23. Hunter

It's the day before an away game, and I was eager to get away from campus.

Let's be real: I was eager to spend the night in a hotel with Tyler.

It had been weeks since we'd been together, and I was starting to go mad. But every time I even thought about bringing someone else home, my stomach leapt into my throat.

With winter break coming up, the parties were constant and we only had a few games left. Puck bunnies were coming after me left and right, so I was spoiled for choice. But all I could think about were those blue-green eyes that peered up at me through dark, dense lashes as I drove into him. I couldn't stop picturing the way his mouth parted when I did something he loved, or how he somehow topped from the bottom.

He might be a baby gay, but he damn sure knew how to play the game.

I groaned, pressing a palm to my erection that raged at the mere thought of him. Seemed Little Hunter was only wired to stand at attention for one person now. How rude.

"You seriously need to corner Riley and just have sex already, I have never seen you this wound up." Kinsley slipped into the booth in front of me and I readied a smart remark to throw back, only to stop dead in my tracks. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose irritated. Without a second thought, I bolted out of my side of the booth and slid in next to her to get a closer look. She pulled away, feigning interest in the menu I knew she had memorized.

"Did something happen? Is it Kelsey?"

She shook her head, lip quivering as the emotional wall she'd erected crumbled. She knew better than to attempt that around me: we'd grown up together and I knew her inside and out—no pun intended. I wrapped my arms around her, guiding her head to the crook of my neck. Instantly, her shoulders shook and her tears stained my skin. I held her until she settled, but my own stomach churned with worry.

"Kins, please—you're scaring me."

"It's not Kelsey; we're fine."

"Then what is it? I doubt school would do this to you and I just brought you a period pack two weeks ago so I know you're not pregnant."

"No, you're not going to be an uncle anytime soon." I huffed a weak laugh, though she still hadn't revealed the real reason she was upset. I could count on my hands the number of times she had broken down in our entire friendship. Each instance was one I'd rather not relive, and right then, she was giving me serious déjà vu. "Kins…"

"He's getting out. Good behavior."

My body went rigid, my arms instinctively tightening around her.

"No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is. His lawyer called to warn me that he's going back to the house."

"I won't let him go free."

Kinsley pulled away, looking at me as if I'd grown a second head. Maybe I had lost it, but that man couldn't be anywhere near her, and I'd do anything to ensure that.

"Hunt, he's on parole. He'll be monitored, and if anything happens to him, they'll know."

I couldn't help but laugh despite myself. She just assumed I'd resort to murder. She didn't even care about ethics—she only cared about me getting caught.

"Kins, I promise murder will be my last resort. I'm calling my father."

Kinsley jerked out of my grip.

"The hell you are. I would never ask that of you—he's just as bad as mine."

"At least mine still wants me alive. Keeping yours in prison is the only way to ensure that you are as well. You're my best friend, Kins. I'm not going to sit and just hope he plays the good Samaritan this time around, especially when I'm traveling so much."

Kinsley looked at me, tears streaming down her face and I could see the war going on behind those eyes.

"Promise me you won't put yourself on the line for this—that you won't let him control your life as a result. I could never live with myself."

I kissed her forehead in an attempt to appear sincere, but I couldn't make that promise. She had done so much more for me than I had ever done for her, and if giving up my dreams was what it took to keep her safe, then that's what I would do.

I remembered that day in our senior year when she'd first called me for help.

"Hey Kins, what's up?"

"Hunt! He won't stop, he won't stop!" My best friend's ragged sobs echoed through the line. My heart raced. In the background, distant but audible, I could hear the screams of both her parents.

"Hey, shh, shh. What's happening?"

More sobs followed, though more muffled than before.

"Dad... he won't stop hitting her. I'm scared, Hunt, I'm so scared."

Adrenaline flooded my veins. I swallowed against the rising panic in my throat.

"Hold on, Kins. I'll get help." My feet were already moving. I went to the corded phone in the kitchen and quickly dialed 911.

"He'll kill me if he knows I called it in, Hunt.. Oh god… Mom's hurt."

"I won't let anything happen to you; I promise."

"Hunter."

Dad sounded surprised, and rightfully so. I never called; he was lucky if I answered when he did. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to gather the strength to say the words I never thought I would utter to my father.

"Dad, I need a favor."

The line was silent, and I could practically hear the gears in his mind turning.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Kinsley's father is getting out of prison early for good behavior."

I knew I didn't need to say more. Kinsley's father was a lawyer as well. He worked in the same circles as my father. Though he went to prison for assault and battery, he had dirt on a lot of people—which undoubtedly got him the lowest sentence possible.

"And let me guess: you don't want him to be released early?"

I ground my teeth. "Yes."

My father chuckled. "I was hoping that you and the Morrison girl would be bored of each other by now, but I suppose it's better than the alternative. Fine, I think I can work some strings to get him to finish his sentence. But you'll owe me."

"It needs to be more than a few years. He can't be released—period." I felt the nail go into my metaphorical coffin as the words left my mouth. I was selling my soul to the devil.

"Fine, but you know what this means, son."

"I know."

I'd never regret keeping Kinsley safe, but I still looked to the sky, feeling the tiny pieces of my true self being ripped away