Chapter 44
Fourth of July? Sure.
Connor
As soon as I’m back on the highway after leaving Maisie’s house, I call Hunter.
“Hey, bro, you home yet?” Hunter says upon answering.
“Almost. I’m about an hour out,” I reply.
He’s silent for a moment. He can tell I need to get something off my chest. He’s known me too long.
“Anything else you care to share?” he finally asks.
A whoosh of air leaves my lungs, but it does nothing to loosen the tension in my shoulders. I scrub a hand down my face and realize it must have been a few days since I’ve shaved. My scruff is overgrown. I’ve been distracted.
“It’s Maize,” I say.
“What about her?”
I’m not sure where to begin.
Before I can respond, Hunter says, “Are you going to make me pull this out of you?”
“Possibly.” I chuckle. “Fine, we hooked up.”
“Maybe I’m still missing something. Is that a bad thing somehow?”
A long-suffering sigh escapes me before I say, “No, it’s not a bad thing.
Or I didn’t think it was. Fuck, it was the best night of my life.
I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
And after, we still watched our movie and hung out.
It was amazing, and I got to wake up with her in my arms.” I grip the steering wheel a little harder than necessary.
“But then this morning, it was like a switch flipped, and I don’t know why.
I don’t know what she’s thinking, and fuck, Hunter, I can’t lose her when I just got her.
” Although doubt has crept in about whether I ever had her at all. “I won’t survive it.”
He hums on the other end of the line, clearly trying to think his way through this one. “You got consent, right?” he asks, voice stern.
“Of course I did!” I practically yell.
“All right, all right, I have to check. I don’t care that you’re my best friend in the whole world; I’d kick your ass to Saturn if you laid hands on a woman who didn’t want that.”
“I know you would, and I honestly respect the shit out of that. You know me.”
“I do.” I can hear his smile even though I can’t see it. “Explain to me what you mean by a switch flipped.”
“She zombied out as we were leaving the hotel. Wouldn’t speak to me or even look at me when we got to the car. Then she cried and passed out for the rest of the trip.” A steady ache has been pounding in my chest since then.
“But nothing happened?” he asked incredulously. “What was she doing? What were you doing? I need more details, man.”
“I was paying for the room, and when I looked over, she was staring at her phone. That was when I first noticed the change.”
“Do you think she saw something on her phone that got to her?” he interrupts.
My stomach drops out as the gravity of that line of thought sinks in. Fuck, maybe she did.
He keeps prodding: “Do you know of anyone or anything in her life that would make her react like that?”
My teeth grind together involuntarily. Yeah, I do.
“Her ex, Karsen. You know…the guy I punched? He probably fucking texted her. Hunter, that’s gotta be what happened.
I swear I don’t know what the dick said to her, but when I find out—” I let the threat hang.
Defensiveness bubbles under my skin, looking for a way out.
Instead of boiling over, I make a point to breathe.
I count to ten in my head and rub my hand along the seat of my car, noticing how it feels, what I can smell.
Hunter pops through my meditative bubble by saying, “We don’t actually know that he said anything to her. Take a chill pill, my guy. Keep doing those breathing exercises I hear.”
“I’m calm, I promise.” Though that’s not entirely true. “That guy in particular just grinds my gears. He never deserved her, and if he’s still harassing her, I don’t know how to help.” My shoulders shake with the feeling of helplessness.
Shit—Maize had frozen for a second last night. Did he do something to her?
I grind my teeth. I swear to god I’ll lose it.
Hunter breaks through my thoughts. “Just support her. Don’t worry about him and what he’s doing or not doing. Focus on her.” Hunter always seems to have wisdom beyond his years.
I exhale, giving his words a moment to sink in. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Protectiveness still courses through me, but I know what he’s saying is true. “Thanks, buddy.”
“Anytime. Now, anything else I can help with, or can I get back to making these pies for tomorrow?” He’s clearly put me on speakerphone, and I think I hear a rolling pin.
“Nah, that’s it. Are you making me any blueberry?” I ask, hopeful.
“I am, but I still stand by that is a weird-ass pie for Thanksgiving. Fourth of July? Sure. Thanksgiving? Just wrong.”
“It’s my favorite. I can’t help what I like,” I say.
“I know, and I somehow love you anyway,” he jokes back.
I can hear the rolling pin still working away, and I know I should let him go. “Thanks again, Hunter,” I say sincerely. “See you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow. I’ll be the one dressed the best and carrying a whole cooler of pies.”
“My man,” I say, genuinely laughing now.
We both hang up, and I focus back on the drive. I take another few deep breaths, concentrating this time on releasing the tension at each part of my body individually the way Donny taught me.
In some ways, I feel better; in others, it still feels like a bear is clawing at my chest. I want to know what’s going on with Maize, but most importantly, I want to know if she’s okay.
I want to make sure I didn’t do anything that made her uncomfortable, and that she knows she can talk to me about anything.
I had hoped we would talk it out on the car ride. I wasn’t expecting her to sleep the entire rest of the way home. I couldn’t very well wake her, but I sure as hell was tempted.
I finish the rest of the drive, drowning out all my thoughts in a Miles Davis album. I’ll try calling tomorrow.