Missing Pieces - Chapter 63
Hailey
Monday
Elena,
Life is too short to hold on to all this anger.
My wonderful father taught me that. He was all I ever needed.
He shaped me into the person I am and he was proud of me.
That's enough for me. I sincerely hope you find whatever it is you're looking for in life.
Because I've found what I've been looking for.
-Hailey
I folded the letter and put it in an envelope as the taxi sped through the city. I no longer hated her. And I'd never love her. I don't even remember a time when I did. Now she was nothing to me at all. Now I could let go.
The taxi pulled up in front of a tall building adjacent to Central Park.
I couldn't help but think how amazing the view would be from inside.
That was, if I was allowed to see it. I stepped out onto the city street after paying the cab driver.
As soon as I did, the cabbie pulled away from the curb, leaving me alone in the middle of the city.
But there were people everywhere. I spun around in a circle. It was like I had stepped into a movie. The whole city felt alive. It was exhilarating. And intimidating. Someone bumped into me, almost knocking me over.
Luckily there was a big blue mailbox right outside the building.
I dropped the letter I had written to Elena into it and sighed when I closed it.
One thing down, one to go. My hands shook slightly as I opened up the door to the apartment building that I'd never in a million years be able to afford.
As soon as I stepped inside, I realized how underdressed I was in my tank top and jean shorts.
The man behind the front desk was in a suit.
But none of that really matter. I just hoped this was the right place.
And I prayed that they'd be willing to speak to me.
"Hi," I said. "I'm here to see Penny Hunter."
He looked down at a clipboard. "I'm sorry, the Hunters don't have any scheduled visitors today. Can I please get your name?"
"Oh, yes, I didn't call ahead. I'm a friend of a friend. My name is Hailey Shaw."
He opened up another binder. "You're not on their list of approved guests." He looked me up and down.
"I know. I'm a friend of Tyler Stevens. I'm sure he's been here before."
"Mr. Stevens is on the list. You, unfortunately, are not." He just stared at me.
Was he expecting me to go? I wasn't going to go. I wasn't going to give up that easily. "It's really important that I speak to her. Can't you call her and tell her that it's me?" Would she know me? She had seen Tyler a few days ago. Would he have told her about me?
"I'm sorry, Ms. Shaw. There isn't anything I can do."
"You can just tell her that it's Tyler's friend. She'll understand. Please can't you just ask if she's willing to speak with me?"
His eyes bulged slightly. "Excuse me for one second." He grabbed a stack of mail and walked around the desk and toward the door.
James Hunter had just walked into the building. I swallowed hard. It was like seeing a celebrity. He grabbed the mail from the concierge and thanked him. The concierge tried to hurry him along to the elevator. He was trying to make it so that I couldn't speak to James.
Finally my feet started working and I walked up to them. "Are you James Hunter?" I don't know why I said it like that. I knew it was him. He looked just like his pictures.
He glanced at the concierge and then me. "Yes?"
"Oh, don't mind her," the concierge said. "Ms. Shaw was just leaving. Right?"
"James, I'm a friend of Tyler Stevens. We met a few weeks ago. And I need to speak with him. I don't have his number or his address and I was hoping you could help me find him."
"I'll call security, sir," the concierge said. "She's probably just paparazzi. I'll take care of her."
"No, it's okay, Rodgers," James said slowly. "What did you say your name was?"
"Hailey. Hailey Shaw. Tyler and I were on this crazy spur of the moment road trip and I just really, really need to speak to him."
"We've actually heard all about you. But my wife is having really bad morning sickness. Let me see if she's up for a visitor." He pulled out his phone and put it to his ear.
Penny's pregnant? I couldn't believe I didn't know that. But I had been pretty isolated the past week. It had been a while since I had last turned on the TV.
"You'll never guess who's standing in our lobby right now." Pause. "Hailey Shaw. Tyler's Hailey." He smiled at me. "I thought that would be your answer. We'll be right up." Pause. He looked in the grocery bag he was holding. "Yup. And one extra thing I hope you'll like." Pause. "I love you too."
That had to have been the cutest conversation I had ever witnessed.
"Thanks for checking, Rodgers. But you can add Miss Shaw to our list."
"Very well."
James nodded toward the elevators and I followed him. "I'm sorry about all that," he said as we both stepped on. "After everything that happened, I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't be getting any unexpected visitors."
"No, I completely understand. And I'm glad you're okay."
He smiled. "You don't even know me."
"I've read about your story. About you and Penny specifically. I was always rooting for you two."
"Thank you." He looked a little surprised to hear that.
I knew they had gotten a lot of bad publicity for their relationship.
A professor falling in love with his student probably wasn't usually front page news.
But a professor as famous as James Hunter?
Their relationship had been smeared in front of the whole country.
I had read that they couldn't leave their apartment for months because the paparazzi were harassing them.
They had been through so much already. And then they were finally getting their happy ending and he was shot.
I tried not to blatantly stare at him. He was classically tall, dark, and handsome.
But he looked a little paler than he did in pictures I had seen.
I watched him put his hand out on the railing of the elevator, as if he was steadying himself.
He was clearly still in pain. And rightfully so.
He had been shot three times, all just barely missing his heart.
He probably should have still been resting.
"Did you want me to carry that?"
He smiled. "I'm okay. But thank you for offering."
"Are you sure? I know you're still recovering. Shouldn't you be resting?"
He laughed. "My wife nags me enough about that, trust me." He let go of the handrail and stood up a little straighter.
I wish he didn't feel like he needed to do that for my benefit. But I also understood. I was a proud person too.
The elevator dinged open. James pulled out his key and unlocked the door.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside was the breathtaking view.
All I could see was miles and miles of Central Park and tall buildings in the distance.
The apartment was immaculate. It was all marble and glass and stainless steel.
I turned in a circle. Penny was sitting at the kitchen island drinking a cup of tea.
She was every bit as beautiful as she was in pictures and on TV.
She slowly got up out of her chair with a big smile.
"You feeling better?" James asked and kissed her forehead.
"Yes, you were right, the tea helped." She peeped into the grocery bag James was holding and pulled out a bag of potato chips. "You're the best." She smiled up at him.
James cleared his throat. "This is Hailey Shaw," James said and gestured to me.
"Hi, Hailey." She walked over to me and stuck out her hand. "I'm Penny."
I shook her hand. "I know. I mean, I've seen you guys. Well, like, I've heard of you." Stop being awkward. I couldn't help myself. This was the closest I had ever really been to celebrities. Even if they didn't consider themselves as such, I sure did.
Penny smiled. "It's okay. I guess we've been on the news a lot recently with everything that's been going on. It's really nice to meet you. But I am surprised that you're here. The last time we saw Tyler, he was heading to you. Did you two miss each other?"
"No, not exactly."
She opened the bag of potato chips. "I promise I'm more excited to see you than a bag of chips. I'm just hungry. Did you want some?" She held it out for me.
"No, I'm okay."
"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Come in and have a seat. Did you want something to drink?"
"I'm fine. I'm not trying to inconvenience you at all."
"It's no inconvenience."
Penny was probably the sweetest person I had ever met. She wasn't feeling well. James wasn't feeling well. Yet here they both were, being nice to a complete stranger.
"No, no, I'm really okay," I said. "Tyler and I had this fight.
He might not even want you to give me his number, but I had to try.
I thought he lied to me. When I called the San Diego Recruit Depot they said they had no record of him enlisting.
I freaked out. It's hard to explain, but I was writing these letters and they all got returned and I just thought he had abandoned me. "
"The San Diego Recruit Depot? Isn't that where the Marine Corps trains?" Penny asked.
"Yeah. He was reporting to basic training last Friday."
"Why would he do that?" She looked upset. Like she knew maybe her decisions had pushed him there.
"He had a lot of reasons." I didn't want her to feel bad. "He said he needed to start over."
She pressed her lips together and nodded. "So what happened? You said he's not there now, right?"
"They immediately un-enlisted him. They held him in a jail cell for a week while they closed your investigation. Something about him being a part of it."
"What? The case was closed last week. James, I thought..." her voice trailed off when she looked at him.
I turned toward him too. He hadn't said a word. He was just looking down at his hands.
"James, what did you do?" Penny asked.
"Nothing you wouldn't have." He looked up at her and gave her a small smile.