Cold State Line

Alvin stayed engrossed in whatever files were on Haylee’s phone. I was genuinely surprised that she had kept such good records since she didn’t want anyone finding out about what happened between her and Clay. I think the last thing he did, though, was like lighting a match to a stick of dynamite. This was a side of Haylee I had never seen, and I liked it.

Haylee was like this gorgeous goddess of revenge. She wanted to hurt Clay and his family where it would hurt them the most. She didn’t want to just damage his reputation, she wanted to bury his family so deep that they would never be able to crawl out of that hole again. And I liked that. I liked seeing her this passionate about something other than barrel racing.

“So, are you going to be able to rodeo again?” Johnny handed Haylee a glass of water.
She met his eyes and smiled. When she smiled, it pulled her scars up. To others, it may have bothered them. It was weird to see this beautiful woman covered in red, angry scars. But, I thought she looked amazing. Even though those scars held deep and painful meanings, she wore them as if she had been born with them.

“I plan to. I just need the doctor to clear me. I was pretty close until Clay did this.”

Brian looked at her. “I have a question and it may sound mean, but how can you prove he did it?”

I shot him a glance. I had asked all of the boys to not be dicks, but of course, Haner would be breaking that rule. The man had always been a colossal dick. It was just his nature.

“Because this isn’t the first time he’s attacked me,” she said quietly. “The police and district attorney never prosecuted the first time, but they still have all the evidence. This is his M.O. All the evidence from last time will show that.”

Alvin walked over at that exact moment. “With Miss Lewis’ records as well, we are sure to nail this man.” He handed Haylee her phone back. “You certainly knew what you were doing. May I ask why it’s this time that you finally want to do something about it.”

Haylee gulped. “The first time he did something to me, something that really got the police involved, all I felt was shame. The things he did to me made me feel like they were my fault. And his father is the judge in our town. Now, now I want him to pay. I want his father to pay for allowing his son to get away with what he did the first time.”

I put an arm around her, trying to get her to calm down. She sighed and folded against my side. It was nice that she was able to feel better at my touch. It brought a smile to my face. I was seriously falling for this wonderful woman.

“What did he do the first time, Miss Lewis?” Alvin needed to know everything even though I knew it would pain Haylee for all of us to know. It had almost brought her down when she had told me.

She looked away from the lawyer. Shame was clear in her eyes that met mine. I wish she didn’t feel that way. She shouldn’t have shame around this. Nothing Haylee did would have stopped Clay from what he was going to do.

“He raped me with a piece of glass.” Haylee turned into my chest. Her body was already overcome with tears. This was the Haylee I was used to, but I still loved her. I paused. Love? Jesus, I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me right now.

All the guys had their fists balled, even Alvin. I could tell they wanted to kill that piece of shit as much as I did. I was suddenly very happy I hadn’t found him. Haylee needed to be the one to stop him, so she could feel in control again.

“Were any of the pictures on your phone of that incident?” Alvin could barely get his words out. He was already so protective of her, and I’m sure that had to do with what Haylee had on her phone.

“No,” she said into my chest. “The police have everything from that day. The police chief is friends with my dad, so he made sure the evidence didn’t get contaminated or lost. He doesn’t care for Clay or his dad either.”

Alvin nodded. “I’m going to need to make some phone calls.”

Haylee nodded and buried her head back in my chest. I could tell she just wanted to be away from all of this, so I took her back to my bedroom. All of the others had drawn the short stick so they were sharing beds, but I was lucky enough to get my own room.

Haylee waited until the door was closed before she broke down in tears. Her nose and eyes turned red immediately. I think she had been holding them in for too long now. She was so strong, and she just wanted to be stronger than she already was.

“See, this is why I don’t want a trial.” She sat down on my bed, her arms flailing. “I hate that they are going to look at me differently.” Haylee trailed a finger down her scars.

“No, they aren’t. I don’t, Haylee.” I carefully grabbed her finger and replaced it with my lips, trailing them down her scars.

“Matt…”

I could tell she wanted me to stop, so I did. “I’m sorry. I still think you’re absolutely breathtaking, Haylee. I do want to kill him though.”

She chuckled at that. “You and me both. We’re going to nail that son of a bitch.”

I pulled her in for a hug. “Yes, we are.”

Notes

I was going to make this a smut chapter since I haven't given y'all one in so long, but I thought we needed to fledge it out more