Never Signing Off

“I don’t think we’re even going to rank.” Rob complained for what felt like the millionth time. Hayden shook her head, finishing the bite of her sandwich. “I don’t care about the sales.” She groaned. She had already told him, as many times as he complained, that she didn’t care. She just wanted the excuse to spend time with him and participate in a school event. This was counting towards the physical education portion of the grade. They were being credited for the amount of time they walked, based on the amount of sales they made. The teacher had a giant map of the city printed and was calculating the distance with a ruler. It was eccentric, but Hayden wasn’t going to complain about the chance to boost that particular class. She didn’t know any other way to improve her physical education grade. “I do.” Rob corrected. The bench jerked as someone sat down beside Hayden. She looked over to see Angela, a friend of Jessica’s. Her friend Crystal sat down beside Rob, dropping her hand on hi...

There were a lot of whispers the Monday that Rob returned to school. Hayden stood by his side, regardless of what other people were saying. She knew the kind of person Rob was. She knew the kind of person Jessica was. She never doubted that Rob was innocent. She just suspected he was guilty of something else. She was right too. After telling her about Josh, his demeanor changed again. He was more relaxed around her. He didn’t twitch away when she brushed against him. In fact, he almost seemed into it, but there were people around. Still, Hayden took it as a sign they were making progress. He was letting his walls down. Jessica wasn’t coming back to school. She had been kicked out for her false accusations and act of vandalism. She had to go to a special school for delinquents who have been kicked out of regular school. Hayden felt a little bad for her. At the same time, she acknowledged that Jessica made her own decisions. No one told her to burn down the tree house except for the...

Hayden was told that Rob would be going back to school after the Christmas break. Over the Christmas break, she would be allowed to see him when he wasn’t busy. Her first time over, Hayden got to hang out with Rob and Josh. Josh expressed that he was happy everything worked out in Rob’s favor. He said it would have been a shame for Rob’s reputation to be ruined so early in life. Hayden was happy that Rob had such a supportive influence in his life. At first. She couldn’t help but notice that Rob acted different when he was around Josh. She tried to convince herself that she was just imagining things. It became hard to ignore. She recognized the way Rob was looking at Josh. It was the same way he looked at her. She had a feeling that she knew why. Hayden distanced herself for a few days. She knew she should just talk to Rob. But, she was trying to work through whatever was going on in her mind on her own first. She didn’t want to bring it up until she knew exactly what bothered her...

On Saturday, Anne let Hayden come over after Brent left for hockey. She stayed back with the younger kids. She sent Hayden and Rob down into the basement. As soon as they were down the stairs, Rob turned around and started kissing her. She playfully pushed him backwards. He tripped and fell into the pile on laundry that was always at the bottom of the basement stairs. Hayden laughed, heading into the recreational space. There was an old couch, an old TV, and the Sega game system. Hayden dropped down on the couch. “Is this how you’ve been spending your time?” She motioned to the screen. Rob nodded as he walked over to her. “Mom’s keeping me down here like she’s ashamed.” He sighed. Hayden nodded. “At least she didn’t ground you completely.” She offered. Rob shrugged. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” He reminded her. She raised her eyebrow, motioning for him to sit down beside her. He tried to sit down casually, but he failed. He immediately kissed her. She didn’t resist. “I’ve missed...

“Did she say how much longer you’ll be on house arrest?” Hayden asked as she wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder. Anne had given them permission to speak on the phone again. Jessica’s accusations were being investigated, but that didn’t mean Rob was in the clear. “No one can answer that.” He sighed. “You’re going to get pale.” Hayden noted. Rob chuckled. “No. Mom makes me go outside for an hour a day.” He corrected. Hayden laughed. “Really?” “She says I need the vitamin D.” He added. Hayden shook her head. “You do, but, what are you doing out there? Staring at the sun?” She pried. Rob laughed. “No. I just sit in the grass.” He clarified. Hayden smiled to herself. “Yeah, that sounds like a you thing.” She agreed. They were both quiet for a minute. “I can’t wait until this is all over.” He exhaled. Hayden sighed. “I know. You just have to stay strong.” She assured. There was another silence. “Are you sure you don’t want out?” He asked again. “Rob, I stuck aroun...

Hayden told Anne that she would collect Rob’s school work from each class and bring it over after school on Friday. Anne said she wasn’t allowed to stay more than five minutes. Anne said she appreciated the effort that Hayden was putting in, but that Rob would still have to limit contact until everything was sorted out. She tried to dance around the wording, but Hayden understood what she meant. While Rob was guilty, he had to face punishment. When he was proven innocent, his punishment would stop. It was a simple discipline system. It just wasn’t fair to Rob. He was being punished for something he didn’t even do. Hayden couldn’t help but glare at Jessica every time they passed each other in the hallway. In the cafeteria, Hayden had to sit with her back to Jessica. She was so angry. Jessica was taking sympathy from everyone who was offering it. She was “spilling her guts” to anyone who would listen. She was making up different versions of the event. It was getting progressively wo...

The next day, when she woke up, Hayden went straight to Rob’s. Anne said that he wouldn’t be able to socialize for a while. Hayden was there to speak to Anne. She needed to know if there was any chance Anne believed Jessica. She wanted to set the record straight that Rob wasn’t that kind of guy. If anyone knew, it was her. Rob would die for Hayden, but wouldn’t let her touch him. She would know if he was a piece of garbage. Hayden truly believed anyone who forced another person into something was trash, aside from those who may not have understood themselves. Anyone older, wiser, and knowledgeable was trash. Anne led her into her bedroom, which was supposed to be the living room. Rob had two younger siblings who needed the other 2 bedrooms though. Anne and her husband slept in the living room. Anne was the only person Hayden knew who had a computer. Except Elizabeth’s dad. He had a computer for work, though Hayden never knew what that meant. “How can I help you?” Anne asked softly as ...