Twenty-One

Haley pulled up to the house and double-checked the address on her GPS. This was the one. She studied it—a well-kept, gorgeous tri-level with a perfectly manicured lawn. It must be lonely for just one person, unless Sullivan had his friends and family over a lot. Knowing the Hunters, that was pretty likely.

She glanced around the car, making sure it was tidy. Everything looked good. Just as she stepped out of the car, the front door of Sullivan’s house opened. He waved to her and jogged across the pristine lawn, holding something small and brown.

He came over to her side of the car and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace and leaned her head against him. It felt so good to be in his arms. She felt protected. Safe.

Sullivan stood back and flashed his mind-melting smile. “I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” Her mind raced, trying to think of what it could be—hopefully, it was good. She didn’t like being caught off-guard. “What is it?”

He held out what looked like a jewelry box. She glanced back and forth between him and the rectangular box.

“Open it.” He held it closer to her, his eyes wide and his grin lingering.

Haley’s hands shook as she took the box from him. “What’s the occasion?”

“Just open it.” He stepped closer.

She did her best to steady her arms as she pulled the top of the box up. Inside sat a silver necklace with an enormous purple stone, surrounded by what looked like diamonds. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

The world spun around her and her stomach twisted into a tight knot. Her breathing grew labored. Everything seemed to close in on her. She struggled to breathe normally.

“Can I help you put it on?” Sullivan asked.

She looked up and nodded. Her hands shook all the more—she nearly dropped the box.

He grabbed it and pulled the chain from the box and held it up, smiling. “It’s almost as gorgeous as you.”

Haley forced a smile. She struggled to take a deep breath. Her body only gave her short, shallow breaths. A lump started to form in her throat and tears stung her eyes. The shaking moved from her hands up her arms and down into her body. Her fingertips grew cold.

Sullivan reached around behind her head and then stepped back. The necklace fell into place, the metal cool against her skin. He smiled all the wider. “It’s lovely. Want to see?” He held up his phone to snap a picture.

Haley nodded, unable to speak. She tried to smile, sure she’d failed.

He took the picture and showed her. All she could see was the fear in her eyes and the paleness of her complexion. She should’ve worn bronzer.

“What do you think?”

“I-I… It’s really pretty.”

“You make it even more so.” He brushed his lips across hers and held open the driver’s side door for her. “Where are we going?”

Haley shook her head, trying to clear it. The date. Focus on that. She cleared her throat and tried to smile. “It’s a surprise, remember?”

“I can’t wait to see what you have in mind.” He gestured for her to get in. Once she was seated, he closed the door and walked over to the passenger side. She unlocked the doors and he climbed in.

Haley started the car and kept her gaze forward. She blinked back tears and tried to ignore the ever-growing lump in her throat. She’d done this to herself. If she hadn’t insisted on surprising Sullivan on the location of the date, he probably wouldn’t have thought to shock her with the gift.

“Still won’t tell me where we’re going?” he teased.

She pulled out onto the road, her hands still shaking. Though the necklace had warmed, she still felt it—like the weight of shackles and a chain. “Y-you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Sullivan spoke about something, but Haley couldn’t focus on a thing he said. All of her attention was on the road—because if it wasn’t, she would probably veer off into the other lane and kill them both.

Memories of her dad kept popping into her mind. She tried to shove them aside, but for every one that she did, two or three more forced their way to the surface.

How many times had he brought home gifts—usually for Mom, but sometimes for Haley and Jensyn, too—to say sorry for something he’d done? But they were never true apologies. They were meant to make the gift receiver not only feel guilty for ‘making’ Dad lose his temper or break something, but that wasn’t the worst of it. There were always strings attached, and along with those strings also came a bigger blowup not long after. The larger the gift, the worse his coming wrath would be—every single time. It was a matter of waiting.

Jewelry always meant the most painful episodes were in the works.

He’d once given Haley a gorgeous necklace with an ‘H’ made of diamonds. That was a few days before he’d torn through her room, ripping up pictures of her and friends, along with smashing the first laptop she’d bought herself and her cell phone. Then he’d broken the lock on her diary and read it out loud to her, mocking her deepest emotions. Later, he poured on guilt trips when she didn’t wear the necklace.

She’d never kept a journal again, and she later sold the necklace online for half its value. Then she’d donated the money to charity even though she could barely pay rent at the time. She didn’t want anything to do with any of Dad’s gifts.

“Are we getting close?” Sullivan’s voice broke through Haley’s memories.

She glanced around, realizing she’d missed her turn. Her cheeks warmed. “Almost there.” She turned right and took a longer, more complicated route.

“You’re just trying to confuse me, aren’t you?” Sullivan laughed.

“You caught me,” Haley fibbed. She forced a smile and turned to him.

He ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

Haley’s cheeks warmed all the more. He seemed so sincere. She took a deep breath and smiled before turning her attention back to the stoplight. It was time to calm down. Sullivan wasn’t her dad. He wasn’t going to turn around and destroy her. Normal people gave gifts out of the kindness of their hearts. That was all this was. It wasn’t a threat of something horrible.

She was completely overreacting to a sweet gesture. Part of her wanted to smash another one of Dad’s pictures—or maybe visit the cemetery and stomp on his plot. Or perhaps start a new diary and write out every ugly feeling she had toward him. Then she could read them to him, and this time, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Haley sat taller. Yes, she would take her frustrations out on her father—the one who deserved them—and pull herself together for Sullivan. He could probably tell she was agitated, and it wasn’t his fault. She focused on how safe she’d felt in his arms. That was the reality. He actually cared about her. His words were more than lip service to keep her compliant.

She steadied her breathing and tried to focus on what he was saying. 

The car was quiet other than the music softly playing.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Now it’s my turn to be lost in my thoughts but from here on out, you have my full attention.”

He placed his hand on her knee. “No worries. I’m certainly in no position to complain. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. My mind’s just getting the best of me this evening.”

Sullivan squeezed her knee and pulled his hand back. “Seems to be going around. After driving in circles, you won’t give me a hint? We’ve left Enchantment Bay, so I’m especially curious now.”

Haley stopped at a light and turned to him. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

“Not when I want something.” He held her gaze.

She felt lightheaded. 

“Light’s green.”

Haley snapped her attention back to the front of the car. It was going to be a long night. Luckily, only a few more turns and they would be there, and they would have something else to focus on. Her heart drummed against her ribcage the rest of the way until she pulled into the parking lot.

“What is this place?” he asked.

“It’s where you’re going to get messy.” She managed an actual smile. “I hope you’re ready.”

He laughed. “Me, too.”

They got out of the car and headed into the pottery studio. She watched as Sullivan looked around at the items on display.

“Are we going to throw clay?” His eyes were wide and looked nervous.

Haley shook her head. “We’re going to paint.”

He sighed in relief. “I can handle that.”

She led him to the right into a room filled with people painting various dishes and artwork. “It’s actually rather relaxing. I used to come here in high school to get away from everything.” She’d given away most of her creations as gifts after her dad had broken the first few.

Sullivan glanced around the room. “Where do we start?”

Haley gestured to the shelves that held items waiting to be painted. “We choose the one we want and—”

“May I help you?” asked a cheery feminine voice from behind them. 

Haley turned to see Gretchen, the owner. She looked exactly the same with her dark blonde hair in a loose bun and wearing a smock. The woman smiled, showing new lines around her eyes and mouth. “Haley Faraway! I haven’t seen you in years!” The sweet, rail-thin woman wrapped her arms around Haley. “How are you? What brings you back?”

She returned the embrace. “Family stuff. I’d like you to meet Sullivan. He’s new to the process.” 

Haley excused herself while Gretchen explained the process to him. She went into the bathroom to catch her breath and calm down. In the mirror, she caught sight of the new necklace. It was gorgeous. She studied it, fighting the memories trying to surface.

Why was this so hard? She hadn’t even seen Dad in ten years, yet things he’d done surfaced, and it felt like she was suffering them all over again. They were in the past and her dad was dead. Why couldn’t the memories just leave with him? Why did she have to fight with them so much? Wasn’t counseling supposed to have fixed all this?

Tears blurred her vision as she studied the beautiful necklace picked out with no strings attached. Hopefully she could pull herself together and have the fun date with Sullivan she’d envisioned earlier.