The Reason Why — Chapter Nine
Everyone has one
Joshua apologized to me several times over the next three days. There was no reason for him to be sorry. I knew it wasn’t him who made the slip-up and gave me alcohol at Hunter’s concert. He’d even bought me a dozen pink roses and made me dinner for being so careless around a crowd I didn’t know.
Speaking of Hunter, I hadn’t seen him since that night. Crystal said he was putting in long hours writing songs and promoting during the day then practicing with the band at night. Maybe it was a good thing we didn’t spend any more time together. It would help to heal the small crack in my heart from him pushing me away.
We’d just sat down to a taco dinner when the front door opened, then slammed shut. Hunter’s large frame suddenly filled the doorway to the kitchen.
I swallowed the thick lump in my throat that had suddenly formed from the anxiousness of seeing him once again.
He looked excited and out of breath.
Crystal set down her taco and met her son at the doorway. “What happened?”
Hunter led his mom back into the kitchen and pulled her chair back out to be seated again. He took the chair beside his mother, the one that sat across the tableside from me.
I tried to control the emotions I felt over the guy whose face I’d missed seeing for the past couple of days.
“Well…” He was still trying to catch his breath.
Crystal waved her hand around, so Hunter would hurry up and tell them what was so exciting. “Well?”
“I got a call from the recording company that wanted to sign us last time.” Hunter took a big drink of his mom’s sweet tea. “It seems they had one of their promo people at the concert on Saturday and he recorded us. The big executives liked what they heard and saw, so they’re going to get back in contact with me next week to set up a time for all of us to go out to California in a few months.”
Crystal let a loud, “Woohoo!” She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Hunter’s neck. “I am so proud of you guys. I knew you all would make it back there again.”
Joshua leaned over and patted his brother on the back. “Congrats.” He seemed happy that the band had made their way back to the limelight like they all deserved to be.
Hunter thanked his brother but kept focusing back on me.
I was surprised by his good news, and it looked as though he was waiting to see what I had to say. I just couldn’t say the words that he probably wanted to hear. I was happy for him. But now that I knew he was leaving and going on to bigger and better things, my heart fell even closer to the ground.
His mom finally calmed down and resumed her meal. She still kept giving him big grins in between each bite she took.
“Um….” I had to get out of the room for just a second. It was great news that Hunter was finally getting somewhere with his career, but it didn’t help that I was still falling harder for him every time he walked into the room. Not that our relationship went anywhere, but now he would be gone, like really gone, and there was no telling when I’d see him again. “I’ll be right back.” I stopped at the kitchen entrance and turned back towards the table. “Congratulations.” I tried to sound as happy as I could.
Hunter nodded once. It looked as though he wanted to say something, but I didn’t give him a chance as I made my exit out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.
The warm evening air greeted me as I sat down on the first step of the porch. The days were getting shorter as the sun was settling in for the night at an earlier time. I placed my forehead on my arms and gazed down at the ants scurrying about on the step below. I was so focused on thinking about what Hunter had said that I didn’t hear the front door open.
“Did you have a planned date with them or something?” Hunter sat down next to me on the step.
Our legs were touching, and the heat coming off him was making my body overreact. I looked over at him like I was confused by his question.
“You left in a hurry, then I find you out here watching the ants. I thought maybe you had something set up with them ahead of time.”
I smiled, but I knew it wasn’t a genuine smile. I was going through a lot of emotions right now, ones that I’d never felt before. I had no one to talk to about them and felt so mixed up about what I should do.
“I guess you’re pretty ecstatic about everything that’s going on. You know the recording company.” I turned the subject back to him, so he would forget about asking me what was wrong.
Hunter leaned back on the step so that his back was up against the porch. “Yeah, I’m totally blown away by the offer.”
I stared out into the yard with a million thoughts racing through my mind.
“How’s school going?” Hunter changed the topic back to a more casual talk. This may be the way to go so that we wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around each other.
“It’s going. Today was the first real day of classes.” I’d met a bunch of people before today through Joshua, so it was pretty comfortable going into this school when I actually knew some of the people.
“Joshua showed you around before today, right?” I’d told Hunter that Joshua had taken me to a few of the lacrosse practices. He had even escorted me to some openings the school held for all the new freshmen coming in.
I nodded. “It’s all pretty easy. He showed me where all my classrooms were once I got my schedule a week ago. I’m just glad they are all around the same area, so I don’t have to go trekking all over campus.”
Hunter just sat there staring at me. His face was full of every emotion I could think of. It was like he wanted to tell me something but didn’t know how to directly come out and say it. “That’s cool. He can be okay sometimes.”
My heart was let down once again. I knew I shouldn’t expect anything from him, but why did I feel like there was something between us? He came out to look for me but then had no valid reason why. I know me going to school and finding out how my day went wasn’t a top priority. I just wish he would give me some sort of clue about what he really felt and not push me away every chance he got.
The swish sound of the front door opening alerted us that someone else was coming out. We scooted further apart as it seemed we had drifted closer together while we were talking.
Joshua stood above us on the porch. He had a scowl on his face that said he wasn’t too happy with either of us. Maybe we were too close for company in his book. “What are you two doing out here?”
“I came out here to enjoy the evening air.” That was part of the truth of why I came outside. The other reason is one that I would rather keep to myself for now.
Hunter stood up and stepped back onto the porch. “I just wanted to see how her first day of school went.” He motioned for Joshua to take his place beside me. “I’m gonna go talk with Mom for a little bit.” He went back inside, leaving Joshua and me to talk.
Joshua leaned against the porch post. “Are you coming back inside? You didn’t eat much.”
“I’m not really hungry today. It’s been stressful with being the first day of school.” I rubbed my arms. The mosquitoes were coming out, and it was time to get back inside. “I’ll probably hit the sack early tonight. We have a long day of classes again tomorrow.” I took Joshua’s held-out hand and stood up.
He kept hold as we walked back into the house.
I tried to keep my eyes off Hunter as he sat at the table talking with his mom. I’d come back in with Joshua and loosened his grip on my hand right before we walked back into the kitchen. I felt both of the guy’s stares on my back as I put away my leftover dinner plate.
Hunter was telling his mom something about the upcoming recording interview that the band had to do. His mom told him that there should be no worries on their part, as they were as good as any other band currently on the radio.
She mentioned something about the past, but Hunter cut her off before she could say any more.
“Do you two have class at the same time tomorrow?” Hunter asked.
As I sat down, both brothers were watching my every move. Not that I had a problem with it, but it seemed like I was just another reason for them to continue their feud.
“You have an early morning class, right?” Joshua looked over at me for confirmation.
“Yep.” I nodded my head in agreement. “You were the lucky one to get your first class starting at ten, while some of us have to be there bright and early at eight.” I stuck out my tongue at him jokingly.
Joshua stuck his tongue back out at me. “It’s all in who you know.”
“I have to get up early and get some stuff down before rehearsal. I can drop you off so Joshua doesn’t have to go in early.”
Joshua gave Hunter an evil eye for making such a suggestion.
I nearly fell off my chair and onto the floor when Hunter said he would be able to take me. I didn’t know what to say to his offer. If I said yes, Joshua would be upset or highly pissed off. If I said no, that may deter Hunter from ever asking to take me anywhere else again. It was a lose-lose situation on my part. I hated being stuck in the middle between the two brothers.
“Well.” I looked back and forth between them. Both were looking at me, waiting for an answer. “I guess so if that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Joshua’s mouth frowned even more than it was.
Hunter looked pleased by my answer. “That’s cool.” He stood up and walked over to the door that led into the hallway. “I’ll see you around seven-thirty.” He left the kitchen without waiting to hear what either of us had to say.
I glanced back over at Joshua. He still looked distraught with my decision.
“It will give you more time to sleep. You’ve been doing long practices for lacrosse.” I tried to make him, and myself, think it would be better for him if I went in with Hunter.
“I guess.” Joshua shrugged. He didn’t truly seem convinced that was my sole reason for allowing Hunter to drive me in.
I got off my seat and bent down next to him. I laid my head on his shoulder and hugged him. “I’m gonna head to bed. Guess I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.” I kissed him lightly on the cheek. I felt him kiss me back on the top of the head and nod okay. I smiled at him as I walked out into the hallway, but I could tell he was still disturbed over the Hunter situation.
