25. Kaitlyn
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kaitlyn
NOW
On my way into the gallery, I called Bailey to check on Javi since visiting hours didn’t start until I was supposed to be at work. He said Javi woke up a little bit before I called, and was still pretty out of it, but he’d be happy to see me later.
Between Javi’s surgery and my parents leaving for France today, Thalia had planned to close the gallery, but we have an artist dropping off their pieces for a new installment we’re featuring.
I told her it was fine, and that this is literally what she and my mom are paying me to do.
However, I wasn’t going to complain when she told me I could close down after the delivery, as long as I had everything else done.
I was able to get some light cleaning done, make cards for the new work coming in, and help the artist move all the pieces to the back of the gallery until the current pieces are shipped to their buyers.
Despite how well the air conditioning in 1133 works, I can feel a layer of sweat soaking through my shirt by the time I’m done.
I’m not sure how Hunter survives the humidity when he’s at football, and I can’t believe I used to cheer on days like this. At least when I’m surfing, I can jump in the water to cool off because clearly whatever tolerance I had before has disappeared, and I’m itching for a shower.
I’m flipping the lock on the front door when my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I check it on the way to my car.
Hunter
Can you come over?
Need to tell you something.
Kaitlyn
Yeah. Everything okay?
I wait for Hunter to respond, but he still hasn’t by the time I’m starting my car.
I don’t have any other messages from anyone else, so it can’t be anything with Javi, but it still puts kind of a funny feeling in my stomach.
Maybe I’m overreacting, though. I press my brother’s number, and my phone rings twice through the speakers before he picks up.
“Hey, I was just about to text you. Are you all done with your big girl job?” he asks, and it makes me laugh. “Why’s that funny?”
“Because I’m not sure that’s what I’d call working at our parents’ gallery, but to answer your question, I just closed up. Are you at the hospital? How’s Javi?”
“Yeah, Mira wanted to come back first thing this morning, so we sat in the lobby waiting for visiting hours to start. Javi’s good—pretty groggy still.
He has a lot of questions, but it’s a good thing Mirabelle’s smarter than me, because I’m afraid to say the wrong thing,” Henry says, lowering his voice.
At least he knows she’s smarter than him.
“We tried to convince Bailey to take a break, but he’s refusing to leave his side.
I’m just waiting for Thalia and Sebastian to come back because maybe they’ll be able to talk some sense into him. ”
“Wait, I thought they would already be at the hospital?” I ask, cranking the air conditioning to blow right in my face.
“Yeah, um, they had to go back to the beach house,” he says, and now I’m a lot more worried about the weird texts I got from Hunter. Henry totally knows something. “So are you on your way here?”
“I was gonna run home first to shower, but Hunt sent me a weird text asking me to come over cause he needs to tell me something. Did Thalia and Sebastian say anything?”
I tap my fingers against the steering wheel as I wait for Henry to answer, but the longer it takes, the more suspicious I get. I don’t think I’m going home for that shower now.
“Henry, what do you know?” I ask, and he sighs.
“Officially, I don’t know anything. All I’ve heard are whispers, but if I’m right, I get where Hunter’s coming from,” he says, and I turn right to cross the bridge over the channel instead of going straight to my parents’ house.
“What whispers have you heard?” I ask, trying not to work myself up, but I’m not doing a very good job.
“You should hear it from him.”
“You suck.”
“Love you too, sis. Just so you know, Javi just asked Bailey when you’re going to come. He saved a Jell-O for you,” Henry says, and even if whatever Hunter’s about to tell me makes me upset, it’s not going to stop me from going to the hospital.
“I’ll be there are soon as I’m done with whatever this is. Are you sure you can’t give me a hint?”
He clears his throat, and this doesn’t make me feel good. “Sorry, I can’t.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll see you in a bit,” I say dryly, wondering when life is going to be calm again.
“We’ll be here,” Henry says before hanging up.
It seems like Hunter and I have been doing nothing except grasping at the knot tying us together. I love him, but we just can’t seem to catch a break. Part of it’s my fault after the ripples I caused by deferring.
But we’re past that. Things are supposed to be good now.
I’m trying to forget how weird it felt yesterday with Bailey. Maybe it’s finally time for me to come clean with Hunter about what happened between Bailey and me in high school, but it’s been so long. I don’t want to drive a bigger wedge between the twins than I already have.
I’m not feeling much better by the time I’ve parked next to Thalia’s SUV. I reach for my necklaces, separating the chains from where they got tangled in my braid as I walk up the stairs to the front door.
It’s been years since I’ve knocked on their front door, but I hear the arguing the second I walk in.
“—didn’t ask you to do this! Why didn’t you say anything?”
Holy shit, that’s JJ. What the hell did Hunter do to make him so upset?
“Because you would’ve told me not to,” Hunter says, sounding far more levelheaded.
“Hunt, you should have talked to us first. What if the transfer waiver doesn’t work, and you have to ride the bench for a year?” Sebastian says, and I stop in my tracks.
Transfer waiver? What the fuck did Hunter do?
“Then I support the team from the bench. The head coach at Beaumont called me himself this morning to offer me a spot on the team even if I’m not able to get the waiver, and I said yes.
It’s already done, Dad,” he says, and I wonder if this is how Hunter felt when I said I was deferring.
Except my deferment wasn’t taking me all the way to the other side of the country.
When did he decide this?
I feel awful even thinking it, but is this supposed to be payback ?
“This is about your future,” Thalia adds, and I step into the doorway to see Hunter with his arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the counter.
“I’m aware it’s about my future. You also told me when I committed to Oceanside that it didn’t matter where I went to school.
I wasn’t going to tell you about it until I heard about the transfer waiver, because I didn’t want to freak anyone out without the full picture.
I didn’t know they were going to announce it so fast.”
“Take it back. Tell Oceanside you’re staying, and take it back ,” JJ says, a hard edge to his voice.
“I can’t, and even if I could, I’m not going to. How many times did you ask me last year to transfer?”
I knew JJ had mentioned it a few times to Hunter, but he always laughed it off when we talked about it. I didn’t know it was something he ever considered.
“You haven’t let him explain,” Marley says, and JJ steps into my line of sight, moving to stand in front of Hunter.
“Did you only do this because I’m a drug addict? Because you’re afraid I’m going to relapse?”
“Honestly? Yeah, but it’s not the only reason,” Hunter says, looking him in the eye. “I miss playing with you, JJ. You don’t have to like my decision, but you’re my big brother, and I want to be there for you. I should’ve done it months ago when I got in. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
This doesn’t really seem like a great time to interrupt.
“I want you there because you want to be at Beaumont, but I don’t need you there to be my babysitter. If you had asked, I would’ve told you that all I need is for you to believe I can stay clean, and I’ll be honest if I’m having a hard day.”
“I do believe you ca?—”
JJ’s harsh laugh cuts Hunter off. “No, I don’t think you do. I was honest with everyone yesterday about why I couldn’t go to the hospital. I get that I’ve given everyone plenty of reasons not to trust me, but I’m trying to do better.”
“We all see how good you’re doing. I don’t think that’s what Hunter meant,” Thalia says, and JJ shakes his head.
“I’m going to find a meeting, but in case I think about stopping for drugs along the way, do you want to chaperone?” JJ asks, stepping back.
Hunter tugs a hand through his hair, looking away from his brother, and his eyes widen when they land on me. “Kait, how much did you hear?”
My mouth opens and then closes because I don’t know what to say. His face falls and JJ walks through the doorway past me without saying a word. The front door slams behind him, and Hunter just stares at me.
“Do we go after him?” Sebastian asks, and I step into the kitchen seeing Marley fiddling with her rings as Thalia twists her hair back into a bun.
“I think he just needs some space right now,” Marley says quietly, sighing as she looks at Hunter. “JJ’s upset, and you probably won’t hear it from him for a while, but thank you for what you did. I hope you get the waiver.”
“Thanks, Marley,” Hunter says, his face paling by the second. Whatever bravado he had when facing JJ is now slipping away as he watches me.
“Um, Bash, we should probably head back to the hospital. The doctor is going to want to talk to us about Javi’s progress,” Thalia says, giving me a faint smile as she reaches to squeeze my arm gently. “We’ll see you at the hospital in a bit?”
I swallow the acid forming in my mouth, nodding as I try to smile.
She squeezes my arm again, probably trying to reassure me everything is going to be okay, but I’m not sure it will be.
“You coming with us?” Sebastian asks Marley, and I’m kind of hoping she is because I’d prefer if Hunter and I didn’t have an audience for however this is going to go down between us.