The Slaters and the Roths did not get along. It was an inherited feud that Haley was pretty certain most of them had no idea of the origins of.
But even though she had no particular feelings of like or dislike about the majority of the Roths.
Her dislike for Deacon Roth was a personal opinion formed by years of exposure to him.
The two of them were polar opposites. Deacon Roth was night and she was day. Where she was fire, the man was ice. Where Haley loved leading with her heart, Deacon Roth always preferred logic.
That had always bothered her about him. But now she was glad for the man's logical mind. While she had been swept up in emotion, freaking out over the fact that she was married to Roth.
He had been reasoning things out in his head, and she had to admit that the conclusion, that he had come to made sense.
After all, it would be best if the two of them were just simply wearing matching wedding rings, but had not done anything that was legally binding.
There was just no way that the two of them could be husband and wife. Weddings took time to plan and they had not been in the state of mind to even consider eloping.
Feeling calmer thanks to Roth's reasoning.
Haley finally felt the full force of the aches and pains that came with the awful drinking choices that she'd made the night before.
"I do not know about you but I am going to get as much coffee into my system as possible, and do my best to forget about this entire experience,"
Her companion did not answer, but Haley was not worried about that.
Walking past Deacon Roth as he gently massaged his temple. His brow furrowed in a way that showed that he was in a world of pain. She made her way to the bathroom.
Sure, it would be uncomfortable to shower, and then get back into her previously worn clothes.
But Haley just knew that she reeked, no doubt the alcohol was escaping through her pores.
Not only that, a nice long shower would be enough to tide her over until she could get back to her apartment and soak in the tub for a bit while she did her best to come to terms with everything.
Her hand had just settled on the doorknob when Deacon's voice came from behind her.
"Be sure to be quick about it. I also wish to wash away the evidence of the night from my skin. I want to forget about this unpleasant night as quickly as possible,"
Haley wanted to turn back and tell Roth that there was no need to be a brat about it. That she too had not exactly been having a great time with the whole thing. But that would have required way too much effort. So Haley found herself having to bite her bottom lip as she struggled to keep her temper under control. It was so very tempting to turn back and ask him if he thought that he was the only one who'd had a bad time.
She too was just as desperate as he was to forget about the whole thing. But doing such a thing would have meant more time in Deacon Roth's presence, and she did not want that for herself. She just wanted to leave and so, forcing herself to relax, Haley opened the bathroom door and stepped inside.
Once the barrier was shut between them, only then did Haley allow another emotion other than anger and annoyance to show and that emotion was a combination of exhaustion and relief. She would never admit it to him, not even under the pain of torture. But in a way she was glad that the person on the other side was Deacon Roth, she could have ended up in bed with a random man.
Someone who could have attacked, or killed her. At least with Roth, she did not have to worry about any of that. Running a hand over her face, Haley decided that it was time for her to stop messing around. With that, she moved.
She needed to get clean and get out. Heading over to the shower, Haley was just about to turn it on, and then begin stripping when she happened to look down and her heart froze.
Her body turning to stone for a few seconds before she forced herself to move. Crouching on shaky legs, she picked up the piece of parchment that she had spotted on the floor with trembling fingers.
Oh, no.
Staring at the piece of paper in her hands, Haley blinked, the headache that she'd been trying so hard to suppress suddenly kicking up several notches.
Oh, this was not good.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, took a deep breath, reopened them, stared back at the paper, and found the same words still there.
Marriage certificate.
She looked from the title, to the door. On the other side, Roth was still blissfully unaware.
'Slater you and I cannot be married, there is no legal binding paperwork. We are just wearing rings, that is all,' That was the crux of Roth's argument.
An argument that Haley had gladly agreed with. But now she held the very thing that the two of them had believed did not exist. As she stared at the document, a thought occurred to her. Roth did not know of the paper's existence.
She could just tear it up, throw it in the trash, hop into the shower, get clean, get out, then go about her life. But as quickly as the idea occurred to her, Haley dismissed it, it would be so wrong on so many levels.
Not only would she be lying to Roth. The truth would be bound to come out at some point. She could just imagine his face when he finally decided to get married and couldn't because he would already be married to her of all people. He would be beyond angry if that happened.
She had to tell him. They were in this together, he deserved to know what was going on.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A loud pounding on the door made her startle and nearly dropped the paper. But she managed to hold on to it.
"Slater I am being a gentleman by letting you have use of the shower first. Could you please hurry it up? Some of us actually have real jobs and places to be,"
'Shut up, Roth. Can't you tell that I am busy?' She wanted to yell out. But given the bomb that she held in her hands, there was no need for that. The words on the paper would be loud enough.
Straightening, Haley pushed down on the force of the pure panic that she was feeling. With her heart feeling like it was about to give out, she made her way to the door. When she opened it and stepped out. Haley was met with the sight of Roth doing something on his phone.
At the sound of the door, he put it away and glared at her.
"I have literally just told you to hurry up. Yet here you are. If you did not want to shower first, you should have just said so. I could have been done and out of your hair by now,"
Staring at the man, unable to speak. Haley lifted her arm, bringing his attention to the document in her hand. Roth took in a sharp breath, his eyes widening.
"What is that?" His voice shook as he stared at the official looking paper, and she could tell that Roth had already picked up on exactly what it was. He just did not want to believe it.
"Roth, we have a problem,"