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“I have my sources.” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration, similar to myself. “Why would you do that? Are you that worried about the money? Just get a job and you should be fine.”
I rise from my chair. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m not like you, Hunter. I don’t have years of savings to cover me, or a housemate to help. I don’t know what I want to do.”
“You wanted to work in business.”
I scoff. “You and I both know that’s what Dad wanted. I was never given the chance to figure it out. It was easy for you; they never pushed you like they did me.”
Hunter narrows his eyes, his voice low. “You think it was easy for me? I was a walking stereotype for them. A big guy good at sports, so I must focus on that at college. I didn’t have a choice either.”
“Well, now you do.”
He looks back at me with sad and hopeless eyes. “Do I? I’m on scholarship, Mia. If I don't play football, I have nothing. But you know what, I’m okay with that.” He shrugs. “There are worse things.”
We stand in silence, regarding each other with equal amounts of concern, when he finally asks, “Are you sure this is something you want?”
I think for a moment before answering. “I think this is something I need to do.”
He breathes in a long breath, processing it before nodding slowly, taking it in. With eyes soft, he closes the distance between us, wrapping me up in a big bear hug as he says, “I just don’t want you to regret this.”
Neither do I, but I just can't work day in and day out to save money for something that doesn't make me happy, for something I'm sure I want.
I don't have anyone pushing me now, or telling me what to do. I just have me.
“It’ll be fine, Hunter.”
My stuff is dumpedat the house and crammed into my old bedroom, and I don’t get a second to process this change before my friends are filing into the living room like soldiers ready for battle.
I was so happy to have them here to help us clear everything out, but at the same time, I wanted to have some time to think and sort things out on my own. In the past couple of days, I have whipped up a resume and dropped it off to every business I could, hoping that one would call.
I have not heard from any of them.
What will I do if I can’t get a job and this place is gone? I refuse to crash at Hunter's or Ava’s, but that would also leave me homeless with no money. I wish I had more time to sort this out, but instead, I descend the stairs and allow the laughter and chatter from my friends to fill me with enough energy to smile.
When I reach the bottom, I am met with kind smiles and hugs, which is more than what I’ve ever had in this house before.
Ava envelopes me in a hug with one arm, Charlie tucked in the other arm, sleeping soundly. She pulls away, giving me a concerned look. “Are you okay?”
I force a smile, not wanting to get into it too much with an audience around us. “I’m okay. I just want to get stuck into it.” I turn to look at everyone. “Thanks for coming. We really appreciate the help.”
Hunter enters, assigning jobs to everyone. Hunter, Ava, and Conner downstairs. Logan, myself, and Riley upstairs. I blink at the mention of his name, only now realising he's standing at the back of the group, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a layer of stubble starting to grow since I last saw him, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting to get started.
My mind flashes back to his words that day at my parents' wake, how he was able to clear some of the fog surrounding me. I still struggled to see, but his words gave me the direction I needed to start heading towards.
I shake my head, bringing me back to the here and now as everyone disperses to their assigned areas. I watch Riley and Logan walk up the stairs, Logan nagging Riley over who gets to do what and who they think is in charge of the upstairs zone, while Riley remains silent and uncaring.
The other boys leave until it is just me and Ava standing in the entryway, her eyes on me full of concern as she starts to gnaw on her bottom lip as if unsure of what to say. I raise my brows at her, waiting to see if she will say what she wants to say, the question I see hanging in her eyes.
We stand in silence for a few moments until she finally speaks. “I heard you left school.”
I nod, realising I should have seen it coming. “Yeah?”
She nods to herself, looking me up and down as I wait. “Are you doing okay?”
I roll my eyes, holding my hands up to stop the oncoming comments I see coming. Comments like,this is a big mistakeand the like. “Ava-“
She holds up her hands in surrender, her voice soft as she cuts me off. “It’s just a big decision to make and so much has happened-”
“I didn’t even want to be there anyway,” I finally say, meeting her eyes and seeing the shock appear in them.
