Chapter 2 Chapter 2 : To Have and to Lose After Hayden left , I took a shower stared for a imoment at the clumps of hair scattered on the bathroom floor Then I patthered it all us with a tissue , wrapped it , and flushed it down the toilet teen on TV that cheme makes people lose your hair , but I figured , it can't all fall out at once , right ? It has to be a gradual process . " \ gmolbalby had at least a year , maybe a year and a half , before I went completely bald . Bistver expected it to happen so fast Wanching the hair get flushed away , I suddenly remembered the day Hayden first confessed to me ime was a proud guy , always pretending he didn't care . Back then , I had no idea he was already into me ; I just thought he had a secret girlfriend . secause he always kept a lock of a girl's long hair hidden in the pocket over his heart . I voticed it for a while . So i fimally just asked him , ' Is it Paige Marshall's from Class 3 ? " uffed and gave my head a little shove . " Paige my ass , It's probably my own hair that fell out . " " You had is " that " long ? " i getured with my hands to show a length only a girl's hair could possibly have . Well , it's probably Ms. Olson's . I went to ask her about a physics problem last week , must have picked it up igured my lips . " Wow , Ms. Olson's pretty talented , managing to shed her hair through a layer of clothes and was your evermost gocket . " my face flushed , a mix of embarrassment and anger . " Fine , it's my mom's laur man has curly hair . That one's straight . " Deny Mesh Sped her hat Groom . That strand is black . Kad me face want wiper pas gharad at me , speections hamentally can . Megh every pit des interacted with " Wait pas definitely have a crush on someone f Chapter 2 Hailey Welch from Class 5 ? Or Violet Spencer from Class 7 ? Don't tell me it's Ruby Henderson from Class 2 ? Come on , just tell me ! I'll help you win her over ! " I genuinely wanted to help him back then . He treasured that lock of hair like it was his most prized possession , never letting anyone even touch it . But he never introduced me to my future " sister - in - law , " and I was getting seriously antsy for him ! To my surprise , Hayden just looked at me with this exasperated expression . " Why don't you ever guess that the hair might be yours ? " I froze for a second , then it quickly clicked . " ... So you don't actually have a girlfriend ? " I was a little disappointed . My future sister - in - law , gone just like that . I was hoping she could teach me how to do my makeup . Hayden , caught between exasperation and amusement , booped me on the nose . " Oh , I'm definitely in love , and it started a long time ago . You just guessed the wrong person . " I was so desperate to know . I pestered him every single day about who this future sister - in - law was . I stopped accepting love letters , ignored any guys who tried to talk to me - all my energy went into bugging him . For some reason , Hayden was in an exceptionally good mood during that time , just coasting along happily . Whenever I pressed him too hard , he'd just say : " I'll tell you when you get into Capital University . " I worked my ass off . I crushed my SATS and , just as I'd hoped , got into Capital University . At our graduation party, I had a little too much to drink and was feeling dizzy . Hayden gave me a piggyback ride , walking slowly home along the small river . I was draped over his back , trying to threaten him . " Hayden , if you don't tell me , I'm going to tell everyone you have a secret crush on me . Let the whole world know you're a creep who's into his own sister . " But Hayden just sounded pleased . " Go ahead , then . " " Don't think I won't . " Hayden was deliberately egging me on . " I really don't think you have the guts . " I'm the kind of person who , if you dare me , I'll absolutely take the bait . I was getting all fired up . " Put me down ! I'm gonna do it right now ! " The party was over , and the path was full of our classmates and teachers walking by . Hearing me yell , someone stopped and asked , " Hayden , what's your sister trying to say ? " 24 Chapter 2 I slid right off Hayden's back and threatened him loudly , " We know everyone here . I'm really gonna say it ! " " So say it ." The alcohol rushed to my head . * In for a penny , in for a pound . * I yelled out , " Everyone , listen up ! Hayden Hughes is a monster ! He's secretly in love with his own sister !!! " I hadn't realized how loud my voice was . Everyone on the path stopped and turned to look at us . Hayden was still goading me . " Too quiet . Can't hear you . " That just made me madder . I summoned all my strength and shouted , " Hayden Hughes is in love with me ! He's ... in ... love ... with ... me- " I dragged out the last word , trying to get back at him for keeping it a secret . And then , his mouth was on mine . The last " me " was drawn out into a long , wavering note before it was cut short . My mind went completely blank . I couldn't process what was happening . It wasn't until the kiss started to deepen that I snapped back to my senses with a jolt and shoved him away . I was shocked and furious . " What are you doing ?! " Hayden just smiled . " You idiot . " We didn't go home that night . He took me to the top of a mountain to watch the moon . The moon was huge and incredibly bright . Under the moonlight , he solemnly took out the lock of hair he'd kept hidden over his heart and confessed everything . He said , " Aubrey , be my girlfriend . I'll always protect you from now on . I swear on my life . " Hayden was a man of his word . Our time together at Capital University was the happiest , sweetest time of my life . " He'd bike halfway across Capital City just to bring me my favorite churro from that one food truck . I hated drinking water and was always coughing , so he'd find all sorts of ways to trick me into staying hydrated , brewing me special herbal teas or making fresh - squeezed juice . Whenever we went out on weekends , he was always the one carrying my pink thermos . ised stop every so often to coax me into drinking more water , and as long as I took a sip , he'd agree to 3.4 Chapter 2 whatever ridiculous request I made . He really did take such good care of me . And he really did keep his promise with his life . Five years ago , on that day , he was carrying my pink thermos as usual . He was driving me to the beach for a day trip . On the coastal highway , we were hit by a semi - truck that was driving on the wrong side of the road with failed brakes . Our car and the truck went tumbling off a cliff at the side of the road and plunged into the ocean . In that split second , he threw himself over me , shielding me with his own body . When I woke up , three days had passed . The police told me I was the only survivor . Hayden and the truck driver were both missing . They might have been swept out to the bottom of the sea , or maybe the current carried them somewhere else , but- Too much time had passed . They were well past the golden window for rescue . There was almost no hope of finding them alive . For a long time after that , I just drifted through life in a daze , like a zombie . Even Hayden's parents , in the midst of their own grief , would try to comfort me . " Aubrey , Hayden's gone , but you have to keep living . " They were right . I had to live . I had to take care of his parents for him . They'd lost their only son . They were the ones who were hurting the most . I forced myself to keep going , and I took care of Hayden's parents for two years . Two years later , the police contacted me . They told me they'd found Hayden . He wasn't dead . He'd been rescued by a fisherman from a nearby village . Because he couldn't remember who he was , he'd been living with the fisherman's family for the past two years and was about to marry the fisherman's daughter . I don't remember the fisherman's first name , only that his last name was Pearson , and his daughter was Isabelle Pearson . Later , with the police's help , Hayden returned to the Hughes family . He'd forgotten everything that came before . He just looked at me with the eyes of a stranger and shook his head . " I'm sorry , Miss Shaw . I don't know you . "