Undone: A New Adult College Bad Boy Romance (Mature Young Adult Fun Contemporary Romance) (47 page)

No one ever asked me about the vampire that came to my house, the one I’d burned in my front yard.

There were missing posters up, and when I saw his friend on the street (one of the ones who had been at the café that night) he refused to look at me.

I pulled my phone out from my pocket. I didn’t have many contact in it, and none who would really miss me in town but I’d promised mom that we’d meet up with her. As I stared out the window it occurred to me that in a way this was what I’d always wanted.

I wanted to travel. And that’s what I was going to do, I’d always thought it would be alone… but now… the idea of traveling with people just sounded amazing. I took a deep breath and reached out for Nate’s hand as I rested my head against Kyle’s shoulder. Again I felt his lips touched me. “Are you going to fall asleep on us already?”

“No.” I grinned closing my eyes. Okay maybe I would, after all what else was I going to do during such a long car ride?  My head popped up and I opened my eyes as I looked around. We were just nearing the edge of town. 

The End

My brow furrowed but I tried not to show how annoyed I was. Instead I forced a wide smile over my face as we stepped into the house.

“Alexandra!” the elderly woman in front of me stared at me in shock. “It’s been so long.”

“I know! How are you?” I used the most polite voice I could manage as I slipped out of my shoes.

The truth was that this was a house I knew all too well. One that I’d spent much time in when I was a little girl, though those days were long past. I bit my lip as I looked around. Still the same shag carpet and the same beige walls. The kitchen still had the same yellow flooring and the living room… I turned to look at it but didn’t pay any attention to the actual room.

I controlled myself, not allowing my jaw to drop. How was this possible?

No… what was… my brow furrowed as he grinned at me. A grin I’d seen so many times in the papers, but I somehow hadn’t recognized. His electric blue eyes (part of what had made him famous) sparkled as he pushed himself up and came towards us. “Hey, Alex.”

My cheeks flushed. I hadn’t seen him since I was 19.
Oh god.
I wished I could forget the last time I’d seen him. What we’d done together. I avoided eye contact as I finally forced myself to speak.

“Hi.” I managed slightly dumbstruck.

No, this wasn’t possible. I had to be dreaming. Why would a dream about him? I never wanted to see him again- not after he left me the way he did.

“How’ve you been?” He came to a stop in front of me. I’d never paid much attention to his music I had to admit, it wasn’t my style but I knew all the girls at work loved it. I cleared my throat trying to force myself to function right. I had to reply to him after all.

“I’ve been good.” I forced my smile wider. “I see you’ve done well for yourself.”

A blush crept onto his cheeks. “Um, yea-”

“We were just talking about that!” Mrs. Mcall piped up taking over the conversation as she touched my shoulder. “Hayden was just telling me about his upcoming tour.”

“Upcoming tour?” I raised an eyebrow. “Sounds exciting.”

I smirked as his cheeks turned a deep shade of red. “It’s really not… lots of driving around mostly. It actually kinda sucks.”

I laughed gently, still trying to process everything. Going through the motions I was supposed to go through.

Mrs. Mcall turned away from us. “Barb, I’ve just got to show you what I’m working on right now, you’ll really appreciate it.”

And with that our mothers disappeared. Leaving me and childhood friend alone. I looked around the room, trying to find something to say. “So… how have you been?”

I could have hit myself. I’d just asked him that seconds ago. My mind raced trying to figure it out. What did he do after that night? I tried to piece together what I knew about him, which wasn’t very much. I’d have to ask Sarah at work tomorrow what she could tell me.

“I’ve been alright.” He looked away. “Just… taking a break from the road for a little while, probably going to try and record another album while I’m home.”

“How long are you going to be home for?” The question came out before I even realized it. I felt my cheeks burn. It shouldn’t matter to me- it didn’t.

“I’ll be home for a while…. I’d love to see more of you.”

***

“What do you know about Hayden Smith?” I asked trying to sound casual as we made our way out of the building.

My best friend turned to look at me. “Why?” She almost snapped. “What do you want to know? I can tell you about his childhood, or his favorite things, or who he’s supposedly dating, or the drama surrounding him this week.” For as split second something I was sure was sadness crossed her face.

I stared at Sarah. Her blonde hair done up in a bun just like mine, but unlike me she was thin everywhere. I happened to be curvy, with big hips and big breasts. I couldn’t help but feel a little freaked out by my friends reaction. Thank god she didn’t know I knew him.

“Um, what’s the story on his childhood?” I wondered how much of it was actually true.

“Well,” She started with a grin. “He actually grew up in the area, can you believe it?” She didn’t wait for me to say anything else before continuing. “He sure as shit never went to my school, that much is for sure. When he was 19 I guess he ran away just out of the blue, went to Hollywood to become a rock star and now… well here he is. When he was in Hollywood apparently he actually lived on the street for a while, and struggled with drug addiction.” She let out a deep breath. “That poor thing. I can’t imagine how he must have felt.”

Sarah kept talking but I have to admit I didn’t hear what she was saying. I was too busy thinking about what she’d just told me. Was it true? I knew he hadn’t run away from home. I remember him saying goodbye to me when he left to travel the world, it was just supposed to be a year before college- then it turned into six. But the rest, was it all made up too? Had he actually been out on the streets or had that been something to draw people in? Had he struggled with addiction? The Hayden I knew never smoked, let alone did drugs.
But that was a long time ago.
I reminded myself.
And you know what it’s like. Once some
people try it they just can’t stop
.

Was he actually home to record another album?

“Alex?”

“Hm?” My own name snapped me back to reality. I turned to face my best friend. “What? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

Sarah laughed gently. “I can tell! I was asking you if you wanted to come to the concert with us. A couple of the girls from work are pooling in and getting VIP tickets, we’re all going to meet him!” She beamed.

“Um, thanks but no. I… I’ve been really busy.” I lied. There was no way I wanted to get caught back stage with him in front of everyone from work. I didn’t want them knowing I knew him. That could only end badly.   

When we got to the parking lot Sarah and I said our goodbyes, I should have just got in my car and headed to my house, but that wasn’t my style. I needed to be bad.

I couldn’t help but wonder how no one had pieced it together. I mean, it was a small town when it came down to it. There were a couple thousand people here but how could no one have realized it was him? I thought I was the only one who didn’t pay attention to the media these days.

As I pulled the car into park in front of Mrs. Mcall’s house I checked myself over in the mirror I would have loved to not be wearing my bun, my face looked so much better when I had my hair down- but I didn’t want to mess with it. It took me an hour to get it up, and although not as long to get it down it was still a pain in the ass. So I slipped my keys into my pocket and opened the car door. I didn’t need to knock, I heard him in the backyard.

His voice was gentle was he sang Sympathy for the Devil.

I paused for a couple seconds to just listen, closing my eyes. My heart tightened.
I should just go
. I wasn’t sure what I’d even say to be honest. What was there to say? “
Why would you be my first and then just leave without saying goodbye?”
Leave for good and never write.

Pain tangled around my heart, reminding me just how hurt I’d been by it.

No, I couldn’t leave. I was already here. Knowing his mom she’d already seen the car and if I walked away now he’d know, and he’d wonder why I hadn’t just gone in to see him.

The back gate squeaked as I pushed it open. Looking around it was like I’d been transported back to my childhood.

Hayden stopped mid song as his head snapped up. He stared at me for a second, then smiled pushing himself off the swinging bench he was on. “Hey.” He lay his guitar on the bench and padded over to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I, um, just came to say hi. See how you’re doing.”

“I’m good, thanks” He beamed as he came to a stop in front of me. “Do you want to come inside and have a drink? I hope you didn’t over hear me singing too much…”

“I heard some of it.” I confessed. “You’re really good. Why didn’t you ever tell me you could sing?”

He shrugged. “Just didn’t think it was ever something you’d care about. Come on; let me get you a drink. My mom’s off at bingo so I’ve had the place to myself for the day, the company would be great.”

Dammit
. She was at bingo. I could have left, now I was stuck drinking with him- but honestly I was kinda glad.

“Have you been home for long?”

And why hadn’t he tried to get into contact with me? The pain tightened around my heart.

“Not too long no.”

“Are you glad to be back? How has no one noticed?” My brow furrowed. Everyone should know by now, shouldn’t they?

“I’ve been staying around the house. I have a show on the weekend but that’s the only sort of press stuff I’m doing. Not talking to anyone, hell not even going to buy a pack of gum.” He grinned as he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and padded towards the cupboard. “It’s been a long time since we saw each other.”

“It has.”

I tried not to think about it.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“Who said I was mad at you?” I wouldn’t deny I’d been hurt. It wasn’t even the fact that he was supposed to come back, and then when he did… he didn’t even try to come see me. How many shows had he played here that he hadn’t bothered to stop by and say hi?

“My mom said your mom told her.”

I rolled my eyes. “She doesn’t know anything.” And she didn’t. She had no clue about me sneaking him upstairs that night. “I was never mad at you for leaving.” I lied as he brought me over a glass of orange juice. “So,” it was time to change the subject. “I heard you ran away from home when you were 19 and moved to California.”

He stared at me for a couple of seconds. “You did, did you? Have you been Googling me?”

“No, I just have a friend who’s quite a fan girl.” I took a sip of my juice as I watched him. “So, is any of it true?”

His silence told me his answer before he did.

“Depends on how much you know.” He said after a long time.

“Well,” I cleared my throat unsure of what to say. At least I’d gotten my answer. “Look at you now, a rock star.”

And I did. I took a long look at him. He wasn’t the thin little boy I remembered. His hair had been dyed black and his lip pierced. I couldn’t help but wonder about the tattoo I saw on his neck. An anchor. I bit my lip. Never would have pegged him for a tattoo kinda guy.

His eyes were still the same, they’d always been gorgeous and his grin hadn’t changed much aside from the fact that he now had a thin beard that tilted up whenever his lips curved into a smile. I swallowed dryly. Quick frankly; he was hot.

“Are you still in contact with anyone use from school?” Was there someone he’d trusted more than me?

I mean, by the time we graduated we hadn’t been that close. Not like when we were 5 or 6 years old. Then we’d been inseparable. I wasn’t sure why I asked him to come back to my place that night… maybe it was because I realized I was losing part of my childhood; maybe I was just a horny kid. I don’t know.

“Nope, you’re the only one I ever thought about contacting.”

My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him, my jaw dropping just enough to form a small O as I stared at him. My mind replayed his words again and again.

“But yea, other than that I didn’t really bother trying to stay in contact with anyone.” He looked away from me before speaking again. “Maybe we could have dinner sometime, you know just to catch up.”