June
"Hi, Hailey." The smiling freckled face that greets her a second after the door to the cafe jingles has her smile stretching wide.
"Good morning, Levi. What are you doing here so early? Didn't school let out last week?" Over the past few weeks, Hailey has made a lot of progress in relaxing around others. She hasn't been deemed a 'local' yet, probably won't for a long time still, but she feels accepted here. Without a doubt, she knows that a huge part of that is because of this kid right here. After getting knocked over by his massive dog, they'd become friends. Seeing him always puts a smile on her face.
"Just waiting for my body to realize the school is done…" Levi hops onto an empty stool at the counter and thanks Hailey as she sets a glass of water in front of him. "Actually, um, I was wondering if I could maybe try running with you?" He's always been an early riser, and running would give him something to do.
"Oh…well, what does your dad think of that?" The Sheriff…Calling him anything but that seems so informal, plus she uses it as a reminder of why she's in this town in the first place. Making friends with an officer probably won't be her best move.
She sees him at least three times a week for a lunch order, but their interactions are always brief. There's something slightly unsettling in the way he looks at her. It's not cold or calculated…but she can feel his gaze on her from the moment he steps into the cafe most days.
She doesn't get an answer right away and when she returns from running the back booths food, she notices the way his eyes dart quickly to the front door.
"I thought…maybe if you'd ask him, he might say yes?" The door opens, and the man in question walks in, greeting some of the other diners on his way to the counter. Jay squeezes his son's shoulder affectionately as he joins him at the counter.
" 'morning, Hailey."
"Sheriff." She slides him a cup of coffee and offers him the same polite smile she greets the patrons she's unfamiliar with before quickly taking their order and then disappearing to take care of the other tables.
Jay frowns into his coffee, watching as she hurries away from them. He hates to admit it, but he's a little jealous of the way she interacts with his son. You'd never know from the way she acts around him that they've known each other for nearly a month now. She's always quick with a smile for Levi or a belly rub for Smalls and Jay can't help but stare, transfixed at her face when she laughs at the two of them. At first, he thought it was cute the way she acted around him…like she was nervous or intimidated by his uniform, but the more times he sees her, the more he understands that it isn't just the uniform that makes her nervous.
It's him.
And that bothers him the most. It's a small town and she happens to work at the best diner…a place he frequents often. Avoiding her isn't something he can easily do here. All he can do is keep on being himself and hope she eventually comes around.
"All right guys. Enjoy." Hailey serves their breakfast and nearly laughs at the not-so-subtle way Levi rolls his eyes towards his dad, silently asking her to ask his dad about running.
In answer, Hailey grabs one of the wash rags behind the counter and wipes down the spot next to Levi. It's just a question…what's the worst that could happen?
Setting the rag back down, Hailey takes a quick breath, "Sheriff?" Like always, the intensity in his gaze starts her stomach fluttering.
Jay looks at her, waiting for her to continue. He's given up asking her to call him Jay.
"I um…" She shoots Levi a glance, nearly telling him to just ask him himself, but the hopeful look on his face has her looking back to his dad. "I was wondering if you would be open to letting Levi run with me in the mornings?"
Jay looks between his son and Hailey, knowing immediately that his son put her up to this. There's no way with how skittish she seems to be around him, that she would outright ask him herself.
"You run pretty early, don't you?" Jay knows exactly when she runs. He sees her every morning from his back porch while he drinks his coffee before shift. He'd recognize her messy blonde ponytail anywhere.
"Dad, I'm up most days that early anyway. Please, Dad?"
"I guess if Hailey is okay with it…" Jay starts, but Levi cuts him off, wrapping him in a hug.
"Thank you, Dad!"
"Under one condition, Levi." Jay waits until Levi is back in his seat before continuing, looking to Hailey as he does so. "We do a trial run together with Hailey to make sure that you aren't going to be a problem for her." Running has always been a workout for Jay, nothing more, but he knows that others use running to just…be. He doesn't want Levi interfering with that.
And that's how she finds herself on the Halstead's back porch just before the sunrise the next morning. What was she supposed to say to Jay? Tell him Levi was welcome, but he wasn't? She couldn't see that going over very well, so she agreed.
She does a few stretches as she waits for the two of them to join her. Levi comes barrelling out the back door moments later, followed by his dad.
"I think that might be a little overkill, don't you think?" Hailey nods to the leash Jay is carrying and then joins Levi in laughing, proud of herself for keeping her cool.
"Haha…you got jokes, huh? You okay if I bring Smalls? He knows my running shoes and he thinks it's his turn." Might be nice to change their routine a bit. He looks back over his shoulder where the dog is waiting patiently to join.
"Trust me, Hailey. He's way better at running than he is at walking." Levi reaches out for the leash and clips it onto the dog's collar, ruffling his ears as he tells him he's a good boy.
"How about you just focus on running, and I'll keep Smalls with me?" Jay takes the leash back and leads the group down the steps and onto the beach. "Alright, lead the way." Jay motions for Hailey to start them off.
The run starts slow, and more than once, Jay has to tell Smalls to stay back. He isn't sure if this is the pace Hailey normally runs at, or if she's just holding back for Levi's sake. Either way, Smalls is not happy at the slow pace and Jay knows he's going to still have to take him on his evening run regardless.
"I'm gonna let Smalls stretch his legs some, how far are you planning on going?"
"Thought I'd keep it short today…probably just the pier." She's worked up to twice that distance, but she doesn't want to push Levi too far.
"No, I want to do the whole run. I can do it." Levi pants out from beside her. To prove his point, he runs a little faster, moving away from Hailey and his dad, charging ahead.
Jay chuckles, pushing into a hard jog, encouraging Smalls to chase down Levi.
Hailey shakes her head at their antics before taking off after them. They pass the pier quickly and by the time they reach the halfway point of the run, Hailey's legs are burning and sweat is rolling down her back.
"Ugh…how is it so hot already? The sun's barely up…" Hailey wipes at the dampness on her face with the bottom of her shirt. As she lowers it back down, she catches Jay looking away quickly, out towards where Levi and Smalls are playing in the sand, taking a large sip from the water he'd brought with him.
"Yeah, it's supposed to hit upper 90's all week. We've got the season starting this weekend…it's going to be miserable." The season…the official start of summer here in Avalon Landing. For how small the town is, it's quite the spectacle. All of Main Street is shut down and filled with local vendors, carnival rides, and tons of games. It's a pretty good time.
Upper 90's…It gets that hot in Chicago, but there's always wind so it doesn't feel so hot all the time. She might actually get down to the water this week. A whole month into her stay here and she's yet to go into the ocean. Occasionally after a run, she'll let the water lap at her feet, but she still doesn't have a suit.
"Dad! Hailey, look at this!" Levi, along with Smalls, rush back towards them, carrying something in his hands. He passes the leash to Hailey as he excitedly shows them what's in his hand.
"What did you find?" Jay crouches down some to see and he's genuinely surprised at what he finds.
"Oh wow…" Hailey has seen sea glass before. She's even managed to find a few pieces when she was younger and playing in the lake back in Illinois, but they were always the common browns or greens. She's only ever seen this color in pictures or in storefront windows, woven into delicate pieces of jewelry.
"I've never found this color, dad!" The blue glass is so pale it's nearly white. It's not an ultra rare find, but the chances of him finding it are a lot less than him finding other common colors.
Because they all are engrossed in looking at the glass, the seagull that lands a few yards away goes unnoticed by everyone but Smalls. It's not even until Smalls takes off after the bird that Hailey even remembers that she is holding his leash.
Jay watches in shock as Hailey's body lurches sideways, dragging through the sand. He lunges after her, shouting sharply for Smalls to stop. It's over almost as fast as it started, but Hailey is slow to get up from the ground.
"Shit…Are you okay?" Jay takes the leash from her, glaring unimpressed at the dog before turning back to her.
"Here dad." There's sand all over the left side of Hailey's face is also in her eye. Hopefully there's enough water left to help get it out.
"I'm gonna pour some water over your eye to get some of the sand out, okay?" Jay gently touches the side of her face to brush off the sand that clings to her damp skin. The shaking breath she releases tells him he needs to be quick and careful with her.
She's managed to stop herself from flinching when he initially touches her, but there's no denying that being this close and having his hands on her, no matter how gentle he is being, sets her heart pounding. When his palm settles on the side of her face, it takes everything in her to not reach up and grab onto his wrist to drag it away.
"It's okay…Just try and blink as I pour the water." Jay doesn't draw the process out, quickly pouring the water over her left eye. There didn't seem to be a lot of sand over her eye and he's hoping there isn't much inside.
"Almost done…keep blinking." Jay gives her eye one more rinse with the water and then steps back to give her some space. He can tell from the way her blinking slows that he managed to get all the sand out.
"You okay, Hailey?" Levi moves closer to her, reaching for her hand, squeezing it in his.
"I'm good, bud. Nothing hurt but my pride…" Hailey laughs to herself and barely has to lower any to get eye level with the massive dog that just pulled her through the sand. "Smalls…I gotta tell you…I'm starting to feel like this is personal. What do you have against me, huh boy?" Smalls' tail wags happily as she scratches his ears, not caring at all that he nearly made her eat sand.
"Truce?" Hailey holds her hand out towards the dog, waiting for him to shake on it.
"Smalls, paw." Jay encourages him to shake and smiles when he complies. "Sorry…I think maybe one more time through obedience training might be a good idea." He gives a quick smile and then suggests they all head back, joking that he thinks there's been enough excitement for one morning.
"The season starts this weekend." Hailey glances up from the table she's wiping down to see Trudy staring at her from the kitchen window. Since she arrived, everyone has been talking about 'the season' and how busy it gets, crowded with tourists looking for a relaxing trip to the beach. It makes her a little nervous, the crowd. She likes the town the way it is now. Just the right amount busy.
"Hailey?" Trudy's stare turns into more of a glare as she watches Hailey drift off somewhere in her head.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" She tries for an apologetic smile, but she's sure it looks more of embarrassment than anything.
After a quick huff of annoyance at having to repeat herself, Trudy starts again. "I was telling you that Main Street will be shut down for the weekend, for the carnival and little food shops and vendor stands that set up. It's a pretty good time. Are you gonna check it out?"
"Uh…I'm not really sure that I am ready for something so big." Hailey drops her gaze back to the table, not willing to see if Trudy is judging her.
"I'm not gonna tell you what you should and shouldn't do..." Trudy apologizes to Hailey quietly after exiting the kitchen and appearing beside her, clearly scaring her. "and I'm not saying you need to tell me your whole story, but hiding out here and in your room, avoiding everyone, isn't doing you any favors with the rest of the locals."
"I don't care what they think…I just want to live my life in peace. That's it." Even to her own ears, Hailey can hear the ungratefulness coming through. She finds herself telling Trudy that she really is trying. "Levi and I are gonna run together in the mornings and the Sheriff even joined us today. I know it seems like I'm not trying but I am…I am." She hates that despite all the progress she has made, she still comes off as being cold and distant. It doesn't help that at least two times a week she's plagued with nightmares, or the fact that her moods change so quickly. One second she could just be floating along, and the next she's struggling under the weight of a panic attack. She just wants to be past this.
Defeated, she sinks into the booth much like she did on the first day here, only this time, Trudy joins her, gently touching her clenched hands.
"Hailey, I get that. I do…but what kind of life is it if you spend all your time alone or with a kid? You are so young…don't let whatever happened to you define the rest of your life." Recently, Trudy has taken to checking in with Vanessa to see how Hailey is adjusting. Though it wasn't much of a surprise, it made her sad to know that Hailey was still spending a lot of her time holed up in her room…alone, only really talking over a coffee after her shift. Vanessa says they get along just fine, it's just that given the choice of hanging out with her or being alone, Hailey always chooses the latter.
Hailey keeps her eyes cast down, hiding the tears that threaten. She wants so badly to tell someone everything. To just have another person hear her story and know, but everytime she thinks about bringing it up, mostly to Vanessa, she panics. Her chest gets tight with anxiety and the nerves rolling through her stomach nearly make her nauseous. How does she talk about the nightmares that won't let up? How does she explain what happened the day her life changed forever? She can't…not yet.
"Trudy, I…" Her voice breaks slightly, causing her to pause, pressing her palms to her eyes.
"It's okay. Like I said, you don't have to tell me anything you aren't ready to talk about, but uh…you know…or I hope you know, that I'm here…if you need me." With a quick squeeze of her hand, she stands, telling her to head out for the day.
"Oh and Hailey?" Trudy waits for her to turn back, "I hope you can come down for even a little while this weekend. Come and find me if you decide to join in."
Hailey manages a shaky smile and a nod before she pulls the door closed behind her. Trudy is right of course. But it doesn't make it any easier for Hailey.
