One Chance (Part One) Read online

  I wake up to hearing something vibrate; it takes me a few minutes to realize where I’m at, before I completely flip out. I loosen the hold that Liam has on my body and slip out of his bed in search of my phone. It’s on the dresser and I see it’s going on 4:00 a.m. I missed a call from Quinn who starts calling me back again. I grab what clothes I can see and rush to the bathroom that’s attached to his room.

  “Hey,” I whisper.

  “Hey are you ready to head home?” she asks curiously.

  “How do you know I’m still here?” I whisper again.

  “Because you’re whispering,” she says laughing.

  “Shit, okay yeah, were should I meet you?”

  “Downstairs.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It seems you weren’t the only one to get lucky tonight,” she says laughing again.

  “Okay give me a few minutes and I’ll be down,” I say before hanging up. I quickly dress realizing I’m missing my bra and sweater. I head out and find them, throwing them on quickly, and then slipping my boots on. I grab my clutch and quickly sneak out the door.

  “Everyone sleeping?” I ask as I look around the house. It looks surprisingly clean considering they just had a party last night.

  “Yep, I figured you wouldn’t want to wake up with him beside you and have to explain yourself when he’s not drunk.”

  “Good point, thank you,” I say as we make our way home.

  “So how was it?”

  “Dream come true,” I say excitedly.

  “I bet, he’s hot.”

  “And great in bed,” I say laughing, “How’s Ethan?”

  “Hot, not so great in bed though.”

  “Oh hell, that sucks.”

  “Sure does. He’s more worried about himself than me.”

  “Fucking asshole.”

  Quinn starts laughing, “Right, the fucking prick,” she says causing me to laugh. We walk the rest of the way home laughing and ready for more sleep. Sunday comes and I end up not waking up until noon.

  “Holy shit, I slept late,” I say as I look at the clock.

  “I woke up five minutes ago,” Quinn says from her bed.

  “Luckily, I don’t have anything planned for today.”

  “Me either, let’s be lazy.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I say as fluff my pillows to get comfortable.

  Around 4:00 p.m. Quinn says, “Let’s go get tattoos.”

  “What…tattoos seriously?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  “Sure what the hell,” I say excited about this new adventure.

  And we do. We head to the nearest tattoo parlor which is only like five minutes away. Walking in, the place looks super clean which makes me happy.

  “Do you know what you’re getting?” Quinn asks.

  “Sure do, how about you?”

  “Yep. What’s yours?”

  “I’m getting it on my forearm, in small script it’s going to say “One Life, One Chance,” and it will have small stars on each side. How about yours?”

  “I’m getting an infinity sign on wrist that says Dreams on the one side and Hope on the other.”

  “I like it,” I say excitedly. Before either of us can say another word a girl asks if she can help us.

  “We are here to get tattoos,” Quinn says happily.

  “Okay, I need you to fill out these forms, show me some ID, and we can get you started,” she says as she hands us over some paperwork. It takes about five minutes to complete the necessary paperwork. About another five minutes and then we are being escorted to a room where there are two tattoo artists.

  It doesn’t take long for the guys to complete our tattoos and before long we are heading home with our new artwork.

  “That didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would,” I say feeling relieved as I stare down at my arm where the bandage is covering my new tattoo.

  “I know, right. I was nervous as shit, but that was nothing.”

  “We got tattoos,” I squeal in excitement causing Quinn to laugh.

  “Your family is going to go nuts when they see you,” she says laughing.

  “Why?” I ask worriedly as I look at her.

  “New hair color, eye color, tattoo, you name it. You came to school one way and are going home a completely different looking person.”

  “It will be fine.”

  We end up hanging out, watching girlie movies for the rest of the day, before finally calling it a night around 10:00 p.m.

  The next few weeks pass by and I don’t happen to run into Liam at all, which I’m grateful for. Kenzie and Brody are coming in today and should be here in about two hours. I’m excited to see them both.

  “So how’s this going to work tonight?” Quinn asks curiously.

  “I’m going to hang out with them and meet up with you remember?” I ask worriedly.

  “But your hair, your contacts, what are you going to do about that and meeting up with Liam?”

  “Hair is fine, I already took my contacts out, and I’m not going to meet up with Liam. I’m going to make an excuse, leave and come hang out with you at the sorority house.”

  “I feel like this isn’t going to go so well.”

  “Yes it will; it has to.”

  “How are you going to avoid him for two years Hails?”

  “I’m not going to avoid him for that long. I’ll see him on summer break.”

  “I can’t believe he still doesn’t know you go here, or that he slept with you,” she says laughing.

  “That’s a little secret that we are going to keep quiet on. If I wouldn’t have pretended to be someone else, it would have never happened. I’ve been dreaming of that man since I was a little girl.”

  “Yeah, but don’t you want him more now?”

  “Well yeah, but it’s enough to know I had him one time and it was amazing,” I say with a stupid smile plastered to my face.

  “If you say so. Is Kenzie staying with us tonight or with Liam?”

  “Neither, they are staying in a hotel room for the night.”

  “Why?”

  “Alone time or something like that.”

  “Aww, young love.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  Brody and Kenz get to my dorm without any issues.

  “God I’ve missed you two,” I say giving each of them a big hug.

  “We’ve missed you too,” Kenz says, “Holy shit, your hair looks awesome.”

  “Thanks. I tried something different.”

  “It looks good on you Hails,” Brody says.

  Quinn walks in the door, “This is Quinn, Quinn this is Kenzie my sister and Brody.”

  “Hi,” they all say in unison.

  “So what’s the game plan?” Kenzie asks.

  “Parties,” I say excitedly.

  “I told Liam we would meet up with him at some point,” Brody says looking devilish.

  “I figured that. You don’t see each other often,” I say playing along. No way can I let him see me two weeks after I had sex with him.

  “Is that a tattoo Haley Lawrence?” Kenzie asks as she grabs a hold of my arm to check out my ink.

  “Sure is,” I say excitedly.

  “I like it. It suits you,” she says.

  “I thought so too.”

  “It’s nice,” Brody says looking confused, “Anything else new you want to tell us?” he asks.

  “Umm…I joined a sorority, but you already know that,” I say with a smile, “That’s about it.”

  “Any boyfriends?” Kenz asks.

  “No, not yet.”

  “She has a few prospects though, don’t let her fool you,” Quinn chimes in.

  “Do tell,” Kenz says excitedly.

  So I fill her in on two different guys that I think are cute and sweet that are in my History and English classes. They still don’t compare to Liam though, but I won’t tell her that.

  We spend the next hour catching up and eating pizza that we ordered b
efore heading out. I can’t help how much I miss these two. We need to hang out a lot when we go home.

  We check out a few sorority parties before Brody says he’s going to meet up with Liam. The girls and I are having fun and decide to stay where we are, while Brody goes to hang out and have some guy time. I’m thankful, because I know Liam would know it was me who he slept with in no time at all.

  “Shit,” I whisper as I slap Quinn on the arm.

  “Ouch, what’s wrong?” she asks as she rubs the spot I just hit.

  “Liam’s here,” I state, as I nod in the direction he’s standing.

  “Oh shit,” she says looking worried.

  “I need to get out of here now, I say almost panicking.

  “Where’s Kenzie?” Quinn asks.

  “I don’t know,” I say looking around for her everywhere.

  “Uh-oh.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “She’s over with Brody and Liam,” Quinn says as she points to where Kenzie’s at.

  “I need to leave now,” I say freaking out.

  “Let’s go. You can text her on the way home.”

  “Good thinking,” I say as we sneak out the back door and walk through the grass until we hit the sidewalk. I shoot her a text letting her know we left, but that I saw Brody was there. She replies back saying “Have a good night.”

  The rest of the night is spent with me hanging out with Quinn, along with a bunch of my sorority sisters at the sorority house. We all sit in the social room on the couches, laughing and having a good time.

  “What are you doing here?” Cara asks Meg.

  “I live here,” she says looking confused.

  “I just thought you would be out with sexy man tonight.”

  “No, he’s with his friends tonight,” she says like it’s no big deal.

  “Sexy man?” I ask confused.

  “Her nickname for her boyfriend,” Julie states.

  “Nice,” I say with a smile.

  “So, are you girls ready for Christmas break?” Cara asks changing the subject.

  We all socialize and before I know it, the night is almost over. Quinn and I are drunk and decide to head back to the dorm to get some sleep.

  Brody, Kenzie, and I say our goodbye’s in the morning and I look forward to seeing them in a few days.

  Chapter Five

  Christmas break is just what I needed. I get to spend time with Kenzie and Brody along with getting to see my parents. I also make sure to spend time with Isaac, he’s 13 now and growing into a fine young man. It’s crazy how Liam and Isaac look so much alike. I mean they are brothers but wow, it’s crazy.

  My parents were confused at first with my different color hair and my new tattoo, but when I explained why I colored my hair and about the tattoo, they complimented me on it. I couldn’t feel any happier, I have pretty cool parents.

  I’ve avoided Liam at every cost. I know he saw me in my car, but I quickly diverted my eyes and floored it, so I didn’t have to talk to him. Other than that, he hasn’t been home much, which I’m grateful for.

  Before I know it, I’m heading back to school after break. I’m looking forward to seeing Quinn again, but I’m going to miss Kenzie and Brody. We promise to keep in touch better this time around.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  For the next three months, life is great. I attend the social gatherings the sorority has and have even made some close friends out of it. Meg the President is pretty awesome along with Rebecca. Rebecca and Quinn are my best friends at school.

  “You should totally come with us for spring break,” Cara one of the sisters, says excitedly.

  “I can’t, I promised my sister I would go home and hang out with her and Brody.”

  “So, bring them along,” she says like it’s no big deal.

  “Maybe next time,” I say truthfully. I’m ready to go home for a week. “You guys have fun in Miami though!”

  “Oh, we definitely will,” Quinn pipes in.

  We hang out until it’s time for us to leave, me to go home and the girls to head to Miami. I drive the long drive home and can’t wait to see everyone.

  “Holy shit, I thought you were never going to get here,” Kenzie says as she comes out to help me grab my bags.

  “I hit some traffic on the way home,” I say as I follow her inside. We end up talking and hanging out, catching each other up on the recent activities.

  “Oh girls,” mom says, “We are having dinner at the Masters tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.”

  “Okay,” I say. We have dinner parties often with the neighbors. Before we know it, Saturday is here and we are getting ready to head over for dinner.

  “Girls, your father and I are heading over, come over within the next ten minutes,” Mom yells up the steps.

  “Okay,” we both shout in unison.

  I’m wearing a pair of skinny jeans with a purple V-neck sweater, whereas Kenzie is wearing a pair of jeans with a blue blouse that helps bring out her eyes.

  “Ready to go?” I ask her.

  “Yep, just let me throw on my eyeliner,” she says as she heads into the bathroom. I follow her in deciding to throw some on too and we end up talking and losing track of time.

  “Shit, mom’s going to kill us,” I say as I look at the clock and realize its 25 minutes past when we were supposed to be over at the Masters house. We run across the street and open the door heading to the dining room where we hear lots of laughter.

  “Sorry we’re so late, we lost track of time,” I try to tell everyone.

  “Haley?” I hear from behind me. I turn to see Liam and Meg sitting at the table.

  “Meg?” I ask confused. She gets up and gives me a hug, “This is my sister Kenzie,” I say introducing the two, looking anywhere, but where Liam is. Holy shit, what is happening?

  “We are going to grab the rest of the food,” Mom says, “Isaac can you go get the guys?”

  “Sure,” he says before leaving the room.

  “How do you two know each other?” Liam asks looking confused, as he now stands beside Meg in front of me.

  “She’s in the sorority,” Meg says like it’s no big deal.

  “What sorority?” he asks.

  “The same as me silly,” she giggles.

  “You have the same sorority at your school?” he asks still confused.

  “What? Oh babe, you are too much, she goes to our school,” Meg says filling him in.

  “You what?” he shrieks, “Since when?” he asks staring at me, waiting for an answer.

  “Since last August,” I say answering him, looking anywhere but at him.

  “How come I’ve never seen you there?”

  “Probably because I’m only a freshman.”

  “How did I not know you went there?” he asks looking between me, Brody, and Kenzie.

  “Guess it just never came up in conversation,” I say hoping to end this conversation.

  “When did you dye your hair?” he asks changing the topic himself.

  “The beginning of school,” I say quickly.

  “You’ve always had brown hair since I’ve met you. I think it looks great,” Meg says kindly.

  “Thanks,” I say with a smile. Luckily the conversation ends because Mom and Denise walk in with the food and Isaac comes back with the guys. We each take a seat at the table; I end up sitting beside Kenzie and Mom at the complete opposite end from Liam. Thank goodness.

  “So what brings you two home?” Isaac asks not holding back. He hardly sees Liam anymore.

  “We’re going to live together,” Meg squeals as she blushes excitedly with her news. I can’t help how my mouth falls open. How on earth did they get decide this so quickly? Hell, I didn’t even know they were dating. How did I not know they were dating?

  “We’re thinking about it,” Liam says, calming the commotion down.

  “I didn’t realize it was so serious,” Mr. Masters says.

  “Dad, we’ve been together for two years, I’d s
ay that’s pretty serious,” Liam says shocking the hell out of me.

  The night we slept together I asked if he had a girlfriend, he said no. That was only four months ago. What the hell have I done?

  “I’ll be right back, I need to use the restroom quick,” I whisper to Mom before rushing out of the dining room as quick as possible. I splash some water on my face trying to cool myself down. How the hell could I do this to Meg? She’s great, what the hell will she think of me once she finds out? Oh God, I can’t let that happen.

  “Are you alright?” I hear Liam ask on the other side of the door.

  “Yeah I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute,” I say before giving myself one more look in the mirror. I take a few deep breaths before walking out and finding Liam standing in the hallway. “You didn’t have to wait.”

  “Are you alright?” he asks again, ignoring my comment.

  “Yeah, I’m fine why?” I ask putting on a braver face than what I feel.

  “You looked like you saw a ghost Haley.”

  “I did? Oh, well I don’t know, I’m fine though. We should probably get back,” I say before starting to head towards the dining room.

  Liam grabs a hold of my arm lightly, “I think we need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Michigan?” he asks with a hurt look in his eyes.

  “What would be the point? So you could be an asshole to me there too? Sorry, wasn’t happening.”

  “What? I wouldn’t have been an asshole,” he says defending himself.

  “Yes Liam, you would have. You’ve been that way towards me for a long time now.”

  “So what, you’ve been avoiding me at school?”

  “No, I just haven’t seen you around. I went to some of your games, but that’s probably the only place I would have seen you at.”

  “You don’t party at all?” he asks with disbelief.

  “Oh no I party, we go to all sorts of parties, but I never saw you there, I didn’t really look for you either though,” I say lying through my teeth. Of course, I looked for him.

  “Then how is it that I’m just now finding out that you go to school with me and have for the past year?”

  “Like I said, it just never came up in conversation. I do find it odd that I’ve never seen you with Meg. I didn’t know you guys were an item until today.”