31. Hunter
31
Hunter
A s I drove to have lunch with my mom, I wanted to cancel so bad. We had just had lunch a few weeks ago and if I told her why, she would have probably been ok with it, but I was scared to rush back into what I had. What if things had changed? I knew if they had, it would have been my fault. I felt the finality of my actions on that night were all together.
We needed to see each other, so I dialed Valencia’s number, and it went straight to voicemail. That was odd, I don’t think she ever had her phone off before. I dialed again to make sure it wasn't a carrier problem, and I was met with her voicemail again.
Hey, don’t leave a voicemail, I never check it, so just text me. That means you too, mom.
Her phone might have died, so I told myself to call her after lunch. I parked my car at a French cafe my mom liked to eat at. She was already sitting in a booth at the back of the restaurant looking at a menu, and my stepmom was with her. They spoke to each other and laughed at something before Helen threw an arm around my mom and kissed her temple.
“Hey, don’t start that,” I teased.
My mom laughed. “Honey, you've seen worse than that.”
I shivered from the awful memory of coming home early from high school to see them on the sofa. Helen shook her head as I kissed my mom on the cheek and then gave one to her too.
“It’s good to see you,” I said to Helen. “We've missed you the last few times.”
“Oh, honey it's been chaos at the hospital and we are down one doctor,” she said, looking exhausted.”
“That’s rough, I’m glad you have today off,” I said, giving her a smile.
“Me too, honey. I get to see you and finally ask how it's working out with the team.” She leaned forward.
“It's good, we've been winning lately and this year our record is good. We have to stay consistent for these last few weeks and then maybe we could get a spot in the championship,” I said, feeling hopeful.
“His teammate is super cute, too,” my mom chimed in. “He’s got a banging body.”
I flinched from her choice of words.
“Mom, don’t,” I sighed.
“Your mom says his pictures online don’t do him justice and that Valencia is absolutely gorgeous,” Helen said, as the waitress came to us.
Since this was our most frequent lunch spot, we knew what we all wanted. I was glad for the break in conversation because I didn’t need to talk to my moms about fucking two people. The waitress left and I wasn’t safe again.
“So, are you in a relationship with them?” Helen asked, and I should have known better.
“Mom, can we not do this?—”
“Oh, honey we have to,” Helena grinned. “You robbed us of being able to do this for a long time; let us bask in the teasing and questions.
“I…” I looked away not knowing what to say.
“What happened, sweetheart?” My mom grabbed my hand.
“I probably fucked it up,” I said, trying to decide how much information to give them. “I pushed them away when I should have been holding on tightly.”
Helen grabbed my other hand. “Love is complicated, and there are many different ways to get to it, but what matters is that you all get there together.”
“I don’t think this is love,” I lied to them and myself.
“When have you ever felt like this?” My mom asked.
“Never.” I clenched my jaw.
“Have you tried apologizing?” Helen asked.
“I’m going to go see him after this, but Valencia hasn’t responded to a text a few days ago and her cell is off,” I said, pulling away from them. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she got tired of our shit and decided that she was done.”
“Don’t make assumptions,” my mom chastised me. “Do you know where she lives?”
“Yeah, I’ve been there once to pick her up,” I said, as the waitress left our drinks.
“Go see her and bring something you know she wants. Flowers are great, but I think bringing her a thoughtful gift makes it just a little better,” Helen said, looking at my mom like she knew what she was talking about.
“Ok, I’ll think about that,” I said, craving what my mom had.
Helen and she were perfect together, and while I knew they probably had their struggles, they always seemed to have their shit together. They are what I always thought love looked like.
“Just tell them how you feel,” my mom said, grabbing my hand again. “The way they looked at you, I don’t think that is something that goes away with time. They cared and I think you’ve been too blind to see that.”
I scowled, looking away, wondering how they knew all of this. and they weren’t even in our relationship.
“That’s easier said than done,” I sighed.
“Are they worth it?” Helen asked. “Would you fight for them?”
“Yes,” I said, as our food arrived.
“Then you have to tell them how you feel, and if that's still too scary, maybe you don’t care for them as much as you think you do,” my mom said, hitting me with a bigger truth that I didn’t want to face.
I was about to take a spoonful of my soup when my phone rang. I immediately pulled it out of my pocket, relief hitting me that it might not be over. Disappointment hit me when I noticed it was just my agent.
“Just tell them, honey, because that look on your face is breaking my heart,” my mom said, as my phone stopped ringing.
It immediately started ringing again and I answered my agent.
“Hey,” I said, hoping it was something quick.
“Please tell me you aren’t seeing that porn star,” he snapped.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed.
“The social media manager is a porn star, and they said she’s been seeing two hockey players,” he clipped. “Please tell me you aren’t stupid enough to do this.”
“Uh, where did you hear this?” I was panicking immediately, thinking of Valencia.
“Some gossip magazine ran it this morning, thankfully not on the front page, and they didn’t reveal the hockey player’s names. I’m just trying to get ahead of this if it is you,” he said, sounding like he was walking.
“I gotta go,” I said, about to hang up.
“Hunter, really?” He sounded exasperated.
“I can’t say anything,” I said, running my hand over my face.
“For fuck’s sake, Hunter,” he snapped. “Who else?”
“I can’t say. NDA,” I said, hoping that was enough for him.
“Jesus Christ,” he groaned. “It’s a contract?”
“Yes,” I said, thankful I didn’t have to say anything else because he had accidently found out what I was doing and stressed on doing NDA’s. “Who snitched?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed.
“I have to go,” I said, needing to go to Valencia.
She warned us about this, but how the hell did someone rat her out?
“I heard she had a bad run-in with reporters,” he said, making me clench my fist trying to calm down.
“Thanks,” I said, hanging up.
“I got to go,” I said, throwing down money on the table.
“Honey, are you ok?” My mom stood up with me.
“No,” I said quickly. “I… I need to find Valencia.”
“Is she ok? Do you need any help?” Helen got out of the booth.
“No, um….” I ran my hand through my hair. “Some gossip magazine printed information about us and…”
I will be dragged through the mud if this happens. You will be praised for banging the Social Media Manager, while I’ll be labeled as a whore trying to climb her way to the top.
Dammit, she had called it.
“Did they find out about you?” my mom asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“No, not specifically, but it’s only a matter of time…”
I felt like an asshole, we weren’t careful enough and she was going to have to suffer our mistake.
“Go to her, but be safe,” my mom said, hugging me.
“If she needs somewhere to stay, she can stay with us until things die down,” Helen said, hugging me too.
This is why I loved my moms, always willing to help me and be there for me.
“Thanks,” I said, hugging both of them tightly. “Sorry I have to run.”
I kissed their foreheads, turning around and leaving. I immediately texted Ro.
Me: Have you heard from Valencia? And what is her apartment number again?
Romeo: No, her apartment number is 34b.
I put my phone in my pocket as I opened the door to my car. My mind was chaotic, thinking the worst as I drove to her apartment. Parking illegally, I ran to her apartment. I knocked on the door and it immediately opened.
Her place was trashed. Things were thrown everywhere, and anger like I have never experienced burned through me.
“Lenny?” I called, praying she wasn’t here.
My phone buzzed incessantly, and I ignored it. I wouldn’t doubt it was my agent calling to bitch me out. When it kept ringing, I pulled it out to turn it off, seeing Ro was calling.
“Hey,” I said.
“Is she ok?” he snapped. “Have you seen?”
“She’s not here and my agent called me,” I said, going into her bedroom which was just as destroyed. “Someone broke into her apartment.”
“Fuck, are you kidding me?” Ro growled.
“Her apartment is a mess,” I said, as I noticed valuable things were still here. “I think they were looking for something specific. Her TV is still here and so is her iPad.”
“Is her laptop there?
“She got arrested too,” Ro said.
“What for?” I snarled.
“She apparently hit a reporter,” he said, “but that's all the information I have.”
“Shit, you think she’s still in jail?” I grabbed a bag, putting in all her camera stuff.
I cringed when I noticed a few of her lenses were shattered.
“I’ll call to see where she might be at,” he said.
“If she isn’t in jail, where would she be?” I grabbed some of her clothes and as I was about to go into her bathroom, I saw the bag she usually brought with her to sleep over.
Inside she had everything she needed, so I decided to take this too.
“I don’t know, she’s never mentioned family being here,” he said softly.
“She’s looked friendly with Noemi, maybe I’ll call Genevieve to see if she has her number,” I said, getting angrier the longer I was in her apartment. “Actually, I think I have Easton’s number.”
“Ok, so we have a plan. I’ll find out if she is in jail and you see if anyone knows anything,” he said.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said, looking around for the iPad so I could bring it with me too.
“Ok, I’ll see you soon?” he sounded unsure.
“Yeah, Ro. I’ll go over as soon as I’m done here,” I said softly. “Are you ok?”
“No, I won’t be until I know she is ok, and you both get here safe and sound,” he sighed.
“Ok, I’m gonna see if I can lock up and maybe see if anyone knows anything around here. I’ll be over in a little bit,” I said, looking at the door.
“Ok, be careful. I wouldn’t be surprised if reporters started showing up,” he said, before hanging up.
If our name got out, I knew it would be an even bigger shit show. Right now, it was just local gossip, at least I hoped it was. Once we got into the gossip mill, it would spread like wildfire, and I'd be damned if her and Ro’s name got dragged through the mud.