Chapter 14: Star-crossed

12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

Song of Solomon 7:12

Once she explained to everyone on who was coming to pick her up from the restaurant, everyone became worried and fearful. They all heard about the infamous Beatrice Espinoza and how she was strict, professional and very no-nonsense on and off the court. Not just that, the fact that she knew about Hayley having a boyfriend and did not approve of it didn't make things any easier for her. Pretty soon, the sound of a car beeping outside was heard along with the doorbell ringing, causing the group to stiffen up and slowly turn their heads to whoever was at the door.

There, standing in her suit along with having a vicious glare on her face was Beatrice Espinoza herself. Zane and the others could easily tell that she was indeed Hayley's mother judging by how she shared the same dirty blonde hair (albeit one tied in a long ponytail), fair skin, brown eyes as her daughter. Unfortunately, Beatrice wasn't here for the others to gawk at but rather, she was here for one person and one person only which was Hayley herself. Hayley could only stand there in fear while trying not to shiver so much in front of her friends. The moment Beatrice made her way towards her daughter, she stared at her with piercing eyes before turning to Aranea, who stood beside Hayley in a protective manner, before glaring at the others who also gulped and shivered underneath her gaze.

"What were you thinking?!" Beatrice nearly shouted, causing everyone except Aranea to flinch. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw the news and heard about what happened?! Why didn't you inform me of this earlier? Why did you have to risk your life to save a worthless man like him?!"

"Hey who are you calling worthless?!" Mikey angrily shouted. "He saved her life!"

"Even so, he still endangered her life and got her seriously wounded! He should have tried calling the police or at least not drag innocent people into his schemes to get that psychotic brat behind bars!" Beatrice pointed out.

"The wound wasn't that bad," Hayley responded in a meek tone while turning her head away.

"That's the thing, he couldn't!" Aranea revealed. "He was literally being blackmailed by Parnaz who kept threatening to kill Hayley and was told not to contact the authorities or even his family because she also threatened to kill everyone he loved! We had no choice but to take matters into our own hands!"

"Oh please, more like HIS hands," Beatrice scoffed. "While I am sorry to hear that you got stalked and harassed to the point of endangerment that does not justify you using my daughter and niece as bait!"

"It's not like I wanted to use them as bait," Zane responded. "It was Aranea's idea."

"WHAT?!" Beatrice shouted in anger as she glared at Aranea who merely stood her ground and frowned right at her.

"He's telling the truth," Aranea admitted. "The whole thing was MY idea as I found out about what happened to him when I went to confront him over why he broke up with Hayley earlier. Back then, I had no idea over why he suddenly dumped Hayley out of the blue and thought he did it to hurt her when in reality, it was to protect her. Once Mikey revealed himself as a witness to Parnaz's blackmail and threats, we all worked together with Hayley and Zane to stop her once and for all."

"Not just that, I WILLINGLY volunteered myself to be the bait so we could get the drop on Parnaz," Hayley finished though Beatrice was less than pleased.

"Even so, you could have been killed!" Beatrice responded. "Not just that, all of you went along with this risky plan without proper supervision! Just because you're young adults that doesn't mean you get to take the law into your hands!" As she said this, she glared directly at Zane himself who could only stare back at her with fear in his eyes. "And as for YOU, I don't want you anywhere near my daughter again!"

"WHAT?!" everyone else shouted in unison and shock.

"BUT WHY?!" Hayley asked aghast.

"Because it's for your own good!" Beatrice responded. "That boy nearly got you killed just so HE could put a stop to his stalker!"

"He just said he didn't want to!" Aranea shouted angrily in defense. "It wasn't even his fault! It was mine! Not his!"

"And as for YOU," Beatrice snarled as she turned to her niece. "YOU are in so much trouble and will have a talk with both me and your mother! Come on, we're leaving now!"

As she said this, she grabbed Aranea's arm and dragged her away, much to her displeasure while Hayley could only stand there in shock over what just happened with the rest of the group also sharing her discomfort as well. Zane could only try to silently yet awkwardly comfort her by placing a hand on her shoulder but she was still too shocked to feel anything. Hayley couldn't believe this. She and Zane were finally free from Parnaz's manipulations only for her own mother to put an end to their friendship due to her stubborn belief that Zane was indirectly responsible for Hayley's near death. Despite her attempts to reason with her mother and even showing proof that Zane wasn't as bad as she thought he was, her mother wouldn't listen, thus making things even more complicated and frustrating.

"Hayley? You okay?" Lynne asked, causing Hayley to snap out of her thoughts.

"No. I'm not okay," she admitted.

"HAYLEY!" Beatrice shouted from outside, causing Hayley to stiffen up before preparing to leave. She grabbed her coat and bag before giving the group one final look before leaving.

"Goodbye everyone," she said in a somber tone. "I'll see you later."

The others bid her farewell before seeing her leave the café to reunite with her mother and cousin. The rest of the customers, who were witnesses to this scene also became concerned for the group. One of the waiters, who happened to witness this commotion, approached them with a nervous expression as he didn't know whether to comfort them or not. This particular waiter wore glasses, had slightly dark skin, short, smooth black hair and brown eyes with the nametag on his uniform being labeled "Barry".

"Are you guys.... okay?" he asked, causing them to turn to him with expressions of sadness, heartbreak and frustration (albeit not at him of course).

"Not exactly," Janine admitted in a blank tone before pulling out her card. "I'll pay for the meal now if you don't mind."

"Of course, right this way," Barry said as he brought her to the counter where the cash register and card reader was. Meanwhile, the rest of the group silently stood there as they were still in shock over what had occurred. Zane, however, was feeling a mixture of both anger, frustration and heartbreak as he had been hoping that he and Hayley would get to be together again only for that chance to be ripped straight from his hands.

"Zane? You alright there?" Mikey asked with worry in his tone, causing Zane to give him a stare void of emotion.

"I... I need to go home now," Zane said as he left the café in despair while the others looked on in both worry and concern. They watched as he continued to walk away from their field of vision with some wondering if he would be alright or not.

"Oh Zane," Elis said in a sympathetic tone. "I'm so sorry."