20. Hunter

Chapter 20

Hunter

now

"Hunter. Hold up."

I freeze, which in turn causes both Levi and Spence to stop in their tracks.

We've just unloaded the car, and we're about to head into the cabin.

It's strange being here. In this place that's so deeply tied to that summer with Greedy. I'm mentally and emotionally locked in, putting on my very best face to come off as cool, collected, and unbothered.

The truth is, I'm burned out, medicated, and hanging by an emotional thread since my period is set to start soon, but I'm coping the best I can.

I look over my shoulder to find Greedy leaning against his Denali.

His gaze is laser focused on me, his arms crossed against his broad chest.

A totally different lifetime flashes through my mind as I stand before him like this, in a place that used to mean so much. A stinging wind whips between us. That's why my eyes are watering and why my throat is suddenly burning with suppressed emotion .

That has to be it.

I push down all other thoughts about what could have been.

Being here makes it all ache once again, like a wound that never properly heals. One that continues to fester and reopen over and over, no matter how many times I've patched it, ignored it, or covered it up completely.

"I need to talk to you," Greedy tells me. Tipping his chin, he squints, looking past me to Levi and Spence. "Alone."

I sigh but nod in assent.

If he wants to lay ground rules or come to terms with what's eating at him, I'd rather do it before we have the audience of our parents.

They're driving up separately, because Greedy's dad still has to work a few more days this week.

They'll arrive on Christmas Eve. It'll be easy enough to distract myself until they get here, and it'll be easy enough to ignore Greedy while I'm diligently trying to avoid Magnolia.

I turn to Levi first and hold my bag out. "Will you take this inside for me?"

With a nod, he side-eyes Greedy. Then he heads for the cabin.

Turning to my other side, I focus on Kabir. "I'd like you to go inside with Levi now."

He cocks one brow at me, clearly unamused by my directness.

"Fine. I'd like you to at least go up toward the house and give us a modicum of privacy," I say calmly, countering his unspoken argument.

He doesn't want to leave me alone with Greedy, I get that, but he's not in control right now, and he'll have to learn to deal with that if he plans to stick around.

"I'll wait on the porch," he tells me, nodding to the wooden wraparound deck.

"We'll be quick," I assure him with a small smile.

By the time I turn back to Greedy, his gaze has darkened. I don't bother worrying about which interaction pissed him off more. Levi is my boyfriend. Spence is… well, he's Spence. And he's here .

I take a step closer, though I leave a few feet between us.

"We're alone." Hands planted on my hips, I purse my lips, silently signaling him to get on with what he felt so compelled to share with me in private.

"Are we?" Greedy counters, tightening his arms across his chest.

Rather than play into his game, I stare at him, deadpan.

He has a right to hate me. It's exactly what I've wanted for years, because I thought it would make it easier on both of us.

Standing before him now, though, and being in this place, where the foundation of our relationship truly formed, makes me feel all sorts of defensive and shaky on the inside.

His mossy-green eyes bore into me. With every second he scrutinizes me, I shrink.

The gravitational pull that's always between us pulses so intensely I can almost hear the hum of it. Greedy tears down every single one of my mental and emotional defenses with just a single smoldering look.

As we stare one another down, I'm suddenly hyperaware of my own breathing, of the slow exhales and the forced inhales.

I spent so many days and sleepless nights dreaming of our what-if.

During my lucid moments, I know what happened was best-case scenario for both of us.

That never stopped me from wondering what our baby might look like.

If it'd be a boy or a girl.

What we'd name them.

Would we be here?

Is there an alternate universe in which we're here, at the cabin, wrapping presents and gearing up for Christmas with our two-year-old?

Tears sting my eyes at the very thought of what could have been and what never will be.

"Greedy." I take one small step toward him .

He stumbles away, his back connecting with the passenger door of the car. He clears his throat and straightens, as if he's just been pulled out of a reverie, too.

"I won't let her spoil this place," he announces, tipping his chin up.

He doesn't have to clarify that by "her," he means my mother.

There'll be no argument from me on that front. I'm on the exact same wavelength.

"I told my father that I'll be taking the primary bedroom upstairs." Greedy's voice is thick, hoarse. "I plan to sleep on the second floor, across from Levi, though."

The cabin is well appointed with multiple bedrooms, so I hadn't even considered sleeping arrangements, though with as complicated as my life has suddenly become, I probably should have.

"Your guest can sleep in one of the other bedrooms on the second floor. I'm not telling you where to sleep, but the primary is available." He swallows audibly, his throat working. "If you want it."

Memories come flooding back to my mind.

Beautiful lighting, deep, dark wood. The quiet little library off to the side. The spacious, gorgeous bathroom. A place I love; a place filled with the purest, most lovely memories.

"Are you sure?" I ask, my knees wobbling.

I love that room.

Greedy loves it just as much. It was special to his mom.

"Honestly, Hunter?" He lets out a harsh sigh. "As long as your mother doesn't go anywhere near that room or near me, I don't give a shit about any of it."

His words say one thing. His tone tells me something else completely.

Clearing his throat, he grabs his duffel off the ground. He moves fast, storming past me, his shoulder brushing mine.

"Let's just stay out of each other's way for the next few days," he throws back over his shoulder.

Then he stops, turns, and delivers a final blow .

"When we get back to South Chapel, I'll move out. Get my own place closer to campus. It makes sense, with my football schedule. I'll leave, and we can forget any of this ever even happened."

His words crescendo through me like an earthquake.

Rattle.

Shake.

Rumble.

Quake.

He's leaving.

I've done it. I've pushed and prodded and cut deeply enough that Greedy's finally leaving for good.

Standing stock-still, I force myself to not breathe, to not move. I don't even blink as he marches toward the house without a backward glance.

A muted sob racks through me, splintering me at the core, but only once I'm sure he's far enough away that he won't hear me.

He's leaving.

Good things always do.

Everything I love always will.