Chapter 6
Six
Hayden
I laugh at my brothers as they try to fight over which one mom loves the most. I never get involved in this fight for two reasons.
Firstly, I’m her first born and moms always have a soft spot for the first born.
Well, that’s what I always tell myself anyway, Secondly, she finally got a girl, so we all know who she'll be doing shopping trips and spa days out with. So, I’m not even sure why we are having this conversation again.
“Hayden,” I look over at my dad. “You didn’t turn the light off in your tree house.” I look out the window, thinking of when I came inside.
“I did turn it off.” I’m sure I did, because the one time I didn’t, dad shouted at me for wasting electricity, and how there are families out there who have to be careful about the money they spend.
After that I never did it again, because I didn’t want to hear the speech.
“I’ll go do it now.” I walk out of the kitchen and then climb up the ladder.
I’m not going to admit it to Olivia, but having the ladder is so much easier than the rope.
As I reach the top I see Olivia sitting on the other side looking out the small window, well it’s more just a hole.
“Olivia?” I get fully into the tree house, and crawl over to her. Before I can call her name again she quickly turns around and wraps her arms around my neck and starts crying. “Hey, what’s happened?” I pull her in closer to me, wrapping my arms around her, my hand rubbing her back.
She doesn’t say anything, so I leave her for a moment and let her cry it out. Five years we’ve been friends, and I’ve never seen her cry. She’s always happy, talking too much, but I’ve never seen her upset.
This week she’s been quiet, but she said she had a lot of schoolwork, or the book she was reading has been so interesting and she wants to finish it. But nothing to the point where I had to question her if something was seriously wrong with her.
“Olivia, is everything okay?” I ask her again, and she pulls away from me, and I wipe her tears away. “You’re scaring me, are you okay?”
“It’s Mom.” She says with a break in her voice. Her mom? We don’t normally ask about our parents, I ask if her mom is at work, or how her day has been like she asks me, but other than that we don’t really talk about our parents.
“Is she okay?” I ask, wiping away the new tears.
She finally looks at me and takes a deep breath. “I never told you, because I didn’t want—I don’t know. I didn’t want anyone to know.” She stops again and then starts crying again.
“Hey, take a deep breath, please.” I cup her face, trying to calm her down.
“She has cancer, and the doctors told us it’s got worse.” She starts crying again, and for the first time I have no idea what to say to her. I lean on the wall behind me and get her to move closer to me so I can hold her while she cries.
“I’m sorry,” the words come out in a whisper as I hold my best friend when she needs me the most.
Present Day
As usual it’s busy as we walk into Skyline, Cain bought this business when it was nothing, now it’s the best in the area, people travel from all over for a night out at Skyline.
I follow my brothers up to Cain’s office and look around at the people enjoying themselves.
Hell, I've enjoyed myself here more than once.
There was a moment I used to come here every week when I wanted to fuck someone without having to talk or look at them.
As the door opens, I hear Cain shouting at someone for fucking up. I nod and fist pump Lincoln as I walk over the couch, my brothers look out the window at the dancers in the cages.
“Get the fuck out of my office,” Cain shouts at the woman, and I watch her for a moment, wondering what she did. One thing I’ve learned over time, don’t think too much about shit which doesn’t concern you.
“The staff really do seem to want to piss me off more and more every day.” Cain picks up a file, walks around his desk, and leans on the edge of it handing me the file.
“Another hit?” I ask.
Since my first hit, I’ve had four more. I don't know why, but I get high every time I get one now. Watching the person take his or her last breath while I watch them through my lens ready to pull the trigger is exhilarating.
“Open it.” Cain looks over at the twins as I open the file, but I can feel Cain watching me as I read it. “I wanted to show you before I did anything. She’s worked in a lot of bars, she’s very experienced to work here.”
“Then hire her,” I snap back at him, as I throw the file on his desk.
Why the fuck does she want a job here, and why the fuck do I care?
“You hire her, just tell me when she’s working.
” I don’t look at him. I’m not sure why he’s even thinking about it, but maybe it’s because he’s not telling me something.
“You’re my brother, and I’m going to talk to you first. She doesn't know we're related, otherwise I don’t think she would be here applying for a job.” I feel Cain staring at me, but I don’t look at him. I get my phone out and look through it.
“Are you joking Cain?” I hear Mason. “How can you hire her?”
“I haven’t hired her, I’m showing Hayden she’s applied for a job and wanted to know what he thought,” Cain tells him.
“I don’t think anything about it.”
15 years old
“Are you okay now?” I ask her as she finally seems to have calmed down from crying so much. I messaged my dad telling him it’s Olivia in the treehouse and she’s upset. He told me he'll call her dad to let him know.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“Don’t say that. I’ll always be here for you. If things get too much with your mom and you need to talk, come talk to me.” I put her hair behind her ear, and she looks at me. “Anything you need, I’ll always be here.”
“Dad’s working so much to pay for everything. I’m not even sure when he sleeps. I’ve applied for a few jobs so I can help him, but nothing so far.” She looks out the front of the treehouse, and she can see a light is on inside the house, so she knows everyone is awake.
“Is that why you never talk about your mom?” I ask her, and she nods. “Why? You know I would never have said anything.”
“It’s not that, Hayden, I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me, or my family. You were my first friend, and I wanted you to be friends with me, for me, not because my mom was sick.” She looks away, and I shake my head.
“Even after five years, you should know me better than that. Olivia, no matter what, I’ll always be here for you. Isn’t that what best friends are for?” I joke with her.
“I know, and I’m sorry. I promise to tell you everything.”
“I’m holding you to that promise,” I tell her. She laughs for the first time since she got here. “So, this job, where have you applied?” I ask her, I’m not sure where I can get her a job at the moment, but I'll ask mom and dad if they know anywhere close to her, so she doesn’t have to travel.
“It’s in the ice cream shop, it’s only a ten minute walk for me. They said they will let me know tomorrow.”
“Is your mom being sick the reason you won’t let me come to your house?” I ask, I’ve asked her a few times where she lives, so sometimes I can go to hers, but she never tells me.
“Part of it, but I don’t want to talk about it, please.” She wipes another tear away, so I drop the subject, not wanting to upset her if I don’t have to.
“Dad’s just messaged, your dad is here.” She looks at her watch and nods. “Call me from your dad’s phone when you get home.”
“Promise.”
Present Day
“Give her the job,” I tell Cain.