Page 38 of 2204 Hunter Lane
Hunter missed dinner.
Of course he missed dinner, he was too busy hooking up with some L.A girl to spend time with his own family at their cottage.
God I hated him. Ihatedhim – I hated him so much I could scream.
You know, if he wanted to be a polite asshole he could’ve just simply said: “No Marley, I don’t want you to come with me,” and left it at that.
But nope, that would’ve been too easy for him. He let me come, he paid for my rental snowboard AND bought me a scarf. I liked the scarf; it really did match my outfit but screw him. SCREW HIM and his fucking scarf.
Payton made spaghetti and meat sauce with a side of bread and I gobbled it up like tomorrow wasn’t promised. If she made pasta taste like it was bathed in holy water, I could only imagine what tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner would deliver.
Dex and Payton weren’t surprised that Hunter wasn’t home to eat with us, but they weren’t happy that he let me call a cab alone in a foreign town.
“I know he’s your son, Dex, but that boy is irresponsible.” That was the only thing she said about Hunter the entire night and Dex grumbled in agreeance.
He and I didn’t butt heads anymore, but we weren’t exactly BFF’s. Honestly, I preferred it that way. We worked well in the business side of things and he treated me fairly. There were no more harsh stares or rude side comments, and he actually addressed me in conversation which was a pleasant bonus.
Payton knocked on the bathroom door when I was brushing my teeth, leaning against the wall.
“Goin’ to bed?”
I held out a finger to briefly pause any attempt at conversation while I spit out my toothpaste and rinsed my mouth.
“Sorry about that.” I said, facing her tired eyes and polka dot pyjamas. “But most likely. I’ve had quite the day.”
“About that...” She hovered for a moment before clearing her throat. “I’m sorry ‘bout Hunter. Leavin’ you an all that, that was low.”
I played with the drawstring of my joggers, ruminating on today’s events. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to think about him, where he was, why he acted so hot and cold. He wasn’t my issue, but staying in his family’s cottage… he became it. At least right now I wasn’t a victim to his presence because he was off with blondie.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Payton.”
“I do,” she replied. “He’s my son, in a way. I mean, I care for the kid. I do, a lot, Marley. With Thanksgivin’ tomorrow… I dunno. I thought he’d do better than he did, is all.”
I sighed, crossing my arms over my cream coloured tank top. “He knows I know about his mom’s passing.”
Her blue eyes met mine, guarded. “You told him?”
“He made me so angry I just… I guess I just snapped.”
“Well, maybe that’ll knock some sense into him for a change. Knowin’ that someone else can be there for ‘em when he’s ready.”
But would that day ever come? And if it did, would I even want to be there for him? I meant what I said earlier. His mom passing away was not an excuse to treat others like shit. But then again, the biggest part of me couldn’t even begin to comprehend what type of demons were strangling him on the inside.
There were so many layers to Hunter, I was scared to peel them back. I figured that if I did, he’d snap even more at me for trying to help. But how could I help? He didn’t want anyone, didn’t need anyone. So my best course of action would be to just stay put and mind my own business this weekend.
“Anyways, g’night deary. Fresh sheets in the guest room.”
I smiled in appreciation and watched her walk down the hallway, closing the door to the master bedroom and taking the light with her.
My feet padded against the wooden floor, as I stepped into my own quarters and settled into bed. The grey weighted blanket buried me in the mattress as I extended an arm to switch off the lamp.
Once I was consumed by darkness, I let my thoughts race. This was a lot of people’s biggest fears I think, being overwhelmed by their mind and fighting off all the thoughts they’d tried to ignore throughout the day.
But not me. I made sure to think about every horrible thing in my life, every decision I made that pushed me to this point. Maybe I was a sadist who loved to punish myself. Or maybe the deepest part of my soul just wanted to reflect on what I could do better now that I’ve done it all – I tied an anchor around my ankle but I was still breathing.
There’s got to be a reasonable explanation for that. Otherwise…
Why am I not drowning?
