41. Hunter
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
HUNTER
I didn’t even try to sleep after the shitshow in the hallway last night. I took my time walking down to my room, and then rescheduled my morning flight for one in the afternoon. With everything that happened, sitting next to Ashlie on a plane—even for a couple of hours—would feel like feeding myself into a woodchipper one limb at a time.
My plan to call off the bet worked, alright. Worked everything right into the ground under the guise of a “break.” Fuck ! I knew she was scared. I should have given her more time to see how right we are together. Should’ve kept my stupid-ass mouth shut and toughed it out until after the bet. But I panicked, hearing Trevor brag about their wedding date, and thought giving her a nudge would get us over that hurdle. Instead, I pushed her over the edge; fucked everything up. And she left .
I grimace as the word space echoes in my head, a speedy corrosion that spreads through my heart like a canker. The thought of being away from her for any amount of time eats at me, but I can’t force this. I can’t persuade her to be with me or convince her she’s perfect as she is. She has to make those decisions herself. Despite how wrong all of this feels, I’m giving her what she asked for. No matter how fast I feel myself sinking into a pit of misery, I can’t be that person who doesn’t listen to what she wants. I just hope she comes back .
Waiting for Willa and Ashlie in the parking garage, I gear myself up for the awkward ride to the airport. I just have to make it twenty minutes . My fingers drum across the steering wheel as my thoughts drift to the bar last night. Everything happened so fast. One minute, Ashlie was looking at me across the doorway, and the next, I had some motherfucker smashed against a table. When he touched her, I saw red. Lost my mind. I didn’t even know it was Chase pulling me off until I was halfway outside.
Grabbing my phone, I recheck the rental car return process. The back hatch of the SUV pops open, and I’m terrified to turn around. I can’t take looking into Ashlie’s eyes right now.
“Hey, Hunter,” Willa says from the back. She hesitates, and I glance at the rearview mirror to see her. “Thanks for getting her the crutches.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, no problem.” By four in the morning, I was still wired, so I hopped in the rental and found a twenty-four-hour pharmacy to grab crutches and an ankle brace for Ashlie. I left it all at their door, hoping she wouldn’t see it as a breach of “space.”
Willa slides into the passenger seat and places a hand on my arm. “You okay? I heard…everything.”
“Yeah, naw, not really. I, uh… I changed my flight to give her some breathing room… Just don’t want to deal with the awkwardness.”
“Wow, okay… That’s a little extreme, but I guess she asked for it.” She breathes out a quiet laugh and shakes my arm. “Hey, she’ll figure it out, Hunter.”
I nod, but there’s no confidence in it. Even after everything last night, I still don’t know that she wants this with me. A month is enough time for her to change her mind about all of it.
Ashlie clicks out of the hotel on her crutches, swinging methodically toward the rental car. I watch her through the rearview mirror as she pulls herself up and slides her crutches across the seat. Watch her click her seatbelt across her torso. Adjust her ponytail. Swipe a finger under her glossed lip. I watch everything for the last time, fix my eyes on the road, and I don’t look at her again.