A Way Through

Chapter Seven

Haisley pushed her fingers through her hair, trying to tame her waves. She let out a frustrated sigh and gave up, pulling her hair on top of her head and into a messy bun. She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. Elliot was already up, and she was pretty sure that Finn and Kai were in the kitchen making breakfast. As she reached the bottom of the steps, Addison came into the house through the front door. 

“You look like s**t,” she said, eyeing Haisley. 

“Please, not this morning,” Haisley groaned. Both girls made their way into the kitchen, hearing the commotion of the boys. 

“So, how’s the homecoming been? You’ve been pretty radio silent this weekend,” Addison asked in a low voice. 

“How do you think?” Haisley responded sarcastically. 

The girls rounded the corner to see the kitchen a complete mess. There were food and cooking dishes covering almost every available surface. Elliot sat at one of the chairs along the counter with a sad, puppy dog expression on his face. When he saw Haisley, Elliot gave her a look like he was begging her to fix the situation. 

Finn and Kai were arguing in front of the stove; Kai was wearing a ridiculous apron that Haisley had no idea where it came from. Something that slightly resembled a pancake was beginning to smoke on the stove. 

The arguing didn’t cease when the girls entered the room, but everything halted when the smoke alarm started blaring. Addison and Haisley gave each other a worried look simultaneously. Addison quickly grabbed a chair and moved towards the smoke alarm. Haisley hurried over to the stove, shoving her way in between Kai and Finn to grab the offending pan from the stove. She whipped around and dumped the contents into the sink, and flipped the water on. 

“I was cooking that!” Finn said in an irritated voice.

“Were you really?” Addison asked him. 

“How did you get in?” he replied. 

“Uh, key?” she said as if it should have been obvious. 

“Hae Bae, you didn’t tell me you had pretty friends coming over,” Kai said, looking Addison up and down. Addison rolled her eyes at him. 

“Down, boy,” Haisley muttered as she scraped the burnt food from the pan. 

“Hais, I gotta head to school soon,” Elliot said. 

Haisley peeked over at the clock on the microwave. If they left right now, she could stop through a drive-thru to get Elliot some breakfast before school and only be a couple of minutes late to her class. 

“Adds, can we get him some breakfast before school?” Haisley asked. 

“I was cooking!” Finn said.

Haisley gave him a bored look over her shoulder before looking around the kitchen. “Well, he has to get to school soon. So unless there is something hidden away here that is edible…” she trailed off. 

“Before you rinsed it down the drain, we almost had pancakes for him,” Kai said in mock indignation. He knew just as well as her that they were failing at cooking. Finn and Kai hadn’t done much of their own cooking while they were away, but Finn was adamant about taking care of responsibilities around the house. Kai wasn’t going to argue with him; he just wanted him to realize how hard Haisley worked at keeping things going for Elliot. 

“Grab your backpack, kid, we got to motor, or we will be late for class too,” Addison said to Elliot. 

“I’ll take him,” Finn said, tossing down the spatula in his hand. Haisley finished washing off the pan and set it on a towel next to the sink. 

“We can do it,” Haisley said. 

“No, you can go to class. I can feed him and get him to school,” Finn said. “Get your stuff and meet me outside,” he told Elliot.

“It’s cool, Hais; Finn can take me so you guys won’t be late,” Elliot said, trying to ease the tension. 

“Alright,” Haisley said, masking her disappointment. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

“Bye, Hais,” Elliot said, heading out of the kitchen to grab his backpack. Finn started grabbing up the dirty dishes and depositing them in the sink. 

“You ladies hungry?” Kai asked the girls. 

“Not for any of that,” Addison said, looking him up and down. Kai’s mouth dropped open at her blatant dismissal. Haisley laughed; she walked by him and closed his mouth. 

“Don’t hit on my friends, Kai Guy,” Haisley said before patting his cheek affectionately. 

“It’s wrong to offer beautiful women vital morning sustenance now? I have been gone far too long,” Kai joked. 

Haisley and Addison left the kitchen and headed out the front door. They were silent until they climbed into Addison’s car. “Are you okay?” Addison asked as they took their seats in her car. 

Haisley sighed. “Yea,” she said. 

“It’s bugging you that Elliot and Finn get along, isn’t it?” she asked. Addison started the car and pulled away from the curb, headed toward their school. 

“No, I want them to have a good relationship,” Haisley answered quickly. 

“Hais, you can be upset that Finn thinks he can just come home and take your place. You have been a rockstar taking care of Elliot for over two years now. I don’t know what his problem is, but Finn cannot even begin to comprehend all that you do,” Addison told her. She had always admired how hard Haisley worked, even before the accident. Once Haisley was forced into being Elliot’s guardian, Addison tried to help, but Haisley was always one for self-sacrifice. She wouldn’t ask for help; she would figure out a way to make things work. Luckily, Addison had learned to read her best friend and knew just how far she could impune help upon her. 

“I’m a little afraid of Elliot getting comfortable and Finn just disappearing. Kai won’t talk about why they are home, and I know Finn isn’t going to tell me anything. He is too busy pointing out the fact that the lawn needs mowed,” Haisley sighed. She was feeling frustrated and antsy. She wasn’t able to sleep well last night. She finished her homework and turned it in but knew it wasn’t her best work. That had only made her feel worse. 

“If that is his major complaint, then I am not sure he has any real problem,” Addison pointed out.

“Not in his mind,” Haisley said. Addison wasn’t making her feel any better about all of this. She shrunk down in her seat a bit, closing her eyes. Haisley hoped Addison might take a hint and leave her alone about the Finn situation. 

“I see his friend hasn’t changed any,” Addison finally continued. 

“Who? Kai?” Haisley asked, her eyes still shut. 

“Yea. Seems like the military only made him cockier,” Addison observed. 

“No, I don’t think so. He is the same more or less,” Hais said with a frown. “I bet he is just happy and excited to be back here.” 

“Whatever his motivation, he can take his flirting elsewhere,” Addison said. Haisley let out a short laugh. She knew her best friend well enough to know that she wasn’t immune to Kai’s charm. She harbored a secret crush on him for a few years when they were in middle school, but it all ended when Haisley and Addison saw him kiss another girl in his and Finn’s grade at Finn’s birthday party. Addison was crushed by it, and the girls hid in Haisley’s room the rest of the night. Since then, Addison has been cold to Kai; he was her first heartbreak, and he didn’t even know it.

-

“Let’s grab a coffee. My treat,” Addison said as the girls strolled through campus. 

“Sure,” Haisley said. “You drove like a crazy person, so I have a few extra minutes.”

“If you want to complain about my driving, we don’t have to carpool,” Addison joked. 

“You’re going to get a ticket one of these days,” Haisley pointed out. 

“Nope. Got my guardian angel right there on the mirror,” Addison smiled. 

Haisley rolled her eyes. Addison’s great-grandmother was an ardent believer in angels. When Addison got her license, her great grandmother sent her a tiny angel to hang in the car with a letter about it being her guardian. She has kept it in her car ever since. If you ask Addison, it works because she has never gotten a ticket or been in an accident. 

“One of these days, she is gonna take a nap on you,” Haisley smiled. The girls stopped at a coffee cart in the center of the campus’s main courtyard. 

“Two iced coffees, please,” Addison said, handing cash to the barista. 

“Pumpkin?” the barista asked. 

“Uh, no,” Addison laughed. She turned back to Haisley. “So, are you gonna work less now that Finn is back to help out?”

Haisley snorted. “Um, that is a big fat no.”

“If he is back and living at the house, he could help you,” Addison pointed out. She grabbed their coffees and thanked the barista. Handing Haisley one of the cups, she continued, “He can’t expect you just to start feeding two more mouths with no help whatsoever.”

“I am not going to rely on him supporting Elliot and me,” Haisley said. “I am taking care of both of us, and him being home isn’t going to change that.”

“If it isn’t Cinderella,” said a voice behind Haisley. Addison raised her eyebrows as Haisley turned around to see the guy she met in the library last week. 

“I’m not Cinderella,” she said in a flat voice. 

“You ran away and left me wondering just who the princess in the stacks was,” he said. 

“What is he talking about?” Addison asked next to her. 

“Nothing,” Haisley said quickly. 

“Cinderella left me hanging in the library last week. Ran away before the stroke of midnight without so much as a name to remember her by,” the guy said. 

Haisley looked at Addison, willing her to understand she wanted to get out of there. Addison just raised her eyebrows. “Did she?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. 

“Yes. I had to go to work. And I am going to be late for class if we don’t get going, so excuse us,” Haisley said, nudging her best friend. 

“You like coffee, so have some with me,” the guy said, stopping Haisley’s escape attempt. 

“I really can’t,” she said. 

“Alright, well, you have to eat sometime, right? Lunch then,” he pressed on. Haisley couldn’t help but notice his persistence. 

“I’m sorry, but I need to go,” Haisley pressed, nudging Addison again. 

“At least give me your number,” the guy grinned. 

“I don’t even know your name,” Haisley pointed out. 

“And I don’t know yours, Cinderella.”

Addison watched the exchange with intrigue. Haisley was a pretty girl but was closed off to others. Addison understood how focused she had to be on all her responsibilities but wished her best friend could cut loose every once in a while and act her age. Guys didn’t often flirt with Haisley so outwardly; she was undoubtedly feeling weird about it.

“Because I didn’t give it. Come on,” Haisley said again, this time turning and pulling Addison with her. 

“Until we meet again, Cinderella,” the guy called from behind them as Haisley rushed Addison away. 

“And why are you just leaving that on the table?” she asked her. 

“Not interested,” Haisley answered. 

“Oh, come on! He was cute!” Addison said. 

“And that is exactly why I am not interested,” Haisley said matter of factly. 

“You could use a cute boy or two to work out all this stress you got trapped in that tiny body,” Addison joked. Haisley rolled her eyes. 

“Cute boys are a distraction I can’t afford, Addy,” Haisley said, a little gloom seeping into her voice. “I can’t get distracted.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to take a night off and have some fun,” Addison told her. 

“I take Friday nights off,” Haisley said. 

“Yea, I didn’t mean to go to your baby brother’s football games.”