All Chapters of He Was Never Supposed To Stay : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

HAILEY'S POV"What are you going to do?" Was the stupidest thing that ever came out of mymouth."He'll come to stay with us." She sighs and turns her head to look out the window. The curtains were drawn and we could see the neighbors yard clearly."I don't exactly know what I'm going to do. Haven't worked out a solid plan yet.Not even your dad knows about this. I've been avoiding opening that letter from yesterday the moment I saw her name on it." Mom said while staring blankly out the window."Do you know how old he is?" I whispered, not quite knowing what to do or say at this point. Hearing that someone you've never seen or known about was coming to live with you was the biggest bomb that has ever been dropped.Mom sighed, pulling her eyes away from the window to rub her forehead. “I don’t know, Hailey. I’ve never even seen the boy. For all I know, he could be nine years old.” She looked tired, worn out, and stressed.“You know Georgia was always messed up, but this… this was som

Hailey's pov I fidgeted on the couch, my palms sweaty and my heart thudding in my chest. "Jayson, stop being so anxious," I snapped, watching my seven-year-old brother run to the window for what had to be the tenth time in just five minutes.His nervous energy was contagious. I’d lost track of how many times I’d wiped my hands on my jeans, trying to get rid of the clamminess.Today was the day Mom and Dad would bring Carmelo home. The mysterious Carmelo wouldn’t be a mystery anymore. My heart raced with anticipation.They were supposed to be here an hour ago, but there was still no sign of them.“Jayson,” I groaned as he yanked the curtains aside yet again to peek outside.“Do you think he’ll play video games with me, Hailey?” Jayson asked, practically bouncing with excitement.I narrowed my eyes at his back. My fingers twitched with the urge to grab a throw pillow and chuck it at his head.Specifically at his head. "Hey! I thought I was your gaming buddy!"Great. The mysterious Carm

Hailey's Pov There was no talking my way out of this. Even Dad thought it was a great idea to start getting us kids closer.But I wasn’t a kid.I was a teenager—one with wild hormones—and the lion in the room across from mine was dangerously good at setting them off.After Mom and Dad headed upstairs to “put their clothes back in the closet,” I hung back downstairs a few extra minutes, trying to gather myself. Let’s be real—they just didn’t want to deal with Carmelo yet and threw me under the bus instead.They had the perfect chance to ask him while passing his room, but no. Hailey needed to bond with Carmelo. Why not Jayson? He was practically obsessed with the guy already!“Quit being a baby,” Jayson snorted as he watched me pace back and forth. And by “a couple” of times, I mean I was probably on lap twenty by now.I stopped in my tracks and spun around, glaring down at Jayson, who barely reached my shoulder.“Then why don’t you go deal with that rude guy covered in tattoos yoursel

Hailey's pov"Why are you so red?" Mom asked, giving me a confused look as I dropped into my chair, completely out of breath.I tried sucking in air like I’d just sprinted across the planet. But it was no use—an image of Carmelo’s very naked body popped into my head, and I immediately choked on my own spit.As I turned an alarming shade of red from coughing, Mom quickly handed me a glass of water from beside her plate.Great. I was dying now.Still coughing like an old lady with a bad chest, Mom realized the water wasn’t helping and came over to pat my back. More like slam it.Was she trying to knock the air out of me completely?“What is wrong with you, Hailey?” she asked gently, though her hands didn’t get the memo and kept smacking away like I was a drum."I’m fine, I’m fine," I wheezed out between coughs, needing her to stop before she actually dislocated something.She finally pulled her hand back."You don’t look fine. You’re as red as a tomato, Hailey."Yeah, because I just got

Hailey's Pov And with that, I walked out and slammed the door behind me.He hadn’t even been here a full day, and he was already my worst nightmare.“Jayson, hurry up! It’s been more than eight minutes, I need to pee!” I shouted, pounding on the bathroom door.I glanced down at my pink shorts and added, Desperately!”No answer. I groaned, pressing my forehead against the door. “Come on, Jayson, my bladder is about to explode! You want pee all over the floor?”Suddenly, the door swung open. I wasn’t ready for that and stumbled forward—my forehead smacking right into a solid, muscular chest.My brows scrunched in confusion. Did Jayson hit a growth spurt overnight?Peeling myself off the wall of muscle, my gaze trailed up over bare skin and landed on ice-blue eyes that made me nearly lose it right then and there.Carmelo.Of course it was him. Why did I not think of that?“I’m shocked you didn’t pick the lock this time, Nia,” he said with a smirk, clearly enjoying the horror on my face.