Page 207 of The Way I Hate Him
I know he asked me to, but he also tensed up to the point that I felt like he could snap the door in half. Shouldn’t I be there to support him?
I don’t want him to face his mother alone, not after what I know about her.
Then again, I don’t want to step in when he clearly doesn’t want me near her.
I bite down on my bottom lip, and I feel my hand itch to open my car door back up.No, Hattie. Trust him. He knows what he wants right now.If I walked through that door, he’d be pissed. Even if I thought I’d be doing what’s best for him, trying to support him, he wouldn’t be happy.
He made me leave for a reason, and I think I need to respect that.
So with a heavy heart, I start my car and drive away from Hayes’s house. He gave me the best birthday today, the most thoughtful, and the most loving.
This is abouther. A woman who has only ever done him wrong.
He said he’d come get me when he’s done, so I just need to trust that he will. Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I trust Hayes Farrow with every fiber of my heart.
ChapterTwenty-Three
HAYES
“How much do you want from me?” I step into the living room but remain standing as I fold my arms across my chest and stare down at the woman who, unfortunately, is my mother.
And fuck does she look even worse than the last time I saw her.
That’s what greed will do to you. It will pull your soul from your body, leaving you a useless sack and a drain on society. Nothing about my mother is worthy. She doesn’t offer any value to this world, and right now, as I stare down at her, I know that whatever she’s about to say will take a toll on me.
Because she always does.And I refuse to let Hattie see that.
“Who says I want any money from you?” she asks, mildly insulted.
“The only fucking reason you ever come see me is because you want something. So just tell me what you fucking want so I can get you out of here,” I reply, raising my voice.
I can feel my skin start to itch from standing in the same room as her. This intense, guttural pain occurs in my stomach, like feeling homesick but on steroids. A dread falls over me, and the little boy inside me, the one who watched her drive away without a worry that she was leaving me behind, begging her to stay, is replaced with the man I’ve tried to become since then.
Deep breaths, Hayes.
Don’t let her get to you.
Don’t let her take you back to a dark place.
“Do you want me out of here so you can fuck your girlfriend more?”
My molars grind together. “She’s not my girlfriend,” I answer, knowing that’s a bald-faced lie. The last thing I need is for her to hold that over my head. The less she knows about me, the better.
If she knew I had a girlfriend, someone I actually cared about, she’d find a way to use it against me. And then torture me.
Torture her.
It’s best she thinks we’re nothing.
“She seemed pretty intimate with you.”
“She’s delusional,” I say. “Just a good fuck.”
“Your father used to say things like that, you know? Look where that got him.”
“Wouldn’t know,” I say. “He drove away before I could get to know him.”
“Lucky you,” she says. “At least I had the common decency to find you a home before I left.”
