Page 25

Hailey

There have been increasing periods of silence between Savannah and me ever since she mentioned the potential future marriage arrangement for Nick.

.. and Max. This realization has left me feeling lost and insecure, wondering if the fact that I'm not from a connected family will kill any chance of our relationship becoming serious. I try to remain optimistic. Maybe Savannah’s mistaken or perhaps Max's standing is high enough that these things don’t matter for him.

Maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself. I've only known Max for a handful of weeks. I could find out that I don’t even want a relationship with him, and this stress is all for nothing.

But I know what my heart wants. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.

“Are you starting to burn?” Savannah pulls me out of my spiraling thoughts .

I touch one of my shoulders and wince a bit. “I could use another round of sunscreen.”

She smiles and gets up to grab the sunscreen we left inside.

“No, I got it.” I jump up, wanting to be a good host. “Need anything else?” I call over my shoulder before heading in.

“Can you grab my phone? I haven’t looked at it in a couple of hours and I feel naked without it.”

“Of course!”

I down a glass of water when I get inside, letting the crisp air-conditioning cool me down before taking her phone and the sunscreen back outside.

She smiles when I toss her the phone, and I spray myself with another layer of sunscreen, facing the pool away from her.

“I’m glad you reminded me,” I say. “The last thing I want is to burn so bad I peel. It seems to happen anytime I spend more than an hour outside. The worst part is, I don’t even tan either. My options are to burn or stay pale.”

I stop babbling and turn around, curious why she hasn’t responded, or at least given me a polite laugh.

Her phone is pressed to her ear, and she’s clutching her mouth, horror in her eyes.

“Savannah?” I say so quietly I don’t even know if she hears me.

She drops the phone on her lap, her hands shaking as she fights back tears. “Savannah?” I repeat. “Are you okay? Do you need...”

“Nick was shot in the stomach. He’s in surgery.” My heart sinks. Max was with Nick today.

Savannah rises from the chair. “I have to go to the hospital.”

“Of course,” I breathe. “Savannah... Is Max...?”

Her brow furrows, like she can’t comprehend my question for a second. “Oh, he’s fine. He was the one that called me a million times to tell me.”

I’m relieved that he’s okay, but terrified for Nick. I never had time to get to know him too well; Max and Savannah hog my attention more at work, but I know how close he is with those two. “Let me help you gather your things,” I offer. “Is he in a hospital close by?”

“No. Port Huron, it’s about an hour away.”

“I can drive you. You shouldn’t get behind the wheel after this news.”

She absently nods, then walks inside.

I help pack her bag that she brought to Max’s house and make sure the dogs are inside and fed before taking her car keys. I’m so grateful for that night Max had me drive us home; I’m already distracted and stressed, so this would be a terrible time to re-learn how to drive.

She gets the GPS set up as I back down the driveway, following the directions.

It’s an easy drive that involves merging onto one highway and staying there until we’re near the hospital.

I hold Savannah’s hand during periods without many cars around us.

The car is silent because I can’t think of anything useful to say.

I don’t know if he’ll be okay. And I have so many questions: who shot him, are the guys in trouble with the cops—but Savannah might not know, and even if she did, she might not tell me.

“He’s all I have,” she whimpers.

I squeeze her hand tighter, tears forming in my eyes for her as she cries harder.

“He's the only person who gets me. Who understands me.” She sobs. “My parents think I’m a loser for not settling down and having six kids, and I’m sure most of my old friends feel the same and gossip behind my back.”

“You said you couldn’t have any. That’s horrible for them to judge you like that.”

“No. I got my tubes tied when I was twenty-two. The thought of pregnancy was terrifying to me... it disgusts me. That sounds bad, but it’s like a phobia or something.

I don’t care if others choose to have kids, but I couldn’t handle that.

Plus, every woman in my family seems to get horrible postpartum depression.

” She laughs without humor. “I was engaged to someone who broke it off because I did that without telling him first.”

“You made the right decision for yourself. Fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.”

She blinks at me, then stifles a sob. “I think Nick said something similar after my surgery years ago, but with a few more ‘fucks’.”

“He’s going to be okay. He’s tough, he’s...”

I don’t continue as she sobs harder. The GPS says we’re ten minutes out, and I watch each minute pass slowly until I park in the busy hospital lot.

Savannah practically jogs into the hospital while I try to keep up in my flimsy flip-flops.

She adjusts the shorts I let her borrow so she wouldn’t have to come here in a swimsuit cover-up as we cross through the sliding doors.

I’ve never been to a hospital before. Well, there was a clinic on base, but it wasn’t as big as a proper hospital.

It may or may not have had real doctors, yet they treated everything from broken bones to lung cancer.

Dad said our medical care was better, but I think it was just another way to hide the abusive practices.

If someone in the corrections program got beaten to a pulp, there were no outsiders to question what happened.

Savannah seems to know where she’s going, so I follow her to a crowded waiting room.

I stand on the outskirts as a woman in her sixties embraces Savannah as she sobs.

Maybe that’s her mother, or maybe that’s Nick’s mother.

Either way, I’m glad someone else can comfort her.

I’m sure what she told me in the car was true, but I hope she’s not as isolated as she makes herself out to be.

As dire as this situation is, maybe she can get closer to her family.

Through the throng of people, Max’s eyes find mine. But they’re cold and distant. In an undershirt with dried blood on his jeans, he looks at me, angry or traumatized. His dad, Johnny, furrows his brow at me, then asks Max a question. Max shrugs, barely looking at me, as if I were a stranger .

“And who might you be, young lady?” An old man with thick glasses asks.

“Oh, I’m a... friend.” I nod towards Max. His dad is still talking to him, but Max is still glaring at me. “Of Max. And Savannah.”

The man grunts. “Are you the bartender living with Max?”

I nod, relieved that Max has told him about me. I’ve seen this man as we were driving in and out of the neighborhood. I’m assuming he’s his grandfather, but he could be a great-uncle.

He puts a hand on my shoulder. “We typically don’t like to have anyone outside the family around for these types of things.”

“Oh, sorry.” I swallow, staring daggers at Max. Willing him to help me in this conversation. “Savannah was so upset, and I offered to drive her.”

He gives me a warm smile. “And we appreciate that.”

But we want you to leave.

“I can head out then.” I take a step away but hesitate. “Any updates on Nick’s condition?”

He shrugs, his stoic mask breaking. “They aren’t telling us much, but he’s still kicking, as far as I know. What do you know so far? What did Savannah tell you?”

“That he got shot?”

“And that’s it?”

My mouth goes dry and I nod. This man hasn’t said anything threatening, but something feels very off about this conversation .

Max has his back turned toward me now. “Do you know where Max went today?”

“No, sir. Just that he and Nick had a busy day. So... I... invited Savannah over to have an afternoon by the pool.”

He rubs my head as if I were a child. “Great.”

He pulls me in for a hug as if I were his own grandchild. What the hell is happening?

He whispers in my ear, “There are cops looming around who have been eyeing you since you and Savannah arrived. Don’t say a word to them. About anything. About your relations with us. About your employment. Don’t even mention that you know Nick got shot. Understand?”

I nod frantically, wanting to get out of here.

“Good.” He nods toward one of his family members, maybe one of Max’s uncles. “Can you walk Hailey back to her car?”

The man grunts and starts walking with me. I try to look at Max one more time before leaving. He acknowledges me, but it’s a friendly but distant nod, almost worse than if he kept ignoring me.

I thought the old man was full of shit when he mentioned the cops until I see a man and a woman dressed up and leaning against a wall, watching Max’s family. I turn my head when they look at me; I can feel them burning my face into their memory.

Max’s family member puts his hand on my shoulder as we pass them. I regret getting out of the car. I should have just dropped Savannah off .

What the hell have I gotten myself into? I guess the silver lining in all of this is; if I get arrested for being associated with Max’s family, I won’t have to worry about VOE capturing me.

Savannah’s conversation and how Max treated me at the hospital compound my insecurity. It’s clear I’m nothing more to him than a summer fling. A hookup. A fuck buddy. Someone he doesn’t want to introduce to his mother.

Tears burn in my eyes when we reach the parking garage. I forgot where we parked, so I feel like an idiot, walking in circles with Max’s cousin or uncle. Whoever. I jolt when he grabs the keys from my hand, pressing the lock button twice to make it beep. That finally helps us find the damn thing.

“Drive safe,” the man nods.

I open my mouth to say something, unsure if I should thank him or tell him to fuck off, but he’s already walking away