The Switch

Chapter 8: Will

It's eleven in the morning and Hayley is still asleep on the couch. When I woke up and entered the living room, I saw that she didn't have a blanket and I immediately felt bad for leaving the conversation last night. I got a blanket from my closet and covered her with it.

That was three hours ago. I'm sitting on the chair adjacent to the couch, scrolling through my phone. Every once and a while, I glance up at Hayley to see if she's awake. She's still out cold.

I pick up the book lying on the table next to the couch. It's the book she was reading yesterday. All My Stars. Huh, wonder what it's about. I flip it over and read the synopsis. I grimace when I realize it's a romance book.

Maybe it's good. I open it to the first page and skim it. Hm, I have nothing else to do, I'll give it a shot.

I'm about a quarter way through the book when Hayley wakes up. I hear her yawn and say good morning to me, but I don't look up from the book. "Good morning," I murmur, mesmerized by the words on the page.

Who knew a romance novel could be so good? "Enjoying the book?" she asks, looking down at me now.

I wonder when she stood up, I've completely lost track of time. When did she even say good morning to me? I can't remember. I keep reading and she starts to pull the book out of my hands. "Hey! I'm reading that," I say as she rips it from my hands.

"You're not listening to me. I know how you're feeling, though, romance books are really interesting," she says.

I'm looking up at her now, making a pouty face. "If I answer you, will you give it back?"

"Maybe if you tell me what there is to eat, I will," she bargains.

I shrug, "There's stuff in the fridge. Help yourself to whatever you want. Now gimme the book."

She rolls her eyes and hands me the book. "Thank you," she says with a smile before walking off to the kitchen.

Opening the book back up, I continue my delve into the novel. I get through a good amount of it by the time Hayley reenters the room. She sits down on the couch and pulls another book out of her bag. I'm staring at it, hoping she'll let me read it after I finish this one.

She sees me eyeing the book and pulls it to her chest. "You took that one, you're not getting this one."

"But I wanna read it," I say, pouting again.

"Maybe when I'm done," she replies with a laugh and opens the book.

I stick my nose back in my book and get sucked into its fictional world.

***

Four hours later, I drop the book next to me. "I'm done," I say triumphantly.

Hayley looks up from the book she's been reading and grins. "So have you found what you've been missing in your life? Romance novels?"

"I'm gonna be going to the library with you a lot," I say, capping the sentence off with a smile.

She smiles. "I'm glad to have your company. So you liked it?"

I nod and pick it back up. Inspecting the cover, I embed the author's name into my brain.

My stomach growls and I realize I haven't eaten since yesterday. I get up and as I pass the table next to the couch, I drop the book on it. I continue to the kitchen and open the fridge. The corners of my mouth curl down into a frown. There's practically nothing to eat. Damn, I need to get to the grocery store soon.

I pull the ingredients for a basic sandwich out of the fridge and shut the door. I drop the ingredients on the counter and grab the bread that's sitting in the corner. While constructing my sandwich, I look out of the kitchen to the living room. Hayley isn't reading anymore.

She's on her laptop now but I can't tell what she's doing from here. I finish making my sandwich and put everything away. When I'm finished cleaning up, I take my sandwich and walk back to the living room. As I walk past the couch, I catch a glimpse of what Hayley's doing. She's looking for apartments.

In particular, she's looking at one in this complex. I read the URL. I roll my eyes at my nosiness and sit back down on the chair. Hayley looks up at me and motions for the sandwich. Reluctantly, I hand it to her.

She takes a bite out of it and gives it back to me. Maybe I should've offered her food. Am I a dick for not asking if she's hungry?

Hayley doesn't comment on the sandwich and resumes her search for an apartment. I eat my sandwich and watch her silently.

A smile crosses her face as she clicks something. She breaks the silence and says, "I got an apartment."

"Already?" I ask, surprised.

She nods, still smiling. "It's in this complex too. What luck, right?"

"Yeah, what luck. What floor is it on?" I question, slightly more intrigued than I probably should be.

"This one, actually," she tells me, looking like she's holding back a laugh.

I raise an eyebrow. "Which apartment is it?"

She bursts out laughing. "I'm taking Courtney's apartment. It popped up as available and I figured it'd be really convenient if you and I are going to get closer."

My mouth hangs open in shock. "Her apartment is already available?"

"Apparently so. It says it's not going to be ready for at least a week though. She must've put it up today," she says then groans. "She's probably moving in with that dick."

Hayley points upward, obviously referring to Kyle. I make a face, realizing she's probably right. She sighs and I reassure her, "You can stay with me until her apartment is ready. I know I already said you could, but I don't want you to think that because it's going to be a week that you can't stay here until then."

She smiles, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, and don't argue with me over it."

"Alright, alright. Thank you," she says appreciatively.

I nod, happy that she's staying here for a while. It's at least going to make the pain a little more bearable now that I have someone here that understands exactly what I'm going through. I try to not let it show that I'm hurting right now, but deep down, I am.

If I was alone right now, I'd probably be like one of those heartbroken girls in chick-flicks. Sniffly, crying a little. Surrounded by tissues and eating chocolate ice cream. Wow, I'm pathetic. At least Hayley is here. It's amazing how much someone can help without even doing much.

Her presence makes me feel better and then I realize she's going through the exact same thing. We're helping each other, aren't we? Oh shit, I never apologized for leaving the conversation last night. I just needed a break. I don't want her to get hurt by Kyle again.

I don't know what it is–understanding, realization, awareness. It hits me like a brick wall. Since the switch, I've been more protective of Hayley. Maybe I wouldn't be as pathetic as I thought I would be without her here. I don't have to let her stay here, but something is telling me I do.

Looking up at her again, it all sets in. I think I like you, Hayley. I clamp my hand over my mouth, even though I didn't say anything. She's back to reading her book, and the sound my hand produces when it makes contact with my face makes her look up at me.

I remove my hand from my face and play it cool. She rolls her eyes and smiles slightly before looking back down at the book. Shit, am I really starting to develop another crush on her?

Another. I've liked this girl seven times since we met in sixth grade. Is this the eighth time? When she and Kyle began dating, I told myself that I wouldn't like her again. They seemed happy. It's one of the reasons I started dating Courtney. I was attracted to Courtney but she was also a good distraction from Hayley. Is that bad?

Is it bad that–now that the happiness between Hayley and Kyle is gone–I want to crawl into Hayley's life and never leave?