“I knew, but I don’t think JJ would want you to change schools for any reason other than because you want to. If you applied last spring, what changed your mind now? Do you even know if there’s room on Beaumont’s roster?” I ask, and he laughs quietly.
“Guess I’ll find out when I talk to the coach after I get my approval. I’ve been going back and forth about it for months, but I’m afraid if JJ goes back to Beaumont without one of us there, he’ll relapse. Marley’s great, but she should get to be his girlfriend without feeling all the responsibility to make sure he stays clean,” Hunt explains, and it makes sense. “No one knows about his addiction. Mom and Dad made everyone involved sign NDAs to keep the media from finding out, but that fucking terrifies me. He says he’s okay, but what happens if he tweaks his knee again in a game, and there’s no one having his back to save him from himself?”
I get why he’s asking it, and I respect him for it. Marley doesn’t carry that weight—JJ does—but I understand his thought process.
“I think you need to talk to JJ, not me. What does Kaitlyn think about all this?” I ask, but if he only made this decision today, has Hunt even talked to her about it? His green eyes shift back to me, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he looks guilty as hell. I scoff, folding the foil back over the stupid burrito I’m still holding. “After how much shit you gave her for changing her plans this year, I can’t believe you’d do this without talking to her.”
He should feel guilty. This is bullshit.
“I know how fucked up it is, but family has to come first. Mirabelle and Henry stepped up last spring, but with the babies and Henry’s schedule, they can’t. It’s JJ’s senior year, and he doesn’t have his best friend anymore,” he says, keeping his voice level. He makes a fair point, but what the hell does this mean for Kaitlyn? “I just have this feeling something really bad is going to happen if I don’t go.”
I look at Javi, trying to keep myself in check. God, I can’t think of how much this is going to hurt Kaitlyn. “So what favor do you need from me?”
“I’d really appreciate it if you could be there for Kaitlyn after I leave. I don’t want her to be alone.” Hunter pauses, letting the silence fill the gap. He doesn’t want her to be alone, even if it means she’ll be spending time with me.
I want to ask how it feels to constantly be falling on your sword? Hunt has a savior complex, and he always has. When we were kids, he’d always rescue me from whatever mess I’d gotten myself into. I kicked a soccer ball in the house after Mom banned balls from coming inside, and caused one of her portraits to fall, shattering glass all over the floor. Hunter took the blame and said he accidentally bumped into it, and that’s how it fell off the wall.
“I don’t want her to be alone either,” I say, turning to face him.
“Bailey, I can’t change the past, but I love her.Please.”
I want to hate him for asking this of me, but the truth is, I’m selfish enough that I don’t think I could leave Kaitlyn alone if I tried. I have a lot of regrets from before I left, but the thing I’m most ashamed of is how I pushed Kait away without listening to what she tried to tell me that night on the roof.
I drove her directly into Hunter’s arms after he went out of his way to make sure we never had a shot in hell of becoming something.
Earlier, she freaked out about ahug. I think Kaitlyn’s confused, and she’s trying to do the right thing.
“You don’t get to make her feel bad about spending time with me while you’re at Beaumont. Let Kaitlyn be her own person and make her own decisions since you had no qualms making them for me.”
Hunter looks away, nodding. I’m not sorry for saying it, but I’m being honest. The truth isn’t always easy to hear, but I’m not trying to make him feel like shit about it.
“Hunt?”
“Yeah?” he mumbles, looking down at his hands.
“He’s going to argue with you about transferring and try to get you to change your mind, but I think you’re doing a really good thing for JJ.”
He chuckles under his breath. “Why do you think I didn’t tell anyone before I did it? It’s not because I liked keeping it a secret from everyone. It’s because I knew if JJ suspected anything, he’d refuse. Now, because it’s already in motion, there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do to change it.” Hunter stretches his legs out in front of him, careful of all the wires connected to Javi’s bed. “It’s not like I planned it the whole time, you know? I pushed it out of my head until Kaitlyn deferred because it meant everything would change, and I know I’m not great with my routine being disrupted. I wasn’t ready for it yet.”
“You’ve never been great with it,” I agree, rememberinghow easy it used to be to mess with him when we were kids. He was a relaxed and quiet kid, but the only way to get a reaction out of him was to change shit on him at the last second. It’s like he has a set schedule in his head, and if it’s not followed, Hunter’s crawling out of his skin. “But you’re ready now?”
“I don’t think it matters if I am or not. Everything’s already changing, but at least this way, I can do something good and try to help JJ.”
Hunter’s right about that. Everything is already changing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bailey
PAST
“You lying piece of shit!”I slam the front door shut behind me, speaking to my brother for the first time since going to him for advice.
Only now, I see the advice he gave me for what it really was. Hunt wanted me to fuck everything up with her so I’d send Kaitlyn straight into his waiting arms.
I can’t believe I fell for it. If I hadn’t seen Hunter kiss Kaitlyn by her locker, I’m not sure I would’ve believed it happened.
“Whatever, Bailey. Throw your temper tantrum. See if I care,” he says, starting up the stairs to his room.
