An Old Friend Calls

She stared into the fire meaninglessly. Nothing seemed to matter at this point. Her acts of revenge didn't do anything but anger her even more, and now that Elijah had found out, she feared her would stop her from doing what she wanted to do. Yet another thing between her and Jack that he was involved in.

Her eyes glazed over as she thought of her husband. She missed him. God, she missed him. The lingering smells of the bayou on his flannels, the unruly long locks of brown hair, the roughness of his voice… it all pained her to think about. Their apartment was so empty that she wanted to burn it down. She couldn't stand to go in there because it just made her hurt all over. She couldn't take it anymore.

She heard footsteps on the floor moving closer to her, but she didn't move. She didn't have to. She knew who it was. But when the footsteps stopped behind her, an arm reached past the left side of her head. A piece of folded paper was held out in front of her face and she turned her head. She took it from his hand and unfolded it only to see it was her original list of people she wanted to kill. All of the names were crossed off.

Why? Why did he have to do this for her? This was her mission and her act of vengeance, not his. She didn't know whether to yell at him or hit him or just… admit to herself the truth. He loved her. She knew it from the first moment they locked eyes. The way he acted around her and spoke to her was in his usual elegant fashion, but there was always something else. She loved him too. She knew it way before their first kiss or the first time they made love. No man had ever made her feel what she felt for him. Jack hadn't even come close. They had a connection that was nothing she had ever felt before, but it wasn't fair. Not right now.

Elijah took a seat beside her on the couch as her eyes skimmed every name. Eventually she crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it in the fire. The pair sat silently and watched the fire burn before she spoke.

"I love you, Elijah. I always have loved you," she admitted. She heard Elijah take a sharp breath and turned to look at him. His eyes stayed locked on the burning ball of paper, but they glistened with tears.

"And Jackson knew that. And he died loving me, despite it." She turned back to face the fire and took in a shaky breath as tears filled her eyes.

"And now every time I look at you, it's like he's right there and I'm... hurting him all over again." Hayley looked down and tried to compose herself as best as she could knowing that this would be the worst part. This would be the worst thing she's ever done to him and to herself.

"He died because of me. So... out of respect for him... I have to let you go."

She stared up at the ceiling and wiped a stray tear from her eye. She didn't look at him because she couldn't. She couldn't see what more pain she was causing him. He had already endured losing her to another man and having her rub it in his face, but still hoping for the day that she would come back to him when Jackson finally died. Now, he was dead, but he had still lost her.

"Well, that seems like the right thing to do," he said gruffly. She watched him stand out of the corner of her eye and button his jacket.

"You know, I tried that myself. Didn't work."

He stood motionless for a moment before he turned and walked out of the room. Hayley didn't even stop the tears from falling this time. She just bent her head and cried over the loss of the two loves of her life.