Who I really want.
Hunter has reached out and tried to talk to me several times since I left him standing on the beach a few nights back, but I’ve always stood strong and never felt the desire to crack. Until now, when loneliness has crept in worse than I feared and the thought of going another day without him makes my heart hurt more than it has the last couple days.
I know I didn’t have a right to stand my ground and make a decision for both of us, and I know it is just a matter of time before I go back on my word. But I can’t just yet. Not until we both have a moment to breathe before getting wrapped up in our all-consuming love once again. Because that’s what its been. Intense. Dominating. Obsessive. We need a moment to think rationally. When we’re together, sometimes that’s impossible.
Rounding the corner on Main Street, I begin to trek the last couple of blocks home when I bump into a man I didn’t see while my eyes were focused on the ground.
“Excuse me,” I yelp as I stumble backward. “I didn’t see…” my eyes raise and take in the stranger, but he’s not a stranger at all.
“Rochelle,” Edward Cunningham smiles, as he grabs my shoulders and steadies me. “Didn’t expect to see you downtown this time of night.” His eyes raise and he looks around us, perhaps looking for Hunter? Or, he’s worried someone will see us speaking to one another.
“I didn’t expect to see you either,” I stutter as I take in his awkward behavior. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I go to skirt around him but stop as he continues to speak.
“Have you spoken to Hunter recently?” He asks suddenly. I turn and see him straightening his suit jacket, trying to gather himself together and act poised.
“No, Sir,” I respond coldly. “I have not. Not since a few nights ago. I’m sorry I really need to…”
I turn to leave but he grabs my arm..
“You know, he has big plans for the two of you.” He suggests as he takes a step closer. “And something tells me he is not going to give them up, no matter how hard you and I try to fight it.”
Inquisitively, I stare at him and try to wrap my brain around what he is telling me. Fear gets the better of me and I blurt out, “Why do you hate me so much?”
“Hate you?” He questions. “Rochelle, I don’t hate anyone. Least of all you. There is a whole lot more to all of this than you may ever know.”
“You don’t hate me,” I hesitantly say, “But you don’t want me with Hunter, either?”
“It’s complicated.”
“With all due respect, sir, I’ve spent my whole life with people peering down their noses and judging me. I don’t need you passing off your judgment as complicated when we both know exactly what it is.”
“And what is that?” Edward asks taking a stern step closer.
“The disappointment in where I come from, what I have to offer, and who I could never be. A heartless socialite in your make-believe world.”
My confidence is shocking, but I stand my ground. It’s all out in the open now. He can do whatever he wants with it, but I don’t have to stand around and play dumb to his insults any longer.
Turning and taking a few steps towards home, I am surprised when I hear him call out my name. “Rochelle!” I debate not stopping. I challenge myself to not care and keep putting one foot in front of the other, but that wouldn’t make me the new person I claimed to be. Strong. Unbreakable. Unrelenting.
When I stop, he doesn’t speak at first, and so I keep my back turned to him and look off into the distance. His steps sound against the sidewalk. A moment later, he is at my side. I look up to meet his stare, expecting to see anger burning in his eyes, I am surprised when I see sadness reflected there instead.
“You’d be surprised to find out just how untrue that statement is,” he confesses quietly. “I admire your strength and would never see you as a disappointment. I don’t see you as having nothing to offer, and like Hunter, I wish that you would see that as well.”
My back stiffens. I stand up taller and try to think of a comeback, but he continues. “I’m glad Hunter found someone like you, but we all don’t get to choose our paths in life. And sometimes, the world you’ve been living in is not all that you think. Finding out the truth could be a disaster. The complications that could keep you two apart are greater than you can imagine.”
Holding his stare, I say, “I love Hunter, Mr. Cunningham. No matter what circumstances come our way, or complications try to keep us apart, I won’t let them. Not anymore. I understand your concerns, as any father wants what is best for their child, or rather a child they helped raise. Hunter and I are old enough to make our own choices, and we choose each other.”
His face grows solemn as I start to walk away. “Now excuse me, there is somewhere I need to be which includes someone I never should have walked away from.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hunter
The car pulls to a stop and the crowd surrounds the door before my driver can get out and push through the mayhem. With a heavy sigh, I tug on my shirt sleeves, pulling them just below my jacket’s cuffs, and attempt to talk myself into what I am about to do. Making an appearance at one of Los Angeles’ biggest nightclubs used to be something I begged Edward to let me stand in for. Now, it is the last place on earth I ever want to be.
The door opens and flashes go off in my face as the loud bass from the club in front of me fills my ears. I look up and see trouble at the entrance. I debate climbing back in the car I just came out of before I meet the stare of three men. William Ford, CEO of ESPN, Carl Whitlock, owner of the Atlanta Braves, and Charles Smith, my father’s best friend who has Tiffany wrapped tightly around his arm.
