Every step felt as if I was being torn in two. I wanted to turn back, and I wanted to keep moving forward.
“Coby,” Ocean called out to me. I spun around to see a plea in his eyes that made my stomach ache so bad that I unconsciously pressed my hand to it. His gaze dropped to follow my movement, and then he seemed to collect himself before shaking off whatever it was he was about to say. “If you’re pregnant…” He paused to swallow, the knot in his throat bobbing. “I want you to come straight to me, do you understand? It doesn’t matter what we are or aren’t to each other. I’ll take care of you and my baby.” My eyes widened because I hadn’t even thought of the possibility that I could be pregnant right at this moment. And still, he was letting me walk away with his child because he thought it was what I wanted. “Coby,” he urged when too long passed without a response.
“I understand.”
Ocean didn’t leave right away. His eyes roved all over me like he knew this would probably be the last time we saw each other. And then he slowly backed away so that he could drink me in a little longer. I still didn’t move when he reached the Denali and climbed inside. Not even when it drove off slowly, and I wasstuck staring at the red taillights until it disappeared around a corner.
It wasn’t a ploy.
Ocean had let me go.
I glanced up at the sky to see if pigs were flying because it seemed more believable.
A part of me that I should have probably listened to still didn’t want to believe it. The other half of me that still belonged to Hunter brushed aside my paranoia and raced up the stairs to our apartment while my heart pounded excitedly.
I could barely breathe by the time I reached my door, but that didn’t stop the grin from tugging at my lips at the sight of our door with our names decorating the front. Pale pink letters and the sun for Hunter, dark pink letters and the moon for me. Yin and Yang. Luckily, I still had my key tucked inside my clutch, so I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
“Hunter?” I called out.
The apartment was quiet and yet unrecognizable as I looked around in horror. There were weapons, pictures, and liquor bottles taking up almost every available space, including the floor—more than what she had before—and blood-soaked rags covering the counter and coffee table that made me gasp and cover my mouth.
Was Hunter hurt?
I ran to the back of the apartment, checking her room first, which looked like it hadn’t been slept in a while, and then mine. I always made my bed every morning, and the day Ocean kidnapped me had been no exception.
My bed was in shambles.
It looked like it had been slept in and more than once, and I knew Hunter must have been sleeping in my room to feel close to me. I knew she would take my being gone hard, but I never imagined it would be this bad.
It was decided.
I was the shittiest friend in the world. While Hunter was going through all of this, I was busy falling in love. I should have fought harder to get back to her, but I had given in to my own selfish whims.
With no choice but to wait for her return, I started cleaning up. It took me hours to get the apartment back right. By the time I was done, it was nighttime, and I was exhausted. I dragged myself into my room just to stare at the unmade bed.
My lips started to tremble as I wondered where Hunter could be, and then I remembered I had my phone now. I left my phone in the kitchen, so I turned to get it and screamed when I saw someone standing in the doorway.
“It’s really you,” the shadow croaked. “You’re really here. What happened?” Light suddenly flooded the room, and I cried out when I saw Hunter leaning against the door jamb with a bandage around her thigh. “Did you escape?”
“Hunter? Oh, my god! You’re hurt! What happened? Who did this to you?”
Hunter gave no indication that she heard me. She just stared at me as if I were an apparition, so I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms, but she didn’t hug me back. I wanted to cry. “It’s me, Hunter. I’m here. I’m back, and I won’t leave you again, okay?”
Finally, I felt her arms close around me, and then she nodded against my shoulder. “Okay,” she said hoarsely.
I pulled away so I could get a good look at her, and it became horrifyingly clear why I hadn’t recognized her immediately. Hunter’s long, beautiful hair was tangled, her lips were horribly dry and cracked like she hadn’t had a drop of water in weeks, her skin was smudged with dirt and blood, her clothes were filthy, and she smelled like she hadn’t bathed in days.
She’d even lost weight and a lot of it.
Her tantalizing curves had been diminished so much that I wondered about the last time she’d eaten.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Where were you?Where have you been?”
Hunter smiled sadly. She looked so exhausted. “Shouldn’t that be my line?”
Swallowing past the thick knot suddenly lodged in my throat, I guiltily skated past that disaster and ushered her into my room. “Come on, bestie. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
I sat Hunter on the toilet inside my bathroom while I filled the tub with warm water and prepared a bubble bath for her. Hunter was quiet, and every time I looked back to check on her, she was just staring at me like she didn’t think I was real.
