“Yep.” I take a sip of water so I don’t have to say anything else.
“That must be so distracting. How do you get anything done?”
“Oh, I don’t.” The sarcastic bite in my voice makes her shoulders tense. “I just sit at home and let Daddy Wallet over there promote me through his company.”
Her smile falls. “I just meant that you were so unfocused when you were younger. I imagine that would make it hard to be home all the time.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not a child anymore.” I stare at her until she lowers her eyes, which only amplifies the pulse pounding in my ears.
Dad clears his throat. “Hunter is one of our top data analysts. Being at home without the office distractions has vastly improved his work. He’s up for a supervisor position.”
“That’s fantastic, Hunter. I’m proud of you!” She grins, and the crinkle lines around her eyes are as familiar as I remember…before she left and everything went to shit.
“Thanks,” I murmur, wishing Dad wouldn’t have opened up the door for her to be in my business. I set my eyes on Ashlie, who’s been silently watching the whole exchange. “You ready?”
“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Mom asks. “You just got here.”
“Wehave been here for hours,” I say. “Youjust got here.”
Ashlie pushes back from the table, placing her napkin next to her plate. “Thanks for dinner, Kendall. It was delicious.”
“Come over anytime. And thank you for helping Artie. You did a great job.” He smiles and stands from his chair. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
When we reach the stairs, Ashlie runs up to grab her things. I avoid looking at Dad, knowing he’s about to give me one of his abbreviated lectures. My scalp prickles as he watches me. “Just say it!” I snap.
“Cool it, Hunter.” That’s all he says. I know exactly what he’s talking about, and he knows I know. He claps me on the shoulder, his stare softening. “It’s nice seeing you, son. Don’t let your mom keep you from coming over. This is your home, not hers.”
I nod and open the door for Ashlie, who’s almost to the bottom of the stairs. “Bye, Dad,” I say, before jogging down the front steps.
“Well,thatwas the most intense dinner I’ve ever sat through,” Ashlie jokes once we get in the car.
“Yeah. Charlotte St. Clair tends to have that effect on people.” My mind fills with the worst kind of memories as I head toward the freeway. We drive most of the way back to Ashlie’s apartment in silence until she breaks it when we reach her neighborhood.
“…Are you okay?”
“Peachy,” I mumble. From the corner of my eye, I watch her stick her thumbnail between her teeth.She’s gonna ask for details.
“I’ve never heard you talk about it. Can I ask what happened?”
Fucking called it. Laughing to keep the searing rage in my chest from taking over, I remember why I don’t talk about what happened after Mom left. I’m still livid as fuck about it. No amount of time or distance can put a damper on the emotion roiling through me.
“O-oh, let me tell you.” I huff a humorless chuckle. “When I was sixteen, I came home from school early and found my mom and Nils in bed together.”
Ashlie covers her mouth with both hands. “Oh my God.”
“Yeah. Imagine hiring a babysitter so you could cheat on your husband in his own bed.” My throat tightens, and the longer I talk about this, the harder it is to concentrate on the road. Thankfully, Ashlie doesn’t ask another question until I park behind her car and rub my eyes.
“Did she see you?” Ashlie’s facing me now, seatbelt dangling behind her, legs crisscrossed on the seat. The concern on her face as she listens makes me want to run and hideandreach out toward her for comfort all at the same time.
Nodding, I blow a puff of air from my lips. I hate talking about this, but with Ashlie, I can’t seem to keep the words from spilling out. “I went back to my room, and she followed me, wrapped in the blanket from her bed, begging me not to say anything to Dad.”
The memories flood through me while I stare out the windshield. I’ve spent a decade trying to push them all down, but here they are, as vivid as the day they happened. “Of course I told him. He’s my dad. I told him, and everything fell apart. Every time I looked at her, I saw red. It was so bad, I stayed with Chase’s family for weeks. I couldn’t get the image out of my head—her andhim. The thought of going back to that house made me want to break things.”
“Shit, Hunt…”
“That day is the only time I’ve ever heard my dad yell. They screamed at each other for hours. Mom blamed me, saying I should have minded my business. Dad completely closed himself off. And my girlfriend at the time dumped me because I was pissed at everything.”
Ashlie reaches across the center console, putting her hand on mine. The soft pressure serves as a distraction from the torrential hurricane swirling inside of me. Focusing on her, I breathe out the emotion building in my throat.
