36

I sat on the bed and started dialing Hayden; it was almost midnight and he still hadn't arrived.

"Where are you?" I asked with concern.

"In the kitchen," he replied.

I immediately got up and left the room; it was strange that I hadn't heard the door open. When I got to the kitchen, I saw him putting a cloth on his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked with concern.

I approached him and took the cloth off; he had a huge bruise on his cheek.

"I got into a fight with Carlo, but he ended up worse than me," he told me with a smile.

Carefully, I pressed the cloth against his bruised face.

"You shouldn't have fought with him," I scolded him.

Hayden pulled me towards him and kissed me on the forehead.

"He deserved it," he said.

I looked into his eyes.

"What did your parents say?" I asked.

Hayden shrugged.

"I think I don't have parents anymore. They prefer him, so they can have him," he said.

I stepped away from him, placed the cloth on the counter, and crossed my arms.

"Stop talking like that