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He nods and turns around without a word. I watch him go, frowning and feeling like I made the wrong choice. I should make him stay, drag his ass back and demand he at least just be in the same house as us. He can lock himself away in his bedroom so long as we’re there if something bad happens.
I step forward, tempting to run and catch up with him, grab his ear and yank it back to Lucas’s cottage, but I stop myself. Hunter is a big boy. He’s always made his own choices and done his own thing. Nothing is going to change that.
I sigh and turn around, running back to the cottage and trying not to think about Hunter’s pale, thin face or his bloodshot eyes.
***
When I arrive, I try not to think about Rachel’s reaction to when I tell her Hunter had left. Instead, I guzzle down several glasses of water and set myself to work, sifting through the pots and pans in the cabinets below. After finding a skillet and scrounge around the refrigerator, finding some eggs, milk, and butter Lucas had bought yesterday before the party. I also find some flour and baking soda and set to work.
“What are you doing?” I hear Lucas ask from the living room.
I nearly jump, but I stop myself in time, not bothering to look up while I mix the baking soda and flour together. “What’s it look like I’m doing?” I crack the eggs and pour in the milk. “I’m making pancakes.”
“Why?”
I roll my eyes while stirring. “Because Rachel will need a big breakfast before we go skiing.”
“So,” I hear him rise from the couch, hear his footsteps on the floor while I turn on the stove and heat the pan. “This isn’t about Hunter leaving?”
I sigh, my shoulders slumping while I wait for the butter to melt. “How did you know?”
“Heard something in the hallway. Saw Hunter leaving from my window.”
I frown. “You didn’t stop him?”
“I didn’t think he would stay even if I tried. You saw him on your way back?”
I nod and pour in the mixture. “Yeah, I tried to talk him out of it. But he had his mind made up.”
I glance over my shoulder and see Lucas leaning against the counter, staring at a crumb. “I think something happened over break,” he says, his dark eyes lifting to mine. “I’m wondering if it has something to do with his mom.”
I nod. “It would make sense. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Lucas shrugs. “It’s probably too hard for him to talk about. I think-” Lucas sighs and scratches the back of his head, his lips set into a hard line. “Ah! Nevermind. Those pancakes smell good.”
I open my mouth, about to ask what Lucas was going to say when I hear footsteps on the stairs heading our way, which could only belong to one person. Excitement and anxiety tears through me, happy to see Rachel here, amongst us after these weeks apart, but at the same time really worried about how she’s going to take the news.
She peaks around the corner, smiles at the both of us. Lucas straightens while I return to flipping the pancakes.
“That smells absolutely delicious,” she says before placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Good, cuz they’re for you,” I say, handing her a plate with two pancakes.
“Hey, what about me?” I hear Lucas ask behind me and chuckle, placing more batter onto the skillet.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll make some for you, too.”
“Where’s Hunter?”
I grimace and wait for Lucas to say something, yet there’s only silence. I flip Lucas’s pancake, trying to focus on cooking rather than the drama that’s about to break out.
“Well?” Asks Rachel when neither of us say anything.
“Lucas, do you want to do the honors?” I ask while dumping one pancake on a plate and adding more batter.
“Why don’t you?”
I groan. “Because I’m cooking, asshole.”
