An unwelcomed face

"...Heyyyy Ms. Aldera..."

Nestled between Hailey's plushies, was the familiar, half-naked body of Hailey's most recent boyfriend, Eddy Laufer. Your face scrunched immediately at his embarrassed look. You hated this guy.

He was Hailey's most recent boyfriend, and while she seemed to switch boyfriends like they were underwear, this guy was different. You knew Eddy from College. He was a freshman and you were a sophomore, but you did catch a glance or a rumor of him every now and then in the halls, and in short, he was a jerk. Not the "in your face, push you into a locker" type of jerk like the much hated James Hoover, but more of the weasily type of jerk.

He was annoying and manipulative, and was considered a sort of pariah at your school for how many times he betrayed people's trust, especially girls. He was charismatic and kinda good looking, and he used that to take advantage of many of the **** girls on campus, treating them as nothing less of trophies or conquest to brag about to his frat brothers. Eventually though his reputation caught up to him, and every girl at campus knew not to fall for Eddy's advances. But Laufer would not be detered. He may have been hated in college, but his antics were unknown back in highschool, and he used that to his full advantage, to seduce your sister.

The two have been dating for 2 months now, maybe three, and you could tell this was different than any of her other relationships. Hailey was a very popular girl at her school, and frankly, probably one of the hottest. Even when you were still there, many people referred to you as "Hailey's brother", despite being two years older; and in the two years that had passed, her popularity only grew. She had many boys fawning over her, which is why she never seemed to be able to stick to one. But Eddy... well, he knew just what buttons to push, playing on his position as "the grown up college kid" to make your sister fall head over heels for him. And you hated him for it.

You and Hailey weren't close, sure, but you did feel a need to protect her. But whenever you tried to bring up the subject, she would vigorously defend him. You could do nothing but watch as Eddy took advantage of her, having to just wait helplessly until he's done toying with her and tosses her away like a used condom.

"Eddy." You said simply, not even trying to hide your resentment. Your mother for her part was completely oblivious to his intentions, insisting it was good Hailey finally sticks with a boy. Which is probably why your response caught him off guard. You two stare at eachother for a long moment, before you're interrupted by Hailey's embarrased yelling.

"Mom?! What the hell! This is like, a total breach of privacy!" Hailey was red with embarassment, and so were you, Your Mom's body reacting naturally to the situation. You knew very well what was about to go down here before you burst in, and your body's instinct was to scuffle away before you cause any more embarrassment. But not you. Hailey won't listen to you, but you weren't you now. You were your mother. And if there was any person who could talk sense into her, it was her mom.

"Hailey sweetheart? Can I talk with you in privacy?"

Hailey was dumbstruck. She clearly wanted to protest, but your mother raised you with respect. So she complied.

You left the room with your sister in tail, shooting daggers at Eddy as you closed the door. You led Hailey into your dad's home office, closing the door again. Hailey crossed her arms angrily, looking at you as if she didn't know what to expect. You let out a sigh, choosing your words carefully. You had to sound motherly too.

"Haily honey, listen." You paused. This was harder than you imagined. "I'm happy you're finally commited to a guy, but that boy... he is no good. He's a manipulate and a cheat. Je-" You paused again. If you told her Jean told it to you, she would immediately block out anything that followed. "Uh, I... have a sense for this kind of stuff."

Hailey growled. "You don't know the first thing about him mom! Really, he's sweet! I... I thought you liked him!"

"I... well, I did. But he's giving me bad vibes." Sheesh. Hailey looked as confused as expected, but then her face changed. You could see in her eyes she connected the dots.

"Jean told you that, hasn't he?" She was furious. You tried to protest, but she cut you off. "God, that asshole! I- I can't believe you guys! I told him its none of his buisness! And now he sends you as his pawn?!"

"Pawn!- Young Lady!" You said sternly, but your face grew red. She was right, more than she thought even. You took a deep breath. You had to keep your composure. "Listen Hailey, I've delt with plenty of boys before I met your father. And I learned to distinguish the good ones from the bad. Believe me when I tell you, he is taling advantage of you. Please, trust my experience and don't make the same mistakes!"

Damn. That was surprisingly well articulated. It all came so naturally too. Your body seemed to know what a mother has to say. Hailey unfortunately, has already made up her mind. With a loud groan, she turned away and rushed into her room. "Hailey! Please!" You called as you followed her, with little result. She swung the bedroom door open, catching Eddy midway through putting his pants. She quickly grabbed her purse and phone, throwing Eddy's car keys at him. "We're leaving." She barked at him. Eddy was dumbfounded, but he didn't protest, quickly putting on his t-shirt and letting Hailey pull him out of the room. You tried to stop them with your body, but Hailey just pushed through you.

"Hailey Aldera, stop right this instance!" You yelled at her from the top of the stairs. Finally, she responded. "How about you ask Jean to tell me that for you?" She spit back, slamming the front door behind her.

You stood there frozen for a long moment. What have you done? Why did Hailey have to be such a brick wall?!

Well, she definitely got my stubbornness.

Yeah... -wait what?