Hayden-“Have you really killed someone?” Amy asked, breaking the silence.“Of course, she hasn’t.” Lily laughed as she lightly punched me in the arm. “Hayden misunderstood. She didn’t say never have I thought about killing someone.”Knowing Lily was trying to help me escape my predicament, I laughed. “What did she say?”“Never have I killed someone.” The girl mumbled.“Oh. Then never mind.” I put my hand back up and lifted my finger. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”“I think everyone has thought about killing someone at some point.” Lily poured a shot for me. “Even if you didn’t hear it correctly, it is still a penalty shot for lying.”Once the shot was ready, I drank it without complaint and held the glass out for her to pour me another. After I finished the second shot, I looked around the table. Everyone was staring at me as if they didn’t believe I hadn’t killed someone.”“Are you sure you haven’t killed anyone?” The girl beside me asked in a low voice, but I was sure everyon
Dominic-“No one is leaving until a solution is found.” I slammed my fist against the table.“Parker Publishing has already blocked every solution we have tried.” Lawyer Quinn said.For the last hour, I have been sitting in the conference room with Fox Ink’s legal team. Lexus Parker had sent a legal letter to them, as every author I have signed had moved to Parker Publishing, except a few. Lexus had found a loophole in many of the contracts signed with Fox Ink's authors.I knew there were some issues with many of the contracts, and we have been trying to fix them, but I hadn’t been fast enough. If it weren’t for Hayden pointing out specific contracts, Fox Ink would be completely finished. Now, I was forced to pay the authors a large sum of money for a breach of contract.I could technically afford to pay, but that would require me to withdraw funds from my personal account and liquidate a few other businesses I owned. If I had more time, I could have turned things around and gone afte
Dominic-“I will deal with the two of you later.” I narrowed my eyes on the two guards.“It wasn’t their fault. If it was anyone’s fault, it was mine. I stepped away because my father called me. When I returned, the man was harassing Eric. Everyone tried to get involved, which turned into a bigger problem.” Lily stepped forward.“I don’t care whose fault it is or isn’t. It was their responsibility to keep her safe. No one should have been able to get close to Hayden like that.” I turned my glare onto Lily, who stepped back and lowered her head.“You're right.” Lily chewed on her bottom lip, with guilt falling over her face.Returning my attention to the two guards, I glared at them once more before giving Hayden my attention. She was leaning against me, but there was a dazed look in her eyes. Her cheeks were covered with a pink glow, indicating that she was drunk. The smell of alcohol on her was also a dead giveaway.Keeping Hayden tucked underneath my arm, I glanced around, and many
Hayden-Despite drinking as much as I had, when I woke up, I could recall everything Dominic told me. I was a little upset that I didn’t see Dominic when I woke. Glancing at my phone beside the bed, I saw it was twenty minutes until ten.Bolting out of bed, I nearly fell over my feet as I went to the bathroom to get ready. I was finishing my shower when I heard a knock on the bathroom door. Waiting to answer after I turned off the water, I grabbed my towel to dry off.“Yes?”“It is me.” Dominic’s voice was slightly muffled. “I thought you might want to sleep longer, so I made an exception for you not to go to work if you don’t want to.”“The last thing I need is to get an extra perk because I am with the boss. It is bad enough. I was teased last night because they figured out we are together. I don’t need them thinking that I can do whatever I want just because of our relationship.” I finished drying off and opened the door with my towel wrapped around me.“I mean, I can tell everyone
Hayden-“We have something to talk to the both of you about.” My mother said after we finished eating breakfast.Almost every morning, it was more of a ritual for the family to sit together to eat. It was the only time we were able to spend time together. I was in my senior year of high school, so I rarely had time to be at home between classes, cheerleading, debate team, advanced college classes, and hanging out with friends.The same went for the rest of the family. My mother was a surgeon at the hospital, so she spent a lot of time away from home. My father died when I was young, but my mother remarried six years ago. Not only did I get a stepfather, but I also got a stepbrother.My stepfather was a businessman, but I was pretty sure he lied about his job. A few times, I found blood stains on his clothes. My stepbrother, Dominic, was the same way. He was four years older than me and getting ready to graduate from college.Every so often, Dominic would return home late at night with
Hayden-It has been four years since I received the most devastating news of my life. Four years of living with the most profound regret of my life. In less than a month, I would graduate from college, and I was already dreading the day.I was tempted not to graduate at all. Knowing my family died at the same time I was on stage receiving my high school diploma, I didn’t feel like I deserved to graduate. If it weren’t for my best friend, Lillian Conner, whom I call Lily, I would have considered ending my life on the day that I was supposed to graduate.It would be a bittersweet way to die. I had gone as far as writing a suicide note, but Lily had found it and convinced me not to. I met Lily on my first day of freshman year, and we have been friends and roommates ever since. At first, I hadn’t wanted to be her friend, but she pestered me endlessly until I gave in.Her life was almost as tragic as mine. When she was a senior in high school, her family had been killed in a car accident.
Hayden-Arriving at the bar, Tristan led me to a table in the back of the room. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until a waitress arrived to take our order. I was relieved when he ordered a few shots and a couple of mixed drinks for each of us.“I can see that you are tense.” Tristan said after the waitress returned with the shots and then left. “I thought you might feel a little better with a little liquid courage.”I took the two shots that he placed in front of me and downed them one after another. It didn’t take long for the shots to take effect. It wasn’t enough to make me feel drunk, but it did loosen me up a bit.For the next hour, we chatted about random things. I learned he was the vice president of Fox Ink, one of the largest publishing companies in the world. I told him about my career goals, and for once, I was looking forward to it.Even if the booze was easing my troubled soul, I started to believe that I would eventually be able to let go of the past en
Hayden-“Daddy!” The female cried.Looking up, I saw the unknown female crawl over to the dead man, leaning over his body and shaking him. The more she shook him, the more he bled. As the pool of blood increased, so did the bile in my stomach.I felt the urge to vomit again, but I couldn’t move. With wide eyes, I watched as the female cried over her father’s body. I should have listened to Dominic when he told me to leave. If I had, I wouldn’t have been responsible for killing someone.Despite the female’s protest, she was hauled to her feet and dragged to the door. One of the men who came with them picked up the man I shot and carried him away on his back. The female’s red and swollen eyes met mine when they were at the door with a deadly glare.“You will regret this day.” The female screamed as she was pulled out of the room.Once they were gone, I looked down at my trembling hands, still clutching the gun. Although I knew I didn’t touch any blood, my eyes played tricks on me. Dropp