Hunter dropped his arms and took a big step back like I seared him, agony and despair slashing over his features. “I don’t want to be friends, Gabby. I want to be yours. Justyours.”
Pain pulsed through my entire being like a round of bullets was fired into my skin. I was a fool to believe that we could make it past all of this and come out unscathed on the other end.
“I think I’ve liked you since the first moment I laid eyes on you over a year ago, when I knew nothing about you…except for the fact that you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.”
His vulnerable words from Friday night echoed in my mind, adding more salt to the wound. My eyes stung with tears.
I saw all our past interactions in a different light and figured out, a little too late, that everything Hunter did, he did not only because he was a good person, but because he was slowly falling for me. From driving me around, to reading my favourite romance novels, to bringing me meaningful gifts, to sending me all sorts of sweet texts, to spending every spare moment in his day with me, and so much more.
It was all because he wanted to be mine.
Taking my silence as an answer, Hunter’s eyes shut on an exhale.
“I’m done,” he murmured with finality. “I’m done chasing after someone who doesn’t want me, and I’m done feeling like I have no worth beyond a casual hookup.”
Shocked by his words, I couldn’t formulate my thoughts into sentences.
“I’ll stay out of your way.” He withdrew past his threshold, his knuckles white from how hard he clutched his door. “I’ll sit far away from you during Monday’s class and I’ll email you my parts of the assignments every week. I trust that you’ll do your part as well and send the completed versions to Dr. Richmond.”
I willed my mouth to speak, my insides churning with so much anguish. “Hunter,please.”
He gave me a wry smile, his eyes downcast. “It’s okay, Gabby. It’s not your fault that you don’t feel the same way. I get it, trust me. No hard feelings.” His voice was hollow. “Have a good night.”
Like the gentleman he was, he didn’t slam the door shut in my face, rather closed it with a soft click. Somehow, that made me feel worse.
I came here to fix things, to earn his forgiveness, and to remain friends.
Instead, I ruined everything.
I’d been so afraid of losing him…yet I lost him regardless.
And I’d been so afraid of rejection that when I came to my senses a moment later, I realized that was exactly what I did to Hunter.
Numb but still aching, I padded back to my place in a trance, Luna in tow.
The only sound in my ears was my rapidly beating heart splitting in two.
I had no recollections of turning off the lights and climbing into my bed.
All I remembered was bawling my eyes out over the fact that I broke the heart of the sweetest man I’d ever had the privilege of knowing. I made him feel unwanted and unworthy, while all he’d ever done was make me feel cherished and important.
My pillow remained wet by the time the sun rose and signalled the start of a new day.
CHAPTER 20
Making Amends
Gabriela
When I woke up, my head was throbbing and my eyes were red from crying.
A horrible sensation enveloped me that not even a hot shower, caffeine, and a thick layer of makeup could fix. I resigned to my fate: skipping the entirety of my classes and spending the day curled on the couch with Luna, wallowing in my misery. My furry companion knew something was wrong. She gave me worried glances and settled herself on my chest, hugging and purring softly.
It was mental torture, spending hours self-reflecting and replaying yesterday’s scene from the hallway. The stark hurt on Hunter’s face, the stoic demeanour that melted the second I confessed to adoring him, the pure yearning when he held me in his arms, and the resolute voice when he told me that he wasdone. I kept going over our interaction, dissecting where I went wrong and essaying on how I could have prevented the catastrophe so we ended up with a different outcome.
Yet I knew the only way we’d have a different outcome was if I wanted the same thing as him. To be together. To be his. To let him be mine.
A painful chasm widened inside my chest. Sitting down and ruminating alone wasn’t doing me any good. Therefore, I gathered the courage to finally text the girls about the disasterthat occurred last night. They were sorry to hear it and wanted to help me navigate through my inner turmoil. Before I knew it, our conversation quickly turned into a makeshift therapy session.
