One Kiss (One Kiss Book 1)

07. Choice

Drew

I know I hurt her really bad and she might never forgive me for what I did, but it will not stop me from trying to make it up to her. I am not exactly sure how to do that but I will figure it out.

Today is a new day and I want to change things between Haley and I. I want to show her that she is not alone and that I care for her. My mother also cares for her. She treats her as if she were her own daughter. Does she not see that?

I am eating my cereal at the dining table when Haley enters the kitchen. She is wearing the same navy blue dress as yesterday and her wavy hair falls on her shoulders. She has more make-up on than usual but less than she had yesterday when she came out of her friend's house. She has her glasses on too, but she does not look like a nerd anymore. She kind of looks like a sexy librarian. She looks so much better than last night. The vision of a messed-up version of Haley in the bathroom is etched on my mind.

"You look refreshing this morning," my mother tells her, holding out our lunches. "Did you sleep okay?"

Haley nods timidly. "Yes, thank you." She takes the paper bag from my mother and gives me a quick glance.

My mother leaves my lunch on the table. I wipe my mouth in a table cloth before I speak. "Ready to go?" I stand up and grab my lunch bag.

Haley avoids my eyes when she nods.

She stays silent in the car and I do not turn on any music because I want to talk to her. "I meant what I said yesterday. I know you don't believe me but I do like you."

She still does not look at me when she speaks. "Since when?"

"I deserve that, I know. I should not have stopped you around the block because of my friends.  I'm an idiot."

Now she looks at me. "Does that mean you're going to stop me in front of the school today?"

I have no idea what I am going to do. If I do not, she will not trust me for sure. If I do, my friends will probably give me hell. I have to choose: my friends or her? "Yes," I say without further thinking. I want her to trust me more than I care about what my friends might think or say.

We continue the rest of the ride in silence until we arrive at school. I park the car in my usual spot.

"Your friends are looking at us," she points out when we exit the car.

"Meet you here after school?" I ask ignoring her statement. I will deal with my friends soon enough.

She nods and walks away without another word. I take a deep breath and join my friends.

Brody is the first to speak. "Was that the nerd?"

"She looks hot today," Jason remarks. "I don't blame you for giving her a ride."

"I wonder what else he gave her," Leo says.

I despise Leo and his words make me resent him even more. "Shut up," I warn. "She's a friend of the family and my mother gave me no choice." I leave out all the details they do not need to know.

"What is she to you then?" Leo asks. He is such a nosy son of a b****.

"She is living with us temporarily." At least that is what I think. My mother never said she will be staying with us forever but she did say she is her guardian now because Haley does not have any family. Does that mean she will be living with us permanently? Is she like my stepsister? No!

"Living with you?!" Jason exclaims, breaking my thoughts. "Seriously? You did not tell us that yesterday when we made the bet. We thought you didn't know her."

"Does it matter?" I do not get why he is fussing over this. "I only knew her for less than a day."

"It wasn't a fair bet," Jason argues.

Leo jumps in before I speak. "You're saying that because you lost your car and you desperately want it back."

Jason gives him a deadly glare. Our friends turn against Jason now for making a big deal out of the fact that I knew Haley before we made the bet.

Time flies by. After lunch I am walking to my next class when something on the notice board catches my eye. The word 'self-harm' captures my attention. It is a leaflet about self-harm and how to get help. Underneath the leaflet is a phone number of the school counselor and it says that the number is available 24/7. I save the number on my phone before I go to class.

I believe Haley needs help but I cannot help her the way she needs. A school counselor is qualified for these kinds of situations. I just hope Haley will not take this the wrong way when I tell her to see the counselor. I definitely do not want to offend her.