Chapter 8 #2
“Amazing. Don’t stop,” I breathe out, making him snicker softly into my neck, my hips trying to move and match his rhythm.
“You know, I think we should—” He starts but gets interrupted by a child’s giggle outside the van, making us freeze.
“Is Sloany inside, Uncle Hunt?” Lio’s muffled voice startles me out of my lusty haze, and I sit up abruptly, moving my upper body right through Saylor’s, who lets himself fall back to the bed with a grunt, his expression pained.
“Did I hurt you?” I whisper, leaning over him and searching his face.
“No, it’s just, fuuck. My whole damn body almost vibrated for a second with the tingles. Let’s do this again when you’re naked,” he teases, and I swat at him, making him snicker.
“I don’t know, bud, you’ll have to knock to find out,” Hunter’s voice is muffled before a small soft knock comes on the van’s side door.
“Sloany!” Lio yells before knocking again.
Well, if that isn’t a cold bucket over the head.
“Seems like Hunt cares, after all.” Saylor shrugs. I glance at him, unsure what to do and why the fuck he isn’t still reeling with what we just did like I am. “Your decision. Although I don’t think he will make a scene with Lio right there.”
I stand and smooth my hair. Then, rearranging my hoodie, I glare at Saylor, who chuckles at me trying to look at least decent.
I open the sliding door and peer out to find Lio and Hunter standing in front of my van.
My heart is heavy with mixed emotions. I’m so happy to see Lio.
There’s nothing left of the pale and sweaty boy I brought to the hospital just days ago.
He looks as good as never before, which warms my heart.
But as I glance at Hunter, who appears nervous, tension set firmly in his jaw, I want nothing more than to push the door closed and get back in Saylor’s arms.
Why would Hunter show up now?
Lio rushes forward, wrapping his little arms around my legs.
“Hey there, buddy,” I greet, crouching to his level. “How are you feeling?”
He looks up at me with those big ocean blue eyes and smiles. “Good,” he replies in his soft, raspy voice. “We made you dinner. The pasta you liked so much.” He points at the basket Hunter is holding.
“Thank you, that’s so nice of you,” I tell him, flicking his nose and making him giggle.
Hunter steps forward, a warm smile on his face, way less nervous now he saw how normal I reacted to Lio.
“You wouldn’t believe how much better Lio is after just a few days.
It’s like a miracle with the right medication.
He hardly ever coughs anymore. He’s still a little weak, but I know he’ll be more than fine in a few more days.
And it’s all because of you.” He steps even closer, his eyes searching my face.
“You rescued him, even when I was a total d… ork. You could have walked away after how we treated you, but you chose not to. For Lio. I’ll forever be grateful to you for that. ”
“Fucking hope so, brother,” comes from inside the van, and I see Saylor still lounging on my bed in my peripheral vision, listening in.
I can’t help but smile as I hug Lio tightly, whispering in his ear, “I’m so happy you’re feeling better.” And I really am. All of this, the ordeal, the hurt, the heartbreak. Everything that happened. It was worth it to see Lio this healthy.
“But Uncle Hunter said you don’t feel so good and that you have to eat.” Lio looks stern as he points at the basket.
“At least he isn’t wrong there,” Saylor points out.
Are they ganging up on me?
“Wanna try? We made the round ones this time,” Lio shares proudly.
I glance at Hunter before telling Lio, “Sure, would you mind getting me a fork from the kitchen?” Standing, I grab Lio under the arms and lift him into the van.
“You don’t have a kitchen.” He giggles as he looks around.
“There is a fork in one of the drawers over there,” I explain, letting him search the van while I step outside to talk to Hunter. “I’m glad Lio is doing well…” I admit, “… but you two have to go.” I cross my arms over my chest, hoping to look stern, but my insides are mush.
I want nothing more than to be pulled into Hunter’s chest, to have him stroke my back gently while he softly whispers that everything will be all right.
He’s so damn good at calming me down, but what can I do when he’s the one that upset me?
Hunter’s face falls slightly, but he nods.
“That’s fair. I just wanted to apologize, too, and bring you some food.
” He hands me the basket, and I take it, reaching inside the van to put it on the floor, hearing Lio still rummaging around in my drawers.
“So now you’ve got the food, there’s still the apology left,” Hunter starts, but I raise an eyebrow, feeling a mixture of confusion and agitation.
What is he thinking?
“You can’t just use Lio like that,” I accuse sharply, not letting him speak.
Hunter’s eyes widen, and he steps back, holding his hands up defensively. “I didn’t mean to use him,” he protests. “We just thought you might not have been eating enough. You look like you lost weight, so we made you something to eat.”
“Oh, did your brothers tell you that after they thought it okay to barge into where I’m working—”
“They did. And believe me, I would have been there with them too, maybe acting just as stupid because I was out of my mind with worry for you. But I was with Lio in the hospital. I was where I needed to be. You told me you didn’t want me to follow, and I tried hard to do just once what I should and not what I desperately wanted to do. ”
My frustration bubbles over, and I snap, “And now that he’s better, you use him to get to me because you know I wouldn’t open the door for you, but for him, I would?”
“Sloan…” He starts, but Lio finally finds the fork and stands beside me again, reaching it out to me.
“Thank you, buddy. I know I will love your pasta,” I tell him as I take the fork and pull him close.
“You should try it now so we know if you do,” Hunter suggests, his eyes sparkling with a glimmer of mischief.
“Yes, try,” Lio encourages, looking at me with hopeful eyes.
I shoot Hunter a glare, but he just smirks. “You accuse me of using him anyway. I’ll at least make sure you eat something today.”
“Evil genius,” Saylor snickers. “But I want you to eat something too, so I’ll let it slide.”
Oh, you will hear an earful when they’re gone.
“I’ll try later, Lio. I’m not hungry right now. But I’ll tell you how good it was when I see you next time.” I try to let him down gently, but Lio’s face falls, and a small pout forms on his lips.
“He brings out the pout, and it’s game over, Boo.” Saylor chuckles.
“Fine,” I relent, sitting on the van floor with my feet on the ground, Lio following suit as I pull the Tupperware out of the basket, placing it into my lap. I open the container and have to suppress a groan as the smell of the still-warm pasta comes into my nose.
Tomatoes, basil, parmesan cheese.
My stomach growls, and Lio laughs. “Your tummy is hungry.”
My cheeks turn red, and I glance up at Hunter, who smiles softly. “Go ahead, try. I think we did even better than last time.”
I push a forkful in my mouth and close my eyes, savoring the taste.
He’s right. It is even better than last time.
And having something warm in my belly is a comfort I didn’t know I needed.
But the taste brings memories back to mind, how we ate together, how it was like being home, doing the dishes, watching television, playing with Lio, Hunter kissing me…
That goddamn first kiss.
Tears start to well up in my eyes, and Hunter notices, shifting his weight around, fidgeting as he probably feels my mood falling through the ground.
I can see that he’s barely holding back from reaching out to comfort me.
He would sit next to me and pull me into his lap if he could. It’s written all over his face.
“It’s really good,” I compliment Lio, my voice watery, and I force myself to smile. “You should think about becoming a chef when you grow up.”
I try hard to distract myself, but Hunter’s longing connects to my heart, pulling on it.
“No, I’m going to be a fisherman,” Lio declares.
“Worst idea ever.” Saylor laughs sarcastically.
“But if you want, I promise to cook for you every day,” Lio declares, standing a little taller.
The Jones boys and their promises.
“That’s so nice of you, buddy, but it’s not necessary. It’s already getting late. You should go home and make sure your daddy and Nash have something to eat too.”
“Funny that you care about that,” Saylor chimes in from behind me again.
Could you fucking not?
With a heavy sigh, Hunter nods, clearly hurt by my reaction. He turns to Lio. “She’s right. I bet Nash is hungry, and it would be good for Daddy to get something in his tummy that’s not brown liquid for once.”
North’s drinking?
I mean, I know he is, but am I the reason now?
Why do I even care?
“Okay, see you tomorrow, Sloany,” Lio tells me as he hops off the van ledge, heading over to reach for Hunter’s hand with ease. No trace of the once-worrisome cough.
“Bye, Lio,” I whisper, sticking my fork into the tray of pasta before I stand.
“Bye, Shortcake,” Hunter whispers before turning and walking away.
His expression makes my stomach turn, and the hungry feeling I just had is gone when I step back into the van, close the sliding door, and put the tray onto my little kitchen counter.
“He’s right. You need to eat some more,” Saylor observes as I sit on the bed. He comes to sit on the edge, too, and the shimmers running down my back tell me he’s stroking it in slow, rhythmic circles.
“I can’t,” I breathe out, feeling how my nose burns and my eyes fill with tears.
“Hey, Boo.” Saylor tries to soothe me, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “It’s going to be fine. Everything will be all right.”
“Stop saying that all the time,” I accuse, my hackles rising, my tone sharp. “Just because you always say it doesn’t make it true.”
I shouldn’t take my frustration out on him. He is the last person who did anything to deserve it.
But Saylor just chuckles. “But it is true. It all hurts so much… them, you, because you guys care. You all care so much about each other. The only thing that is standing in the way is the hurt.”
“And the fact that they didn’t want me anymore as soon as they knew what I could do,” I state, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Not quite true. They thought you were a liar. But now that they know you’re not, and now they know about your gift, they still want you back.”
I let that sink in.
They know now what I can do and still want me.
Why didn’t I realize this sooner?
But does it matter?
“But they didn’t believe me. They treated me like shit. They could have chosen to believe me, but they didn’t,” I argue, trying to defend my hurt and decision not to just forgive them.
“I see your point, and I’m not telling you that you should act any differently. I just say, no matter the outcome, it will be okay.”
God, I want him to be right so badly.
“Come on, eat a little bit more, and we can take a nap together,” he whispers, nodding to the tray with the pasta.
I reach out to pull it onto my lap. “You don’t nap,” I note before pushing a forkful into my mouth.
“I love to watch you, though,” he whispers as he nuzzles my neck, and I pull my shoulder up to my ear, making a weak attempt to block him.
“Stop.” I giggle softly, and he sits back, letting me eat in peace.
“What else did I miss?” Saylor asks after I eat a few more forkfuls and place the tray back on the counter.
I lay down on the bed, and he follows suit, lying beside me, so I turn to look at him, my hands folded under my cheek. “Tally and I talked about me staying here.”
There is a glimmer of hope in his eyes, so bright there is no way not to see it, although his face stays neutral. “And?”
“And I think I want to. Maybe I’ll start looking for a room or an apartment for us,” I share.
“For us, huh?” He grins, and the joy on his face is blinding.
“I feel like this is where I belong, even after everything that happened. I can’t explain why,” I whisper, and a smile tugs at his lips.
“It’s because you do.”
He’s right.
I do.