His Queen

Hailey Warms Up

Cleo couldn’t believe it was a month since she’d met Tyrone. It’d felt like days. But every day of them she felt lucky to know him.  

He was a good man, so sweet and kind to her. She just wished they were on the same page. Because while she was crazy about Tyrone, Cleo didn’t know how he felt about her. Sure he’d said he marry her, but only for his grandfather.  

As a favor to hers.  

No girl wants to feel like she’s being pawned off on someone because their home life was pathetic. Especially not Cleo, she wanted love. She wanted...trust.  

But for now, she really wanted to just know what they were. Because in public the moment he stepped away from her, some woman or girl was there. Ready to beg him for his love and adoration shamelessly.  

And yeah it made her feel so good when he brushed them off not interested. But Cleo didn’t know if she should bask in that feeling. Because while she was so sure Tyrone was into her more than just a friend or a girl he MIGHT marry, she wanted to know.  

Which, Hailey thought was completely ridiculous.  

“Girl he’s totally obsessed with you. Has been since he saw you, and can you blame him?” Hailey was saying as they grabbed laundry. Cleo rolled her eyes, “It’s not so cut and dry, I don’t know what he’s feeling about me. It’s only been a month, I know I can’t expect much, but-.”  

Hailey giggled, “You want him to confess his undying love for you? Trust me, he’s close.”  

In the last seven days that Peyton had been in the basement, the character development of Hailey had been amazing.  

At first Cleo had thought it was the booze and that the next day she’d revert back to normal. But after Tyrone called to tell her he couldn’t take her to school, she’d been ready to cry. Call her whatever, but Cleo had gotten mad lazy with him driving her everywhere.  

So, the thirty-minute bike ride to school sounded like hell. When Hailey came in the kitchen and asked, “Hey, I thought Tyrone would have been scooped you up?” Cleo pouted, “He said he had something important to do. I guess I’ll see him after school.”  

Hailey made a sympathetic noise, “Aw that does suck. But let’s go, we’re going to be late.” Surprised, Cleo grabbed her bag playing it casual too. The drive to school she assumed would be awful and quiet. But then Hailey blasted her favorite artist and her favorite album by them.  

Singing along, both their voices shocked the other. The impromptu concert made them late, but they were laughing when they got out the car. A lot of people noticed too, mostly people who had heard everything Hailey had once said about Cleo.  

But it became clear by the end of the day, especially when Hailey announced it to the entire school, she was a b***h. And Cleo? Well she was a forgiving person and now her friend, and even better? It seemed days later they could possibly be sisters.  

“I know it sounds petty,” Cleo was saying as Hailey grabbed the food bag, “But I just want love. And I feel like if I agree to marry him now, later it’s not going to feel...important? Special? I don’t know.” Groaning Cleo wondered, “Do guys stress themselves out about s**t like this? Or is it just us?”  

Opening the basement door, Peyton laughed, “No babes, guys would rather pretend not to give a s**t. And then wait until months later to decide to show they actually gave s**t. Most likely when said girl is already out the door and happier without him.”  

Blowing a raspberry, Cleo muttered, “Right.”  

The basement smelled awful even though they’d been down there the other day. Cleo had brought Peyton more buckets, so now she had three. One for the bathroom, and one for vomiting. A whole lot of vomit.  

Laying on the blanket they’d given her, Peyton was still rough. Twitching and scratching, her entire body was sweating. Retching as her nose ran like a faucet, Peyton didn’t speak as Cleo put on gloves. She and Hailey both took the buckets and dumped them.  

Luckily there was an old sink in the basement’s far wall. Dumping everything in there, they turned on the only faucet that produced scalding hot water and bleach to kill the smell. Peyton groaned in pain as she rocked back and forth.  

Hailey gave her a water bottle and made her drink. Peyton panted shivering as her skin broke out into goosebumps like she was in a walk-in freezer. “You have to let me out baby.” Peyton pleaded to Hailey.  

But Hailey didn’t even bat an eye anymore at the sweet pleads. “No. You need to get better.” Peyton scoffed in disgust immediately losing the sweet motherly tone, “You think this is making me better? You, dumb b***h it’s going to take more than a couple days of locking me in the basement to get me clean!”  

Hailey knew that and had told Cleo that as well. And when she thought about the girl’s blatant response, Hailey couldn’t help but repeat it, “Well we graduate in two months and then there’s summer so...we have time to keep you until then.”  

Peyton paled as Cleo came over done with the buckets now. Sitting them back down, she began doing laundry and Hailey began helping. Trembling now, but more so anger than withdrawal, Peyton rasped, “You turned my daughter against me? You, b***h!”  

Looking at Peyton, Cleo let the words marinate as she started the first load. “No I didn’t, I didn’t have to” Peyton denied that instantly, “She was my best friend and now she’s haha-ing with you as you lock me in the basement! What did you tell her that made her hate me! Because I bet it was all lies!”  

Peyton looked at Hailey desperate, “Baby who do you trust me or her? Who has never lied to you, who’s always been on your side, right or wrong? Me! Not her! ME!” Hailey sniffled as she whispered, “Mom...you’ve done nothing but lie to me.”  

Paling, Peyton hissed, “T-that’s not true.” Hailey licked her lips as she held up five fingers, “You told me my daddy was dead until I was ten. You told me grandpa and grandma didn’t want anything to do with me-.”  

Peyton sat up quickly, “That was for your own good!” Hailey scoffed as she whispered, “No mama it was for you. You wanted to make dumb choices and screw married men and apparently get high. Not raise me right. And they knew that and were going to take me away from you. So, you ran and played, hide and seek for years with them. All the while pumping my head full of lies about what they’d done to you.”  

Unable to deny it, Peyton instead sat with a face of cold marble. Nodding Hailey muttered, “Yeah it was for me alright. Just like you lied to me about Joe?” Peyton blew out a deep breath, “Oh please now you’re just fishing for shit.”  

Hailey scoffed, “He was a good man, that I loved like a father. He didn’t leave us; he didn’t leave me...you cheated on him. He left you instead of working it out. And you were so bitter,” Scoffing as she remembered it so clearly now, Hailey realized, “You marathon packed us so he wouldn’t come around again. You blocked him out of my life to punish him, but you punished me too.”  

Not saying a word, Peyton watched Hailey kneel down in front of him, “But you know what’s funny?” Peyton winced as Hailey ripped the band aid off painfully, “You lied to me about Cleo.” Cleo looked at Hailey surprised as her nose flared in anger, “You told me she told daddy Billy she didn’t want us here. That she called us w*********h, and that the only way to stay was to make her invisible. I had to suck up all his time and attention and be thirsty for his love. Which you already knew I was, considering you deprived me of a real father.”  

Swallowing hard, Hailey felt nothing but disgust to herself now, “I took everything of hers, and tried to make it my own. So, I could be special and perfect like you told me she was. That I could make him stay, that we could stay and be a family! But you were just manipulating me to make a child miserable. And it’s so f*****g sad of you.”  

Spitting in her daughter’s face, Peyton accepted the slap she gave in return. Wiping her face with shaking hands, Cleo was right there rubbing Hailey’s back. “You are so f*****g wicked.” Cleo hissed at her, “You really put all that crap in her head? You brainwashed your own daughter to hate her family!”  

Peyton was disgusted at the sight of this, “We are not your family.” Cleo looked the pathetic junkie over, “No you’re not. She is.” Suddenly Hailey whirled around, “And so is someone else,” Paling, Peyton tried to tell Hailey to be quiet, but Hailey asked anyway, “What happened to my brother?”  

Silence.