Chapter 17 - Hailey's Second Beginning
A year after Vegas, Hailey called.
"I got accepted."
"Where?"
"UCLA extension program. Interior design."
I smiled.
"Congratulations."
"I'm paying for it."
That mattered more than she realized.
She'd saved money from the dental office.
Dad offered to cover tuition.
She refused.
Mom tried.
She refused again.
For perhaps the first time in her life, Hailey wanted something she hadn't been handed.
Our relationship remained careful.
We weren't best friends.
Trust doesn't regenerate because people share DNA.
But we had coffee sometimes.
She stopped asking me to fix things.
I stopped expecting betrayal in every sentence.
One afternoon, she apologized again.
I interrupted.
"You don't have to apologize every time you see me."
"I know."
"Then don't."
She looked surprised.
"Does that mean you forgive me?"
I thought carefully.
"It means I'm willing to see who you become."
May you like
Her eyes filled.
This time, neither of us cried.
