Love, A Curvy Girl’s Guide (A Curvy Girl’s Guide to Shifters)

Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

H aley barely managed to blink back the tears threatening to spill as she pulled into the driveway. It had been a whole lot harder to leave Ian than she’d anticipated. It seemed that each mile she drove away from him ramped up her stress and anxiety, and ripped at her heart. She’d gone and fallen in love with the boy next door.

How had that happened?

Every muscle in her body was tight with frustration, grief, and longing. Leaving Ian had been unbearable. Leave it to life to kick a girl when she was down. She hadn’t expected an ambush.

Yet, there they were.

Verity and her mother stood on the porch like a damn jury panel… How apropos was that? Their arms crossed, lips pursed, ready to drag her over the coals.

Fantastic.

Haley sighed, gripping the steering wheel for an extra second. Maybe if she sat here long enough, they’d get bored and leave. Maybe they’d just dissolve into the damn wind like some bad hallucination. But no, her mother was already tapping her foot, Verity standing rigid beside her, looking just as pissed.

Haley should have seen this coming.

Squaring her shoulders, Haley climbed out of the car and slammed the door. “Well, if it isn’t the welcoming committee,” she said dryly.

“Don’t start,” her mother snapped. “We need to talk.”

“Do we, Mom?” Haley shot back, locking her car with way more force than necessary. “Because I really don’t feel like getting yelled at by the two people who are supposed to love me unconditionally.”

Verity flinched, but her mother didn’t even hesitate. “Love doesn’t mean blindly accepting lies, Haley.”

When her mother had first called Haley, she had been upset and ashamed. But the closer she had driven toward home, the angrier she had become. Haley was sick and tired of being everyone’s doormat. “Oh, so we’re skipping the passive-aggressive part and going straight for the jugular. Great.” She crossed her arms. “Fine. Just get it out of your system so I can go see Dad.”

Her mother’s nostrils flared. “You disappeared for days. You told me you had a pharmaceutical convention, Haley . Then Verity hears from the pharmacy that you took time off for jury duty.’ Pardon me for asking, but since when do they have jury duty at medical conventions?”

Haley resisted the urge to groan. She just needed to stand her ground and not let her mom get the upper hand.

“That’s not—” she started, but her mother cut her off with a sharp glare.

“You expect us to just sit here and accept whatever bullshit story you give us next? Where have you been?”

Haley clenched her jaw. She could feel Verity’s gaze boring into her, waiting for her to explain everything. But she couldn’t.

“It’s not my secret to tell,” Haley said finally, her voice quieter now, but firm.

Verity made a disgusted noise, throwing her hands up. “That’s so rich, Haley. After everything? I’m your best friend . And yet, you trusted Ian Johnson, your worst enemy, with this ‘secret’ and not me?”

Haley felt her throat tighten. “It’s not like that, Ver.”

Verity scoffed. “Then what is it like? Because from where I’m standing, it sure as hell looks like you lied to me and ran off with Ian.”

Haley flinched at the accusation, the sharp sting of betrayal digging deep. She and Verity had always had each other’s backs. But how could she explain something that wasn’t hers to explain?

Her mother let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh, wonderful. So now you’re in witness protection, or what? Are you and Ian spies?” She waved a hand dramatically. “I am sick of the lies, Haley.”

Haley snapped.

“You think I like this?” Her voice cracked as she gestured between them. “You think I wanted to lie? That I wanted to come home just to be attacked by the people who should, at the very least, believe in me? I never asked for any of this to happen.”

Her mother’s expression flickered—just for a second. Then she stiffened. “If you didn’t want this, then you should have told the truth.”

Haley let out a humorless laugh, swiping at the angry tears threatening to fall. “You mean your truth. Not mine.”

The words hung there, thick and suffocating between them.

Then her mother sighed, rubbing her temple. “None of this matters. We don’t have time for your dramatics.”

Something cold settled in Haley’s stomach. “What do you mean? Where is Dad?”

“He’s in the hospital.”

The world tilted.

Haley staggered back, her breath hitching. “What—When—Why didn’t anyone call me?!”

Her mother huffed. “We went in on Tuesday. He’s been asking for you, that’s why I broke down and called. It served you right not to know because you’ve been MIA. The last thing he needed was more stress over you running off.”

“Running off?” Haley whispered, her pulse pounding. “I was taking care of things. Of Ian. ”

And just like that, the atmosphere shifted once again .

Verity’s jaw clenched. Her mother folded her arms.

And then Verity said it .

“You mean the same Ian Johnson my Aunt Nora saw you making out with outside your house?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake ,” Haley erupted as she whipped her head around. “What? Everybody knows your aunt is an old busybody. Half the time she just makes shit up.”

Verity smirked, but it was more hurt than mean. “Yeah, she might be a pain in the ass, but she’s no liar. My aunt saw you kissing Ian Johnson like you two couldn’t get enough of each other. She went inside for a while to fix Uncle Evan some pie, watch the late night news and finish up the dishes. Well, the next thing she knew, there was a commotion outside. She saw a big-ole dog, lumbering in your yard, dragging you towards the Johnson’s in what appeared to be your bedspread. Aunt Nora went and woke up Uncle Evan to go check on you, but by the time he found his house slippers and got outside, you and the dog were gone.” She crossed her arms. “So tell me, Haley—what really happened? Who does the big dog belong to? You’ve never really been one to like animals. Are you now a dog person?”

Haley had had it.

She let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. “Don’t you know a wolf when you see one?”

The moment the words left her lips, she wanted to shove them back in.

Verity froze, her eyes narrowing. “A… wolf?”

Her mother frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Haley felt the blood drain from her face. Shit. Shit, shit, shit .

Verity’s brow furrowed. “If it was really a wolf, why the hell didn’t we hear about it? You are acting pretty calm? If you were passed out, wouldn’t a wolf have eaten your face off? It doesn’t make sense.”

Panic gripped Haley’s chest.

“I have to go,” she said suddenly, turning on her heel and marching to her car.

Verity followed hot on her heels. “No. No, you don’t just drop cryptic wolf comments and run away, Haley. ”

But Haley couldn’t deal with her mother or Verity. She had to know how her dad was doing.

First things first, she dialed Ian’s number as she pulled out of the driveway, her hands shaking against the wheel.

The phone rang once. Twice. Then?—

“Haley?”

Relief and panic crashed together in her chest at the sound of Ian’s voice.

“Ian,” she whispered, gripping the steering wheel like a lifeline . “I screwed up.”

A pause. Then, dead serious?—

“What happened?”

“I… I might’ve let something slip,” she admitted, the reality of it clawing at her.

Ian’s voice was calm, but there was an edge now. “To who?”

Haley swallowed hard. “My mom… and Verity.”

Another beat of silence. Then Ian cursed, low and rough. “Where are you now?”

“On my way to the hospital,” she said, her voice tight. “My dad was admitted on Tuesday, but my mom was punishing me by not calling. I have no idea how he is. But, Ian… I think Verity might know something’s off.”

Ian exhaled sharply. “I’ll handle it. Go to your dad , and let me know how he’s doing. We’ll figure the rest out later.”

But the thing was…

Haley wasn’t so sure they could .