Missing Pieces - Chapter 42
Tyler
Thursday
No one deserved to be dealt the hand Hailey was given.
My blood was still boiling at the thought of her mother treating her that way.
A part of me wanted to drive back there right now and tell her just what kind of girl she had given up.
I wanted to defend Hailey. I wanted Hailey to know how wonderful she was.
And I wanted to throw it in her mother's face.
No kid should grow up thinking that they're second best. Especially not Hailey.
She deserved the best. She deserved the whole world.
And, somehow, despite everything, Hailey was the kindest person I knew. She had such a big heart. She was able to look past all my flaws and see the best in me. I wasn't sure I deserved it, but I wanted to deserve her.
Hailey was right. About all of it. This whole time I had been telling myself I was protecting her. But that wasn't entirely true. I was scared of getting hurt again. I was scared of putting myself out there because rejection hurt so fucking much.
But Hailey wasn't Penny. Hailey was choosing me. Despite everything, the amazing girl in front of me was choosing me. And I wanted to be better for her. I needed to be better for her.
I wasn't sure how long we stood there. I loved the feeling of her in my arms. If it was up to me, I'd stand in the middle of Venice Beach for the rest of my life. I'd stop time for her if I could. She sighed against my chest, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Hailey..."
She looked up at me. "Tyler."
I let myself get lost in her brown eyes.
I let myself see a future. I let myself dive so deep that I would never break the surface again.
My whole life I had been blind. Hailey Shaw was everything I had been missing.
Everything. And I was done fighting it. I was done trying to protect myself from pain.
Because what was the point? Bad things happened.
And if you didn't embrace the good moments, the painful ones would swallow you whole.
I was done drowning. I wanted anything she'd give me.
The ocean breeze made her hair dance across her face.
I tucked the loose strands behind her ear as she smiled up at me.
I wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't force the words out of my mouth.
Because I knew how hard it was to lose my dad.
I knew how much it hurt. And I wasn't going to lie to her.
But I also wasn't going to just do nothing.
She needed to get back home to her father.
She needed money. I'd help her with both, whether she wanted me to or not.
"What now?" she said as she stared up at me.
"Now you go home. And I..."
She put her finger against my lips. "No, not yet. Just for this one moment, let's be us. Uncomplicated, easy. I need something to hold on to." She shook her head. "For some reason you're the only person that makes me feel strong enough to deal with everything."
I pressed my lips together. I was already holding on to every moment of this trip.
Her face was imprinted in my mind. And she was giving me strength to face my fears tomorrow.
As much as I wanted to spend one more day together, though, I couldn't ask her to stay.
I couldn't let her live with as much regret as I did.
"I'm going to take you to the airport. You have to go home. "
She lowered her eyebrows slightly. "I'm not ready."
"Hailey, you can't put it off. You need to be there when..."
"He dies?" Her voice wavered slightly. "You think I don't know that?
I'm just asking for one day. Just one more day.
" She glanced toward the ocean. "He has four months to live.
And I'm not giving up hope yet. This is a setback, but I'll find another way.
I always find another way. I'll do whatever it takes.
He's not going to die. I just need...one more day.
" She looked back up at me. "And we haven't even touched the Pacific Ocean yet. "
Despite all that she was going through, there was still a twinkle in her eye. That playfulness made me follow her down to the water. I loved her optimism. I loved everything about her. But most of all, I loved that she made me feel like I wasn't missing any pieces anymore.
Her laughter made me smile as we stepped into the water.
"Jesus, it's freezing!" she squealed. She tried to run back toward the hot sand, but I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her in place.
"Is it everything you hoped it would be?"
"No! It's so cold!"
I laughed and released her from my grip.
"And, actually, it smells kinda weird." She retreated to the sand.
I shook my head. "That's how the ocean smells. Like salt."
Hailey scrunched up her nose. "It smells more like fish to me."
I laughed. "You know what? I have an idea. Come with me." I grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" she asked as we walked past the car.
"I was hoping we'd wind up at Venice Beach. I was doing some research the other day about things to see here."
"And..." her voice trailed off as we sidestepped a skateboarder.
"And you'll see in a minute." We walked down the street and I pulled her off the sidewalk behind a building.
"Are you finally going to live up to the hitchhiking stereotypes and murder me?" Her fingers tightened around me, contradicting her words.
"Eh, not today. Wait," I said and turned her around to face me. "Close your eyes."
"Tyler, I don't think..."
"Just do it, Hails."
She pressed her lips together and shook her head at me. But after a brief stare-down she slowly closed her eyes.
"No peeking," I said as I grabbed her hand and led her past the building.
"Now I really am worried..."
I would have been in awe of what was in front of me if I wasn't completely in awe of Hailey. I stopped, grabbed her shoulders, and turned her toward the canals. "Okay...open your eyes."
"Oh my God." She seemed completely transfixed as she walked onto the small bridge. "What is this place?"
"The Venice canals. They made them to look like Venice, Italy.
" I joined her on the little bridge. She was looking out at the water, where more little bridges could be seen in the distance.
Colorful houses were on either side of the canal.
It was almost like we had stepped into a different world.
And maybe time did stop for a minute, because the smile on Hailey's face would last a lifetime in my mind.
"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Her smile grew even wider.
I wrapped my arms around her. "Better than the Grand Canyon?"
"Absolutely."
"Better than the ocean?"
She nodded.
"Better than that speck you thought was a buffalo?"
She lightly slapped my arm. "I did see a buffalo. I swear. But yeah...this is better." She smiled up at me. "Seriously, I could stay here. In one of these houses."
"What about the fishy smell?"
"You can't smell it over here. Besides, I'm already used to it. Really, this is amazing." She leaned forward on the railing of the bridge. "There's even little fish in the water!"
I looked down at the orange fish swimming.
"I want to stop time," she said softly as she placed her hand on top of mine on the railing.
I looked down at her. She looked wistful.
And beautiful. God, she was so damn beautiful.
But time couldn't stop. She needed to go home.
Maybe she did have four months, but now there was this sense of urgency.
I had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Hails, let me drive you to the airport. "
She laughed as she looked up at me. "You're really trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"
"It's not that, I..." I let my voice trail off.
Why was I holding back? I had already confessed my feelings to her.
She was still standing here. And she hadn't run off when she found out about Penny or the investigation.
She was invested in us too. This wouldn't scare her off either.
But I hated talking about it. I hated reliving it.