| Chapter One |
�Can�t we stay longer? Kevin hasn�t even cut the cake,� Haylie pleaded. �No,� Jacob replied. �Frankly, I�m sick of seeing you drool all over Brian.� Haylie wasn�t going to waste her time arguing with Jacob, she knew it was a lost cause. She turned around and began to walk out of the room. �Where the hell do you think you�re going?� Jacob demanded. �Back to the party!� Haylie exclaimed. Jacob grabbed her arm; her heart began to race. �Please, Jacob don�t make a scene here,� she begged. �Look, you go and say your goodbyes, so I can go home.� Brian entered the room. �Hay, I�ve been looking all over for you.� Haylie turned around; Brian could tell she had been crying. �Kevin�s ready to open his gifts.� �Oh too bad,� Jacob said sarcastically. �We were just getting ready to leave.� Brian looked into Haylie�s eyes; he knew that she didn�t want to leave. �Hay, why don�t you just ride home with me later?� �I�ve got a better idea, why don�t you butt out Littrell,� Jacob snapped, putting his coat on. �I�m going out to the car. Haylie, you have ten minutes.� Without waiting for a response Jacob left. Haylie started sobbing and Brian pulled her into his arms. �Sweetheart, stay here with me, so I�ll know you�re safe,� Brian begged. �You know I can�t, that�ll just make things worse,� Haylie replied. �Bri, I�m ending it with him tonight.� Brian tightened his embrace. �I�m tired of living in fear of him finding out about us. And I�m tired of hiding us. Bri, I love you and want everyone to know,� Haylie cried. �Haylie, I love you too but maybe tonight�s not the best time to do this, he�s already in an awful mood,� Brian replied. �I have to do it, I can�t take even one more day,� Haylie barely whispered. Brian placed his hands on Haylie�s cheeks and touched her forehand with his, �And I don�t want you to have to live like this anymore. You�d better go say goodbye to the others, or he�s going to come looking for you,� he said, kissing her tenderly. �I�ll be home soon.� Brian hugged her before walking toward the door. �I love you, and please hurry home,� she replied. �Where have you been?� Sara asked Haylie. �Umm, no where. I just wanted to say goodbye,� Haylie said, not looking her best friend in the eye. �Don�t lie to me!� Sara said forcefully. �Look at me, you haven�t been here two full hours and you want to leave?� Haylie refused to look Sara in the eye, she started to walk away, but Sara grabbed her arm. �Oww!� Haylie screeched. Sara looked down and noticed a bruise the shape of a hand forming on Haylie�s arm. �Son of a bitch! You don�t want to leave; Jacob wants you to. I knew it!� �Just drop it, please everything will be okay if you don�t want to make a scene,� Haylie said. �This is ridiculous,� Sara said as she walked away. �I can�t believe you put up with all of his shit!� Sara�s words stung. Haylie wanted to cry, but knew that crying would just make things worse. She gave Howie, AJ, and Nick hugs and then walked over to say goodbye to Kevin. �Happy birthday Kevy!� Haylie began. �I hate to be a party pooper, but I have to go,� she said with a smiled glued on. �Haylie, I know what�s going on,� he said uneasily. �You know to call Sara and I if you need anything, right?� �Yeah, will you please tell Sara I�m sorry?� Haylie asked �She just knows you can do better, that�s all,� Kevin replied as he hugged her, �And so do I.� The entire way home Jacob ranted and raved about her relationship with Sara and the guys. �I don�t want you around any of those guys anymore, or Sara for that matter,� he said, as he pulled up in front of the house Haylie shared with Brian and Nick. �What am I supposed to do, move out?� Haylie asked sarcastically. �I can�t believe you�re asking me to do that, any of this for that matter,� she said getting out of the car and heading toward the house. Jacob got out of the car. �Haylie, let�s get one thing straight, I�m not asking you to do anything, I�m telling you to!� he shouted. �Well Jacob let me tell you something, I�m through with you. I�m not going to let you control me anymore.� Haylie went into the house and locked the door behind her. She fell to the floor, her back against the wall facing the door. She hated when he got like this. �OPEN THE DOOR, HAYLIE!� Jacob screamed, banging on the door. Haylie began sobbing. �OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!� Chapter Two |