was thrown unconscious for about a week….

----

I pretty much think that is the worst memory of my life that happened. I cried everyday for some reason. The tears just poured out of me like a faucet. Even though all my friends were there to help me get through it…it was still pretty hard.

I wished, still do, that mom would just come home and everything would just go back to the way it was…unfortunately…that could never happen, not now, not ever again…

Tell me how u love me more
And how u think I’m sexy baby

My eyes fluttered open as I heard singing coming from somewhere. I groggily stretched my arms over my head as I looked around. Huh? This wasn’t my room. And I don’t remember going to anyone’s house so where am I?

That u don’t want nobody else
U don’t want this guy u don’t want that guy u wanna

More singing but it sounds like its coming from behind the door. I couldn’t recognize the voice but it sounded familiar.

I’m lost without u
Cant help myself

Whoever was singing it…really had a good voice. Better than Heath when he’s in the shower…shower….shower! That’s where the person was. Time to investigate who was in the shower and who’s house this was.

I threw my legs on the side of the bed to notice that I had an black shorts that were entirely too big for me and gray sweatshirt. Where are my clothes?! And who the hell undressed me?! I made my way over to the door and was about to knock when the door suddenly burst open to reveal a half naked Jordan.

He smiled. “So you’re finally awake. That’s good to know.”

I panicked for some reason and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Did we do it?!”

He laughed heartily, holding his ribs to keep from laughing so hard. “No.” he breathed out, calming himself down and wiping the tears from his eyes. “Why exactly would you think that?”

“Well, I’m here in your room, sleeping in your bed…I mean what was I supposed to think?!”

“That you were just sleeping in my bed.” he answered as if I was stupid. He slightly moved me out the way so he could place himself on his bed. “And another thing. Even if we did do it, do you think that you would be fully clothed?”

Damn. He had me there. I wouldn’t be fully clothed if we had sex. “I guess not.”

“Exactly.” he replied smartly.

“Okay if we didn’t do it then why am I here in your room? And why do I have different clothes on?” I inquired confusingly.

He gave a huge sigh and waved me over to sit next to him as he told me the story.

A few minutes later

“You’ve got to be kidding me?!” I exclaimed shockingly. Jordan just finished telling me everything that happened. I was found passed out on the park bench with a high fever, high blood pressure, and runny nose. I don’t remember passing out. All I remember is I went to the park, threw rocks across the lily pond, watched people on a park bench, and angrily picked grass.

“Nope. It’s all true. And you’re lucky I found you when I did or you could have died.” he said, his eyes looking at me with concern. “What were you doing out in the rain anyway?”

“It wasn’t raining when I went to the park. The weather was cloudy.” I argued.

“But still, the point is that you could have seriously died.”

“I’m sorry but it’s not like I wanted to freaking pass out! I don’t even remember passing out!”

He shook his head. “How do you not remember? And what were you doing in the park early in the morning dressed in barely anything?!”

“I was pissed off at a lot of people. Mainly my family. So I left and went to the park to blow off some steam.” I argued huffily, my eyes narrowing at him. He’s making it seem like it’s my fault that I passed out. “And how dare you insinuate that it’s my fault?!”

His eyes glared at angrily. “I’m not saying that you idiot!”

“Then what the hell are you saying since I’m such an idiot?!”

“I’m saying I was fucking worried about you okay?!” he yelled heatedly. He was worried about me? But that’s…well impossible!

“You were worried about me?” I questioned sweetly.

“Yeah I was.” he calmed down a bit, his anger subsiding. “You had me scared to death.”

“Oh” was my Oscar winning answer. It was kind of difficult to grasp. I mean the guy pisses me off then he’s worried about me. It doesn’t make any sense.

“Oh, you’re finally awake!!” a shrill voice exclaimed. Me and Jordan turned to look to see a woman standing in the doorway. A very young looking and gorgeous woman.

Long mahogany hair that flowed down in a wave of curls, bright Prussian blue eyes, thin nose, high cheekbones, slender and petite figure, and lightly tanned skin that was no where near fake. I literally felt small, not in height wise of course, and ugly. Just being in the same room with her makes me want to go into hiding.

“Yeah she woke up five minutes after I hopped in the shower.” Jordan remarked informally.

“I’m glad!” the woman exclaimed. “For if she didn’t, I would had to do something drastic.”

“Uh..” I blinked confusingly. My mind not comprehending what was going on.

The woman turned to me, bright smile on her face, and walked over to me. For a second, she looked me up and down, then patted me on the head like I was a dog. “What a pretty girl. Jordan, you must be proud to have such a lovely girlfriend although I didn’t know. How come I wasn’t informed of this?!”

Jordan rolled his eyes but a small smile was on his face. “Mom, she isn’t my girlfriend. I have another girlfriend anyway. And I don’t always have to tell you of when I get a new girlfriend.”

I stared at them in bewilderment. This woman was Jordan’s mother? No way. They don’t even look the same. Although, her and Rebecca have the same kind of eyes.

“Never mind that other girlfriend. Dump her. Take this pretty girl instead!” She turned to me again. “What’s your name darlin?”

“Hailey Matthews.” I spoke firmly, no hint of intimidation or nervousness in my voice.

“Matthews? Any relation to Karen Matthews?”

I nodded amiably. “Yes. She’s my mother.”

“Oh my gosh! This is great, just great! Don’t you worry Jordan dear, I’m gonna take good care of Hailey here.” she giggled bubbly. This woman is slightly scaring me with her perky personality. But how does she know my mother? I didn’t think mom associated with the rich and optimistic.

Jordan beat me to the question. “Mother. How do you know Hailey’s mom?”

“Well…Karen is my best friend. She and I knew each other since third grade where she beat up some bullies who were picking on me. Actually, she was quite mean when I met her. Karen told me when she got done beating up the bullies that I should stop being such a weakling and toughen up.” she laughed happily. “From that day on…I started hanging out with her. I was the short, girly one and she was the kick ass tomboy. Sure, I got on her nerves most of the time but she never stopped hanging with me.”

I had no idea mom knew her. And better still, that she was her best friend.

She softened up, her smile fading, her eyes flashed with sadness. “Then it happened. I hadn’t notice for the longest but I soon picked up on it. I couldn’t fathom why she started doing it. She was a tough cookie, why would she let things like that overcome her?”

“Huh?” Jordan looked at his mother in confusion. “What do you mean? What things are you talking about?”

“She means that my mom started doing drugs.” I answered for her. My voice slightly quivering. This was always a touchy subject for me to talk about.

Jordan’s face went melancholic, his eyes looking downward. His mom’s was just solemn.

“I’m sorry.” Jordan announced apologetically. “I had no idea.”

“It’s alright.” I said, fiddling with the hem of the long shirt.

All was silent for a moment or two. Not even the birds outside were chirping. It was almost creepy how a little sob story can bring everyone to close their mouths.

I stared perplexedly at Jordan’s mom. She was sitting in a black swivel chair, passive in her own thoughts. Her face was emotionless. Not even a small smile coveted her face. I could tell that she wanted to let her emotions out. Anger, sadness, regret. But she was holding back. Almost as if she didn’t want anyone to see that side of her.

She finally looked up and placated that same smile she had on earlier. “Hailey darlin! I bet you want something to eat, something to wear, and definitely a shower. Well you have come to the right place and you have come to the right person. Who? You ask. Why moi of course!”

“Uh..?” I said uneasily.

“Don’t worry about clothes, I have clothes for you.”

“No offense Mrs. Princeton-”

“Tracy.” she insisted. “Mrs. Princeton makes me feel old. Old and fat. Even possibly ugly. Oh no! I feel like Old Mother Hubbard!”

“Mom.” Jordan remarked dryly. “You’re 39 years old. That’s pretty old.”

“Ah!” she gasped horrendously. “Jordan Edward Princeton! How dare you reveal my age! There could be CIA agents or even possibly ass kicking squirrels around to kill me or something like that!”

“Ass kicking squirrels?” Jordan asked wryly. “Why exactly would ass kicking squirrels care about your age?”

“Don’t you know anything. They work for the CIA.”

“The CIA? Why would the government organization want some deranged lunatic squirrels…?” he quirked an eyebrow.

“Not that CIA. The CIA. Crazy Insane Animals.” she answered, as if Jordan were an idiot. She then scoffed. “God, Jordan…don’t you pay attention in school…”

He looked ready to burst out in laughter. He suddenly pointed to his bathroom. “Yeah…I’m gonna get dressed.” he walked towards to the door. “Oh and by the way mom, Hailey is a little too tall to wear your clothes.” With that said, he went into the bathroom where he promptly burst into laughter.

“Silly boy and his senselessness.” she shook her head. “Besides, you couldn’t possibly be that tall to not fit into my clothes. Stand up darlin.”

With a slump of the shoulders, I obliged obediently.

“See…you’re…not…that…tall…” Her eyes widened as she took all my tallness in. I’m guessing she didn’t count on me being this outrageously tall. Sometimes I forget all tall I am. But then I hit my head on something, namely a chandelier, to make me realize I’m too tall.

“Actually I am.” I replied. “It’s not my fault. Really.”

Tracy stared at me shockingly but abruptly burst into hysterics. Huh? Was my being overly tall hilarious? I stared at her puzzlement. After a minute or two, Tracy finally calmed herself down.

“I’m sorry Hailey. It’s just that you’re mother was pretty tall, not as tall as you, but up there and I should have figured you would be tall like her.” she explained. “Now then, let’s get you to that long awaited shower that I promised.”

I made my way out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around me. Better be careful that I don’t slip and fall. Considering that I’m not the most coordinated person in the world. With a huge sigh, I made my way over to the bed. Phew! Made it without falling over.

“Feel better…” Tracy asked, walking over to me. I nodded my head. “Good. I’ve taken the liberty of buying you some clothes. And I hope I got the right bra size, I can be forgetful.”

“Buying me clothes? No, no, no…I can’t accept especially when I don’t have the money to pay you back.”

“Pish posh” she waved dismissively. “You’re not paying me back. I won’t allow it.”

“But-”

“No ifs ands or buts about it.” she stressed. “Don’t worry Hailey. You can ask for anything. You’re my best friend’s daughter. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t care for her daughter?”

“Tracy. I’m paying you back. No matter what you say.”

She shook her head and gave a wide smile. “There’s that Karen Matthews attitude I know. Hailey, you’re just like your mother. Tough as nails, kick ass, take no shit, woman. But you’re also a sweetheart and a true friend who would do anything for anybody. I miss her so much…” With a small sigh, she walked over to the door. “Oh by the way, if you don’t wear those clothes and if you pay me back, I’ll make sure Jordan comes in and watches you. And I mean when you’re naked too.”

My face went red as a ripe tomato. “Tracy!”

She laughed. “Just get dressed.” With that said, she walked out. My eyes scanned over the clothes that were lain on the bed.

A slightly tight looking V-neck dark red sweater with black jeans. Along with that was a black studded belt. Hmm…not bad. I looked over to my left to grab the bra and underwear set Tracy also bought. Red push up bra and red lingerie boxer shorts.

My stomach rumbled as I threw on the clothes. I know stomach. You and me both. As quick as I could, I put on the rest of the clothes. Walking over to the huge oval mirror, I looked myself over. The outfit was nice and was accenting the curves I had.

“Wow…you look nice.” someone astounded. I turned to see it was Bren. Without controlling myself, I rushed over to him and gave him a big hug. He raised an eyebrow but I could see the faint blush spread on his cheeks. Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I quickly jumped back.

“Um, sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.” I smiled sheepishly.

“No worries right?” he assured happily.

I pounded my fist in my hand. “Right.” My eyes scanned over him. He was decked in a gray polo with dark blue denim jeans. It kind of, uh, well, accented the front. What? It’s not my fault that my roaming eyes just happened to land on that spot.

“Hailey” he waved his hand in front of my face. “You in there?”

I snapped out of my reverie. “Um, yeah. Sorry about that. Just kinda got lost in my own little world.” We kinda stared at each other for a few minutes until I broke the silence. “Are you hurt? I mean is anything broken? Or bruised?”

“Huh?” he blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“When my dad and brother came over to your house. Did they hurt you?” I examined him over to make sure nothing was broken.

“Oh…” he said, remembering. “No they didn’t. They just threatened me to stay away from you. And to be quite frank, I was scared shitless. Especially when they have two guns pointed at me, ready to shoot at any minute.”

“So you’re fine? Nothing wrong with you?”

“Besides that I’m ravenous for food, I’m perfectly fine.” he answered. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled hungrily.

I laughed hilariously. My sides were beginning to hurt from laughing so hard. “I say we get something to eat before you die of starvation.”

“Or you die of laughter.” he added jokingly. I playfully punched him in the arm. My eyes glittering with the aspects of happiness and amusement. He waved his hand to follow him. “Come on.”

I nodded my head and followed him down to the huge dinning room. My God!! Was there anything that wasn’t big in this house.

A long, rectangular mahogany red oak table adorned the middle of the room. Beautiful red velvet tablecloth draped over the table. Sparkling glass chandelier above it. Along the chocolate painted walls were lovely pictures of women and men, dancing, dressed up in beautiful old fashioned gowns and tuxedos.

“Take a seat anywhere you like. There are plenty of seats.” Bren remarked, nodding his head to all the seats.

“Um, right.”

“Damn! If being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged!” a familiar voice remarked glibly.

“Shut up!”

He grinned widely. “Say. That is a nice outfit. Can I talk you out of it?”

I shook my head in hopelessness. “ And you go back to your perverted self.”

“Ha.” he scoffed sardonically. “And you revert back to your violent macho chick form.” Inside joke.

“Violent macho chick?! I’m not a violent macho chick!!”

“Right…” he replied sarcastically.

“Jordan. Knock it off.” Bren scolded calmly.

“You know this would be an excellent time for you to become a missing person.” he waved his hand as to tell him to leave.

“Ha! If I throw a stick, will you leave?!”

I didn’t notice another presence entered the room. “God! Watching them two makes me feel like I'm watching a pair of retards with buckets on their heads running into the wall thinking it's each other. They just don’t quit. Always fighting over something.” Tracy just popped up beside me, without me realizing this.

“Huh? What do you mean they’re always fighting over something?”

She turned to me and smirked. “Oh come on Hailey. Tell me that there is a brain in that pretty little head of yours.” I’m still so confused. What the heck is she talking about? I stared at her perplexedly. She just shook her head. “Let’s just watch these two go at it.”

“Bah! I heard when you were a child, mother wanted to hire someone to take care of you, but the mafia wanted too much.”

“I fail to comprehend how you can continue to function on any level with an IQ that is three degrees below whale shit.”

“So now we know why some mammals eat their children…”

“Ohhh, let me turn on the part of my brain that gives a damn.” Bren retorted oh so dramatically.

“When they were handing out brains, you thought they said 'trains' and asked for a slow one.”

Both brothers glared and growled. Cracked their necks and knuckles. God, they are acting like their fighting in Rome over the gold medal or something like that.

“How long do they go on for?” I raised my eyebrows questionably. These two fighting was getting real irritating. Real fast. “And what’s Brendan’s middle name?”

She tapped her chin quizzically. “About 20 minutes to an one hour. His middle name is Dane.”

“We’re gonna be ending it a little bit earlier.” I clapped, smiling my sweetest smile which then turned into a scowl. “Jordan Edward Princeton! Brendan Dane Princeton! If you two don’t stop, I’ll impale you both with a sharp stick and have you die gurgling blood in a pool of your own inadvertently released feces and urine!”

Brendan and Jordan both stopped insulting each other and looked at me with slightly scared faces. Giving each other a look of sibling rivalry, they both retreated to separate sides of the table. Bren taking a place on the left side and Jordan on the right.

Tracy stood there with a look of amazement. She then placated her infamous large smile on. “I think you’ll fit right in the Princeton household.”

I didn’t reply. Was that statement deeper than intended? Or am I just taking things out of context? I’m going with the latter. Shaking my head, I placed myself in a seat across from Tracy.

“I do hope you like what we’re having.” Tracy piped up. “It would mean the world if you did.”

“Um, sure.” I said uneasily. “But what exactly are we having?”

“We’re having fried calamari, lobster bisque, baked salmon with a dash of garlic, shrimp cocktail, side dish of caviar, and a small garden salad. Doesn’t that sound delicious?!” Tracy exclaimed bouncily. My face contorted into a look of pure disgust and sickness. Yuck! It makes me wanna throw up! I’ll remember never to eat here again.

Suddenly Tracy just burst into laughing. Huh? What was so funny? She started breathing, still a few snickers here and there but overall calmed herself down. “Hailey darlin. You are quite gullible. Did you really think we were having that?”

“Well…” I started uneasily. “Yes.”

“Oh, you silly girl! Of course we’re not having that. I don’t even like fish. And I had a feeling you didn’t either. Just like your mother.”

“Okay.” Was the only thing I could say. My vocabulary sometimes amazes me so…

Soon the servants brought out all the food. And let me tell you, I was ecstatic. There was baked chicken and fried chicken, mashed potatoes and rice, corn and vegetable medley, chili con carne and clam chowder. Yuck to that. But a whole bunch of delicious food that makes me want to never leave this house or just not the kitchen. And then dessert came and I almost exploded. I was the happiest person in the world at that moment. I was so very happy until some little stupid shit had to open his mouth.

“You shouldn’t keep eating all this dessert. It’s gonna makes your thighs thick. And people are gonna be saying…you could park a bike on that bum. Since your butt is also gonna become quite large.” Jordan remarked smartly after taking a bite out his mashed potatoes.

“You are so annoying that I just want to tear your ears off and shove 'em up your anus so that you can hear me kick your ass.” I retorted calmly. He better give up this game of trying to make me mad cuz he knows I have a high temper and he’s using that to his advantage.

“Hailey. You’re gonna become a barrel bodied macho chick. Even though you are a macho chick anyway.”

“I’m wise to this little game that you’re playing.” I said sharply, my anger slightly slipping. “And let me tell you something. It’s not working. I will not fall for this.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…” he shook his head innocently.

“Jordan. Must you argue with everyone…?” A voice remarked amusedly. We all turned to the owner of the voice. It was a man. Tall and robust. Salt and pepper hair. Dark green eyes. He was very handsome for an older man.

“No sir.” Jordan replied politely. I gave a since when are you polite look to him. He just glared at me.

“Hey honey bunch!” Tracy exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and clinging to the man like a leech. “What took you so long to get here? Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how worried your children were?!”

“One question at a time.” he said before giving a deep sigh. “My flight was delayed by a severe thunderstorm. Yes, I do know how worried you and the children but mostly you were worried about me. I probably figured that as soon as I left the comfort of our home, you most likely cried and screamed like a mad woman. And not to mention, there are two cartons of rocky road ice cream missing.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Uh yeah. You know me all too well.”

“Of course I do. You’re my wife and I’ve been married to you for 21 years now so I know everything that you do.” he kissed her and grinned. “Although these have been 21 long years. I mean after putting up with your childish antics, crazy ass family, and your weirdness...it’s a wonder how I’ve dealt with this all.”

“Hey!” she protested angrily, punching him in the arm.

He put his hands up in surrender. “I was just joking!”

“Humph…”

“Aww. Don’t be mad dear. I was just joking.” he explained sincerely.

“Right…” she replied sarcastically as she went back to her seat. He hung his head in defeat, muttering something about getting some red carnations and raspberry doughnuts. He perked his head up and slightly glanced around the room. His eyes found mine. He stared at me perplexedly. Probably wondering why some strange girl is in his house eating his food. And plus, I have whip cream on my lip. Lovely impression to make.

“Hmm…you look so familiar. I just can’t place the name.” he pondered. “Honey. Who is this lovely young lady?”

“My name’s Hailey sir.” I answered courteously. Jordan shot me the same look I gave him. The since when are you polite look. I did the same thing he did: I glared.

“She’s Karen’s daughter Martin.” Tracy further added, taking a bite out of her salad.

He looked astonished. “Wow…you’re as beautiful as your mother. For a minute there, I thought you were Karen.”

“Thank you.” I blushed.

“I would love to see Karen again. Haven’t seen her in ages.”

Tracy’s eyebrow twitched as she threw a very sharp steak knife at him. Luckily, he ducked quick enough to avoid the knife. “Yeah…I bet you would.” With that said she stomped off. I have a feeling that Mr. Princeton is going to have to do more than get raspberry doughnuts and red carnations…

My eyes watched the boys play basketball in their home gym as my mind wondered into overdrive. Hmm…I wonder what the fam is doing… do they know I’m over here? Does Ruby or Veronica or even Jen know I’m over here? And what about school? Actually, I don’t even want to know about school.

“Hey. Can I use your phone?” I asked.

“Sure. There’s one in the bathroom.” Bren answered breathlessly. I looked at him strangely. “Don’t ask.”

“Okay then.” I shrugged my shoulders and headed into the ceramic tiled bathroom. Picking up the silver metallic phone, I dialed Ruby’s number.

It kept ringing and ringing. Aww, come one. Someone pick up the phone.

“Hello?” Finally someone answered the phone.

“Hi. This is Hailey. I was wondering is Ruby at home?”

“No. I’m sorry Hailey dear but she’s at Jen’s house right now. Would you like to leave a message for her?” Mrs. Moreton inquired.

“No. It’s alright. Thanks though.”

“Alright.”

“Bye Mrs. Moreton.” I hung up the phone. Okay…let’s try Jen’s number. I dialed her number and let it ring.

Someone’s voice answered the phone. A voice I wasn’t exactly fond of at the moment. “Hello?”

I didn’t answer. I just stood there like a statue, not sure if I should say anything. “Hello???”

I gulped slowly. “Hello.”

“Hailey? Is that you??” Heath exclaimed questionably.

“Um, yeah.” I answered briefly. “Could you put Jen on the phone.”

“Where the hell have you been?! Me and dad have been worried sick about you! We were about to call the police to file a missing person report!!”

I grimaced as I leaned my body against the wall, twirling the phone cord. I heard Jen’s voice in the background. She must have snatched the phone out of his hand for she was on the phone the next moment.

“Hailey Rachel Matthews!! Where in the fucking world have you been?! Everyone has been worried to death wondering where the hell you are!!”

“Is that Hailey?!” Ruby and Veronica both in the background questioned.

“Yeah. It’s her.” I soon heard them both yell at me. This is getting quite tiring. I can’t seem to get a word in edgewise around here.

“Yo dude. What’s all the yelling about?” Jordan raised an eyebrow, his forehead bedded with sweat. He was sweating more than a dog in a restaurant.

I put the phone on the wall to muffle the yelling. “Nothing. Nothing what so ever.”

“Hey!” Jen hollered. “Who are you talking to?”

“No- Jordan cut me off by snatching the phone out of my hand. “Why hello there Jen.”

“Jordan?! What the shit is Hailey doing at your house?!”

He just had to tell her that I was staying here. I scowled at him while he just grinned at me and went back to chatting to Jen and the rest of them. I should have expected this much.

“Uh uh. Yeah. I’ll tell her. Alright see ya later.” With that said, he hung up the phone. He then turned to me. “You’re friends are very commanding women. I can see where you get all your bossiness and bitchyness from.”

“I am not bossy and bitchy!”

“Yes, you are. Probably even worse when you’re on your period too! And that’s definitely a problem.”

“Ha! Here’s a tip that I got from one of my MTV books: Do not blame my tone of voice, my lack of patience, or my bad mood on PMS. It’s not my period that’s my problem. More likely, it’s you.”

“Just harsh and cruel.” He shook his head. “How do I put up with you…?”

“The better question is how I put up with you.” I retorted. “Now tell me what Jen said.”

“Bossy, bossy, bossy.”

“I’ll boss my fist in your pretty boy face in a minute.”

“Aww, you think my face is pretty!” he cooed. When he saw the look on my face, he slightly twitched. “Alright. Alright. I’ll tell you. Just stop giving me that look!” I smiled triumphantly. “She said her, Ruby, Veronica and Heath were coming over.”

“When?”

“In about 20 minutes.” He answered casually.

“Great…”

“You don’t sound so excited to see your friends and brother.” he remarked.

“Don’t get me wrong. I want to definitely see my friends. It’s my brother on the hand that I don’t want to see.” I explained conclusively.

He looked at me strangely. “Why not…?”

I shook my head. “Never mind. I don’t want to say.” Yeah, I really didn’t want to say. I didn’t want to recollect that night especially when Heath was involved and Heath is Jordan’s best friend.

“Why not?”

“Cuz I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Cuz I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Cuz I don’t!” I exclaimed angrily. “Now stop asking me why!”

“Tell me!”

“No.”

“Tell me!” he urged eagerly.

“No.”

“Tell me!!”

“No!”

“Tell me!!!”

“No!!”

“Tell me!!!!”

“Do you understand the meaning of the word no?!” I hissed angrily. “Would you like me to say in different languages? No, nada, nein, don’t think so, heck no, hell to the no!”

“Some of the words aren’t in different languages. Actually, only two of the words are different.” he corrected ever so smartly.

I clicked my tongue. “Jordan. Shut your dumb ass up.”

End

Hey I’m really really really sorry that I haven’t updated in like forever. I know you all probably hate me and want to kill me or something violent and I don’t blame you. I have no excuses. I’m a procrastinator. I really shouldn’t make promises that I can’t keep. And I’m really sorry but I’ll try, try is the keyword, to update sooner. And I don’t own anything except my characters and the story plot.

Inside joke: I’m into anime and when Jordan called Hailey a violent macho chick…it’s actually based on the way Ranma calls Akane a violent macho chick or something along those lines.