Wrecked (Forever 4)

She reared back for a second before laughing bitterly and turning toward Hunter. “Oh my god. Are you serious right now? Hunter, what the hell do you see in this girl? Is it her ability to be a thick-headed moron? Is that what you relate to?”

Hunter looked conflicted. “Ada, please stop,” he said, his eyes getting softer by the minute. “Lorrie, we can talk—”

“Stop?” Ada screeched. Her eyes were darting between Hunter and me wildly. “Stop what? Trying to look out for you? This girl’s crazy, Hunter. Anyone can see it in two seconds. I get that you feel sorry for her and everything, but it’s okay to leave the rescue job to someone else. You have your own shit going on.”

Feel sorry for me? What was she talking about? My face was burning. “Crazy? You don’t even know me! You think I’m crazy because I want some answers from Hunter?”

She turned to Hunter—whose face was an uncharacteristic combination of panic and confusion—and shook her head. “This is impossible.”

“What?” I snapped, furious heat coursing through my cheeks. “That you’re the other woman?”

Her jaw fell open. “Good lord, now this? I should f**king slap you.”

Several people stopped to look at the source of the commotion we were causing. This was quickly becoming a scene.

“Ada, please stop,” Hunter pleaded, looking around. Deep concern was etched into his expression but he lacked the fervor he had when he knocked out Jimmy for talking shit about me. Was Ada that important to him? More important to him than me? “You’re embarrassing all of us.”

I stared, dumbfounded and in shock. Why wasn’t he defending me? Why was he still by her side?

“What were you doing in the health center in the first place?” I asked, trying to regain my composure though I was on the edge of hysterics. “Did you get hurt from a fight? Why didn’t you tell me?”

His eyes were frantic as he looked around at the people who had stopped to gawk—some didn’t even bother hiding their interest, having their camera phones out and recording the scene. “I’m sorry, I promise this isn’t what it looks like.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t even know what this looks like Hunter! What is it?”

“Just wait,” Ada spat. “You’re going to feel like such a bitch when you find out the truth. You think you’re the only one with problems, Ms. Sob Story? I'm going to tell her, Hunter. I swear I'm going to tell her."

"NO! Ada, you can’t do this to me! Not now!” Hunter yelled at her.

Tell me what? What was Ada going to tell me?

Ada shook her head in disgust before stomping past me, her shoulder knocking mine in the process. I stumbled back a few steps, barely keeping my balance on the slippery concrete.

Hunter’s eyes looked panicked as they darted between me and Ada. “Lorrie, listen, we need to talk, but just—just wait okay? I need to talk to Ada first, but I want to talk to you okay? I—I love you, nothing’s changed, everything's gonna get back to normal, just let me talk to Ada first."

My vision was blurry with the hot tears flooding my eyes. “Give me something, Hunter. Please, don’t leave me with just this.”

I don’t know if he heard it or not, but Hunter was already hurrying after Ada.

He left me to go after Ada.

People were staring at me, waiting to see what I’d do next. What the hell just happened? This was a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. I adjusted my beanie and put my head down, walking the way I’d come, which was the opposite direction Hunter was walking. My face was already streaked with tears and my eyes were brimming with fresh ones, but I had to hold it together. Just a little longer Lorrie. Just a little longer.

I felt the eyes of the people who had been gawking bore into my back as I hurried away. My face was flushed with embarrassment; whatever I’d been expecting when I saw Hunter, total humiliation hadn’t been it. I could practically see the text messages being sent by onlookers as I slogged through the snow. This was a gossip gold mine.

Ada had acted like I’d done something terrible to Hunter. Why did she sound like she was so sure she had the moral high ground? Instead of her, it was Hunter who appeared to be panicking. The image of his expression as he snapped his head around, staring at the people who had stopped to watch, burned in my memory. He looked like a cornered animal. But why would he be so scared when Ada wasn’t? Was it as simple as him having a conscience and her being born without one? Why on earth had they been at the health center anyway? Was Hunter sick? Then why didn’t he tell me?

My jacket vibrated. Pulling out the phone with fingers that were numb from the cold, I pecked at the screen angrily to input my password. Suddenly, the phone slipped out of my hand; I fumbled but couldn’t save it.

I cringed as I watched it splash into a slush pile. Even though I bent down and snatched it up immediately, fingers freezing, I knew it was too late. I pressed the power button repeatedly, but the screen wouldn’t turn on. My precious phone was toast.

Dammit. This is f**king great.

What was I going to do now?

I stopped in my tracks on the sidewalk and stared out across campus. Tomorrow I would be on a bus to Indiana. My phone was dead but I still really needed to talk to Hunter. Instead of heading back to my dorm, I decided to head for his place. He had to come home eventually, and when he did we could have our conversation. We had a lot to talk about.

We had been doing so well. How did things get so messed up?

Chapter Twenty-five

GOODBYE

My heart in my throat, I walked into Hunter’s apartment and greeted the kittens. At first glance Hunter wasn’t here. He was probably still dealing with Ada. I took a big breath and crouched down to the kittens’ level, wondering how long it would take him to get home. The incident in front of the health center still had me shaken up.

Taylor ran up to me and rubbed the length of her body against my leg. Her large blue eyes looked up at me affectionately. I gave her some pets on the chest, her favorite spot, and her eyes closed as she purred her approval.

I scooped her up and walked to the living room. Taylor looked around curiously at her new surroundings. The two of us plopped down on the couch and waited.

And waited. And waited. I kept feeling for my phone before remembering it was dead. Taylor squirmed around a bit before falling asleep on my lap. After I’d sat there for around thirty minutes I reached for the remote control—careful not to wake up the sleeping kitty on my lap—and turned on the television. Bravo was running a marathon of The Millionaire Matchmaker, and I watched that for a couple hours. Taylor continued to sleep in peace, blissfully unaware of the shit going on between me and Hunter.