One More Chance (Chance, Part 2) Read online

  Chapter Four

  Three months later and life is going well. “What time is Kenzie getting here?” Quinn asks.

  “She should be here in about two hours, why?”

  “Because there’s something I need to ask you,” she says nervously.

  “Okay, what’s up?”

  “I kind of have a crush on someone,” she says without looking at me.

  “That’s great, who is he?”

  “You know him.”

  “Even better, who?” I ask intrigued. She looks at me nervously, “Tell me already.”

  “If you don’t like it, I won’t pursue anything,” she says hesitantly.

  “Just tell me already,” I push.

  “Brody.”

  “Seriously?” I ask surprised, because he doesn’t really seem to be her type.

  “Do you hate me?”

  “No, why would I hate you?”

  “Because he’s your best friend too.”

  “I think it would be awesome if you two dated, just know if you two ever fight, you will not pull me into the middle of it.”

  “He doesn’t know I like him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first before I said anything to him. Plus, there’s a good chance he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

  “Are you kidding? Why would he not like you?”

  “I don’t know. I know he’s not typically my type, but there’s just something about him.”

  “He’s great and I think it would be awesome if you two got together.”

  “Good. I will say something to him then,” she says excitedly.

  “Oh, by the way, if you want to stay here during the summer you can. You don’t have to go home when I’m in London.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Hell yes, I’m sure.”

  “Thank you Hails,” she says as she gives me a hug.

  “Anytime. Remember, we need to head over to the house tonight for a party.”

  “I won’t forget, it’s not very often we have a party at our sorority house.”

  “Hey,” Brody says as he comes into the house.

  “Hey you.”

  “Hi,” Quinn says looking a little shy, “Are you coming with us to the sorority house tonight?”

  “Umm, yeah that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he says looking directly at me.

  “What’s up?”

  “Liam is up visiting Spence, do you mind if those two tag along?”

  “That’s fine. You know Liam and I talked, everything’s good between us,” I tell him.

  “I know, but I wanted to make sure?” he asks, looking worried.

  “Yeah, it’s fine.”

  “Good,” he says with a smile. “How soon is Kenz getting here?” Brody asks, changing the subject.

  “She should be here within the hour.”

  “Okay.”

  “Everything alright?” Quinn asks, looking at Brody.

  “Oh yeah, everything’s great,” he says quickly. “The guys are gonna meet us here and then we can all head over together, if that’s cool?”

  “That’s fine,” I say as I walk to my bedroom, “I’m going to change quickly.”

  I grab a denim skirt and a purple dolman sleeve top before heading into the master bathroom. Before I can even get changed, I rush to the toilet to let out everything I ate today.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Quinn asks from the door.

  “Just throwing up again.”

  “That’s the third time today. Do you feel okay?”

  “I feel fine except for this throwing up shit,” I say as I stand up and brush my teeth again.

  “Are you pregnant?” Quinn asks with a look.

  “No, I need to be having sex to get pregnant.”

  “Well, when was the last time you had sex?”

  “December.”

  “That was only three months ago,” she says.

  “I know how long ago it was. I’m not pregnant,” I say with a knowing look.

  “Then what’s wrong with you? It’s not normal to throw up like that.”

  “I don’t know. Hopefully tomorrow, I will be back to normal,” I say as I grab my denim skirt. I slide out of my jeans and put on the skirt and then the purple top.

  “What’s wrong?” Quinn asks.

  “Nothing.”

  “No something’s wrong, what is it?” she asks worriedly.

  “My skirts a little tight at the stomach. Maybe I need to try to lose a few pounds.”

  “No you don’t. Are you sure you aren’t pregnant?”

  “I’m telling you, I’m not having sex.”

  “But you said you did in December. Who did you sleep with?” she asks.

  “Liam, SHIT,” I yell.

  “What? What happened?” she asks, looking shocked.

  “I kept thinking it was a dream, but I know it wasn’t,” I say feeling sick again. “God, what the hell have I done?” I ask as I sit on the closed toilet.

  “Should we run out and get a test now?” Quinn asks quickly.

  “No. I don’t want to know.”

  “Sweetie, you’re going to know sooner or later anyway.”

  “Not today, I don’t want to think about it right now.”

  “We will get a test tomorrow, that way you’ll know,” she declares.

  “I can’t tell him. He’ll think I tricked him again, I can’t do that, not again,” I say panicking.

  “It will be fine. Let’s get the test first,” Quinn says, trying to calm me down.

  “Oh my gosh, I leave in two months for London. I can’t breathe right now,” I say as I’m about to hyperventilate.

  “Yes you can, calm down, it will be okay. We will get you through this,” Quinn says as she comes over to try to calm me down.

  “How?”

  “We need to find out if you’re pregnant first. So, no worrying tonight; tonight we are going to have fun.”

  “I can’t drink if I’m pregnant.”

  “You can have a beer or two or a glass of wine, it will be fine. You aren’t going to get drunk Hails.”

  “I already lost one of his babies; I can’t do that to him again. Promise me you won’t tell him anything,” I say in a complete panic.

  “I promise, now let’s finish getting ready for a fun night out.”

  “I don’t know how I’m going to have fun, but let’s give it a shot,” I say as I stand up to finish getting ready.

  Fifteen minutes later Kenzie shows up and rushes into the bathroom to freshen up before we head out. “How soon are the guys going to get here?” Quinn asks, just as there’s a knock on the door. “Hey guys, I was just asking when you were going to show up,” she says with a smile.

  Spence and Liam walk through the door and we grab our things before deciding to walk to the sorority house.

  “It’s good to you see you Hails,” Liam says sweetly.

  “You too. Are you enjoying your break?”

  “Yeah, but I’m ready for the season to start,” he says looking sexier than ever. How is it possible to get hotter day by freaking day? Liam fucking Masters does it, I just don’t know how.

  We head out the door to make the short walk to the sorority house.

  “Okay, so I have a topic for all the guys as we head to the party,” Quinn says surprising us all.

  “What’s that?” Spence asks.

  “What are your thoughts on kids? You want them, don’t want them, what?” she asks.

  “What the hell kind of question is that?” Spence asks, sounding appalled.

  “Just a topic,” she says, like it’s nothing.

  “I want kids, but not until I’m finished with school and I have a career where I can take care of one,” Brody says.

  “How many kids?” Quinn asks quickly.

  “I don’t know, two maybe,” he says.

  “Okay, who’s next…Spence, Liam?” Quinn asks.

  “Y
eah I want kids,” Liam says quietly.

  “How many,” Kenzie asks.

  “It depends.”

  “On what?” Quinn asks confused.

  “That would be something that my wife and I would decide on,” he says sweetly.

  “So, you could have an entire football team?” Spence jokes.

  “If she wanted that many then sure,” he says not giving in.

  “Okay, so no kids for you until marriage,” Quinn says.

  “Yeah, I would like to have roots set before I bring a child into this world,” he says surprising us all. I feel like I want to cry, please God don’t let me be pregnant. “Hey.”

  “Hmm,” I say as I’m lost in my own thoughts.

  “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have wanted the baby we would have had. I would have been there for it, no matter what happened between us,” he says kindly.

  “I know you would have.”

  “Are you okay?” he asks, concern written all over his face.

  “Yeah, I’m just thinking. Just ignore me, I’m in my own little spaced out world today,” I admit.

  “If you want to talk about it you can, I’ll listen,” Liam says making me miss him all over again. How do I lose the one thing I’ve wanted all my life?

  “Hey, where’s Nina?” Brody asks.

  “She’s at home,” Liam says.

  “You two live together?” Quinn asks the question I want to know.

  “Yeah.”

  “So when are you proposing to her?” Spence asks.

  “I…ummm,” he stutters as he’s looking towards me.

  “He already did,” Brody says out of nowhere.

  “What?” Kenzie and Quinn shout in unison. “You’re engaged?” Kenzie asks.

  “Yeah, I asked her last week,” Liam admits.

  “Hey Masters, are you sure this time?” Spence laughs, unfortunately, no one else does.

  “You’re a dick,” Kenzie says as she pushes him in the chest. I walk a little faster, so I have Quinn beside me and Brody’s on my other side.

  “Sorry about that, I should have told you when I found out,” Brody whispers.

  “Its fine,” I say as we walk up the stairs to the sorority house. I couldn’t be more thankful to get away from the group I’m with.

  “Holy shit bitch, where have you been?” Rebecca comes up to greet me. Before I know it, I’m rushing off with her, with Quinn and Kenz right behind me. “Please tell me you are back with Liam,” she says as she looks behind me where I’m assuming he’s standing.

  “No, I’m not with him. He’s engaged,” I say out loud, allowing myself to hear it again.

  “No fucking way,” she shouts.

  “It’s true,” Quinn says.

  “Are you okay?” Rebecca asks.

  “I’m fine. We’ve been over for a long time now. I just need to move forward, which is what I’m going to do. I leave for London soon and then come back for my senior year. Life is good.”

  “Well good, but since you aren’t back with Liam, I have a friend I want you to meet,” Rebecca says looking excited.

  “A friend?” I ask with suspicion.

  “Yes, one that I think you would be great with,” she says eagerly.

  “Which one?” I ask looking around. I know I’m not going to get out of meeting this guy.

  “He’s right over by the table, the blonde guy,” she says softly.

  I look over to see him talking to Rob, so I know it’s him. He looks to be around 6’0”, got some tattoo’s going down his arms and he has short blonde hair. He looks hot and definitely my type. “He’s hot.”

  “I know right,” Rebecca giggles.

  “Who are we talking about?” Quinn asks.

  “The guy talking to Rob. I’m going to introduce him to Haley,” Rebecca says excitedly.

  “He’s totally your type,” she states, agreeing with my thoughts.

  “I’ll be back,” Rebecca says as she walks over towards Rob and the Mystery Blonde.

  “I can’t date him,” I tell Quinn.

  “Why not?”

  “I could be pregnant.”

  “You might not be. I say meet him, talk to him, hang out. You don’t leave for London for two months, why not have some fun while you can? You said you wanted to move on,” she says reminding me.

  “I guess it couldn’t hurt to at least meet him, right?”

  “No, it won’t hurt at all, and you never know he could be the one,” she says happily.

  “Hey guys, I want you to meet Jason, Jason this is Haley and Quinn,” Rebecca says introducing us.

  “Hi,” Quinn and I say in unison. “I’ll be back,” Quinn says excusing herself.

  “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jason says kindly.

  I look at Rebecca, because I haven’t heard a thing about him, “Hopefully all good.”

  “Definitely all good,” he says with a smile, showing he has a dimple on his left cheek.

  “Okay, we are going to go grab some drinks,” Rebecca says pulling Rob away.

  “They aren’t very subtle are they?” Jason says laughing, causing me to laugh, “No, not at all,” I reply.

  “Well it’s very nice to meet you; it’s nice to finally be able to put a face to the name. Rebecca talks about you all the time.”

  “She’s never mentioned you to me before,” I admit.

  “Yeah, I’m not surprised.”

  “Why?”

  “I was in a relationship and recently got out of one.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. It needed to happen, we are much better off not together,” he states.

  “Oh, well that’s good then.”

  “Do you want to go into the other room so we can actually talk?”

  “Sure,” I say as I follow him to the dining room. The music isn’t as loud and there aren’t as many people.

  “Ah that’s better,” he says as he takes a seat on the couch, I follow suit.

  For the next hour and a half, I get to learn about Jason. He’s athletic and loves basketball, though he doesn’t play for the school. He works part time at a tattoo parlor and attends school full time. He seems like an honest to goodness good guy and for the first time in a long time, I’m excited.

  Liam

  “Who is Hails talking to?” I ask Brody for the second time.

  “I don’t know who he is,” he says sounding frustrated, “Why do you care? You told her to move on.”

  “Because, I still don’t want her to be with a douchebag.”

  “She’s a pretty good judge of character. If he’s feeding her bullshit, she’ll know.”

  “I know, but find out what you can about him.”

  “You don’t like him?”

  “No.”

  “I wonder why that is big bro,” he says with a look.

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “Sure it isn’t.”

  “It’s not. I told you I’m happy. I’m engaged.”

  “Then you shouldn’t worry about what Haley does or who she talks to.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s no longer your concern,” he reminds me.

  “She’ll always be my concern. I want her happy.”

  “Then you could fix that. You make her happy dipshit.”

  “It didn’t work, you know this already.”

  “Please, stop trying to bullshit me. You could work and you know it, you’re fucking scared.”

  “Scared of what?” I ask annoyed.

  “Commitment with Haley.” Brody says calling me out.

  “Why would I be afraid? I wanted to fucking marry her,” I say pissed off.

  “Then marry her.”

  “No. I’m marrying Nina.”

  “Because she’s the right girl for you?” he asks looking angry.

  “We work.”

  “Are you even in love with her?”

  “I wouldn’t have proposed to her if I wasn’t.”<
br />
  “You were thinking you could have married Meg one day and you weren’t in love with her. So what…are you settling or what?”

  “No, I’m not fucking settling.”

  “Liam, I think you’re afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?”

  “Haley,” Brody says.

  “What? Why would I be afraid of her?” I ask, not believing what my brother is saying.

  “Because, she’s the one girl who truly hurt you.”

  “It wasn’t even like that,” I lie. That’s exactly what happened.

  “You can lie to me all you want, but I’m telling you now, when she settles down, it’s you who’s going to kick yourself in the ass because you let her go.”

  “What the hell changed in you?” I ask bitterly.

  “I grew up, which apparently you still need to do.”

  “I’m happy.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “You’re pissing me off,” I say annoyed.

  “Good. How do you feel knowing that Haley’s going to London for the summer?”

  “Fine,” I lie again.

  “No, seriously,” he says calling me out yet again.

  “I’m happy for her.”

  “You aren’t going to see her for month’s dude, are you really okay with that?”

  “I haven’t seen her in months,” I admit.

  “I know and tonight you haven’t stopped staring at her or watching her.”

  I can’t even deny it, because he’s right, “Fuck.”

  “Told you. Look, I was wrong for what I did while you were dating her. I shouldn’t have tried to intervene, but I think you are stupid as fuck for not fighting to get her back.”

  “You need to let this go. I’ve moved on.”

  “No you didn’t, stop fucking lying,” Brody scolds.

  “I’ll always care about her, but we both made choices and now we need to live with them.”

  “I hope you can,” he says pissed off.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re going to lose her. You think Nina’s the one when all she is…is the rebound chick. You’re trying to use her to replace Haley, but you can’t, Haley is irreplaceable.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “You’ll see,” he says as he shakes his head.

  “I hate you sometimes,” I say before walking away. I need a beer or a shot or hell something to make me not think about Haley and how she’s probably talking to some douchebag.

  Haley

  We spend the rest of the evening hanging out and having a good time like Quinn said we would. I only had two beers, since I don’t know what’s going on with my body right now.