***
Hailey threw her bag on her bed and ran for the washroom. She panicked. Her hands were shaking and her heart was on fire in her chest. She had no idea what to do. That guy – Robert – was in her house and she had no idea what he wanted. It seemed alright in the beginning to let him come over. That was only because she couldn’t think of anything to say so she just agreed with whatever he said. She paced back and forth contemplating on what her next actions would be.
Making her way into her washroom, Hailey turned on the tap and splashed water on her face. She thought the coolness of the water would snap her out of it and prepare her to go downstairs to face Robert once again. She never forgot about yesterday and how she was determined to find out who he was. She would ask him questions. She would be strong. She would be confident. She wouldn’t show him her weakness. She didn’t want him to see her fear, even though it was written all over her face and was pouring out of her pores.
She even contemplated on not going back down. She figured if she stayed in her room long enough that Robert would eventually get the hint and show himself out. As rude as that sounded, Hailey knew it wouldn’t happen. Something told her that Robert would wait forever until she came back down those stairs. She didn’t want to do that to him. She pictured his eyes in her mind and never wanted to see them filled with pain that she caused.
She stood straight up and looked at herself in the mirror. She stared at herself, wondering who she was turning into. She was once this shy person who never liked meeting new people. Now all of a sudden she intentionally invited someone over to her house who she knew nothing about. She told herself, People change. And that was it. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth. She prepared herself for the walk downstairs. She knew he would be there waiting at the bottom of the steps for her.