Page 79 of 2204 Hunter Lane
Did he not realize how much of a hazard he was to the rest of the town? What if someone was driving along that backroad and he swerved into them? What if he killed innocent people because of his reckless behaviour? Did he even give a shit about that? Did he eventhink?
I focused on my breathing, rubbing my temples together as I leaned against my seat. “You did the right thing, Marley. You did the right thing.”
Now I just have to believe that before I show up with a fruit basket begging for his forgiveness.
???
“Hey Mar, I’m on break so I can’t talk too long. What’s up?” Adam answered, his soothing voice filling the line as I cozied into bed.
“I just wanted to thank you for confronting Mom. I don’t think I properly expressed my gratitude over text.”
“It’s the least I could do, Mar. They aren’t right in the head. I mean, I don’t think they ever were but our parents got a screw loose somewhere, I swear.”
We both shared a laugh as I bit the tip of my fingernail, exhaling an admission.
“I think I’m going insane.”
“Well, you aren’t.”
“No, Adam, tell me honestly.” I sat up from my position and adjusted my posture against the headboard. “Did I do the right thing? Calling the cops on Hunter?”
He sighed. “Marley, the guy went ballistic on Todd. I don’t care if he’s Jesus reincarnated, that man should be locked up.”
I felt my temperature rising at his poor assessment, but I shoved it down low due to the fact Adam didn’t know Hunter like I did.
“He has a lot going on, Adam…”
His scoff was apparent as he cleared his throat. “That doesn’t excuse him for beating someone senseless. You should know that.”
“I do.”I knew that.“You’re right.”
“Listen, you did the right thing. Todd’s out of your life, hopefully for good now. Hunter’s hopefully going to learn from this and stay out of your hair as well. And Mom and Dad are taken care of.”
Hunter’s hopefully going to learn from this and stay out of your hair as well…Did I want that? After everything that happened between us, did I really want this friendship gone? I didn’t, I knew it couldn’t end with him hating me because of the choice I made. It was for the good of everyone else, especially him. No, it couldn’t end like this. I wouldn’t let it.
“He isn’t a bad guy, you know. Hunter.” I faltered, feeling a pang of guilt residing in my chest.
“Why do you care about this guy so much, Marley? From everything you told me, he never made you feel welcome at all. You said from the second you got to Aurora, he was arrogant and selfish.”
I opened my mouth to speak but quiet chatter rang through Adam’s end of the phone, forcing me to zip my lips.
“Mar, I got to get back to work. Text you later, okay? I love you.”
He hung up just as I released those three words, filling my room with silence once again. Me and my thoughts, me and my regrets, me and my wrong freaking doings.
God, why couldn’t he react like a normal person? Why couldn’t he just talk to me about the way he was feeling in the moment and we could have hashed it out. Why was he so aggressive when things went wrong? What went down between me and Todd didn’t even involve him for goodness sakes. And why, WHY did he think it was a good idea to get into his truck and drive drunk?
I sat in my emotions for a little while until curiosity got the best of me and I pulled open my laptop. Hunter never mentioned what caused the death of his mom, and I never wanted to ask. Honestly, I was afraid to find out and I didn’t trust myself to hold it together the next time he mentioned her. So I held off, until now.
When the Google search bar popped up, I typed in the name: Hunter Lane, clicking enter to find over a hundred results with articles and photos.
My eyes widened as I scrolled through countless headlines that read: Tragic car crash. Three survivors, one dead.
And another: wife and mother, Leslie Lane, aged 46, found deceased in collision.
And another, and another: Tintsy Road tragedy. The loss of a loved one.
My heart hammered in my chest as I circled through images of the woman I’d seen in Hunter’s picture frame, her smiling face that was once alive and beautiful, to an obituary sharing that exact same image.
