Page 49 of Chasing After You
“Look, if he wanted to talk to you guys about it, he would have picked up the phone when either of you called. This isn’t my fault,” Hunter defends himself, and I shake my head.
“No one is saying this is your fault, but you need to tell us what’s going on. He wouldn’t quit soccer,” I reason, trying to stay calm, but that pit of anxiety is growing again, and now isn’t the time to explode.
“It’s not any of your business.”
JJ scoffs. “It absolutely is our business. We look out for each other. That’s what we do, so since you’re the only one with any information, feel free to share it.”
“JJ, take a breath,” I warn, looking at Hunter who looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. I bet if I turned around, our entire family will be hovered in the windows trying to figure out what’s going on. “If you won’t tell us, then maybe we need to get Mom and Dad involved.”
“No, you can’t.” Hunter’s head finally snaps up to look at me, his eyes wide. “You’re not even talking to them right now, but you’re going to walk in there and blurt out that Bailey quit soccer? That sounds like a great idea, Mirabelle,” he replies sarcastically.
Honestly, it’s not the worst thing that’s been said to me the last few weeks. I let it roll off my shoulders, even if it stings. Bailey is my focus right now, not everything else.
“Hunter, that was a low blow,” JJ snaps.
“It doesn’t matter. Please tell us what’s going on so we can help,” I say calmly, hoping he’ll tell us before things get worse. I know they have a special bond being twins that I can’t relate to, but I don’t understand why he isn’t more worried about Bailey.
I can see Hunter considering it, and I hold my breath as JJ thankfully stays quiet on the line. I think we finally got through to him.
But my stomach falls when he shakes his head. “I can’t. You don’t get it, Mira. Just let it go. This is something he needs to figure out on his own,” he says, walking back into the house before I can stop him. I was right, though. Kaitlyn, Penelope, Aunt Blake, and Uncle Owen are hovering in the window, but scatter quickly now that I’ve seen them.
“Hunter, we’re not going to le—”
“He walked away,” I interrupt, sighing softly.
“How did I not know Bailey quit soccer?” JJ asks, and I’m asking myself the same damn thing.
“Because the Bailey we know, would never quit soccer,” I say, pressing my fingers to my temple. I didn’t get much sleep last night, agonizing over yesterday and how this was going to go, and I’m definitely paying for it with a monster-sized headache.
“What else did he say to you yesterday?”
“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t about what he said—it was the look in his eyes and the anger in his voice when Bailey spoke to me. He didn’t look like our little brother in that moment, and it scared me.”
JJ doesn’t say anything, because there’s not anything to say.
Behind me, I hear the creak of the back door swinging open, and I turn to see Chris approaching.Awesome.
“JJ, I’m so sorry, but I gotta go. We’ll talk more later, okay?” I say, hanging up before Chris can hear our conversation.
“Can we talk?” Chris asks, and I motion to the seat next to me. “Hi, Mirabelle.”
“Hi.”
Fuck, this is awkward as hell, and all we’ve said is hi. I can tell Chris isn’t comfortable either, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. “How’ve you been?”
Am I supposed to answer this honestly?“I’ve been better. Did my parents send you out here?” I ask, and he chuckles, but I’m not sure what I said warrants laughing?
“No. They didn’t send me out here, but I know your dad wanted to come talk to you.”
I know he didn’t say it to hurt me, but it still feels like a knife to the heart. At least Mom got up to talk to me earlier, but Dad sat there staring at me. “Then why didn’t he?”
Chris smiles sadly, spinning the wedding ring on his finger. “Because he’s not proud of how he reacted, and he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing that will push you further away. It’s a scary thing having kids, Mira, especially when they’re old enough to make their own decisions.”
I wonder if by telling me this, it’s Chris’s way of trying to explain how he’s been treating Henry.
“They’ve never had a problem with me making my own decisions before. They’re not listening to me.” Which I’m sure he already knows as my mom’s best friend. “It was my decision, Chris.”
Chris exhales, the chair creaking with his shifting weight. “It’s more complicated than that. It’s that he’s five years older than you, six after his birthday next month. Henryknowsbetter.”
