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Grabbing his keys from his desk, he starts toward the door.
“Cade!” Haley screams. “Please, stop!”
Continuing to stalk out of the room, he blows by her and runs down the stairs. Seconds later, we hear the door slam, and we know that he’s gone.
But I don’t think any of us knows what the fuck to do next.
Sutton
I stare down at the message from Hunter, telling me he’s coming over after practice and that something’s wrong with Cade. I frown, not really knowing what to expect because as far as I can tell, Cade’s sort of a mess. But I never thought he’d get to the point where his friends were this worried.
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. One that included me trying to catch up after missing so much class, dealing with the emotions of missing my first solo performance at Brooks, and also thinking about the future when it comes to dancing. And I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe I don’t want to do it anymore. Not competitively anyway. When something loses its sparkle, it might be time to hang it up.
Dancing with Carter Anne at the One Wish event, seeing the excitement in her eyes to be on that stage…I realized that I want to be there when young girls and boys feel that joy inside of them as they move their bodies to music. I want to remind kids what we’re all there for.
Fun and wonder.
Maybe it was the near-death experience or finding out I had a brother—one who’s actually really cool. Whatever it was, it made me grasp what I want in life. And what I want is to be a ballet instructor for young children. Before they become overly competitive brats.
I was going to tell Hunter all of this when he came over later, but now, I feel like it would be the worst time to talk about myself when he’s worried about his friend. But I will tell him. Maybe just not tonight.
The hockey team is like a band of brothers. One that sticks together through thick and thin despite the disagreements they might have. Whatever Cade is going through, he’s lucky to have Hunter and the other guys on his side.
I meet Hunter in the driveway the second I hear his truck pull in.
As he gets out of the truck, he pulls me against him with one arm, kissing my forehead. “Is anyone else home?”
I look at the house, nodding. “Yep. Poppy and Lana are both inside.”
“Can we maybe go for a walk?” he mutters. Looking down, he slides his hand up my neck and into my hair before bringing his mouth to mine.
I’ll never get tired of kissing Hunter. That much I know.
“Sure.” I nod, taking his hand and stepping back.
Heading toward the sidewalk, I glance nervously up at him.
“Is Cade okay?” I whisper, giving his hand a squeeze. “And you? Areyouokay?”
He inhales a deep breath, his chest rising. “Watson, Link, and I just had to talk to Coach. We didn’t want to tell him, but when Cade didn’t go to practice today, Coach somehow knew what was going on with him.” He shrugs. “Guess he’d noticed it a few weeks ago.” His body stiffens, and I know he’s upset. “Cade’s going to have to go to rehab. He’ll be off the team until he can pass however many clean drug tests that Coach says.” He grimaces. “Maybe even forever, if he doesn’t take Coach’s help and just go to rehab.”
Stopping, I turn to face him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. But…maybe he’ll agree to rehab. I’m sure he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his spot on the team.”
He gives his head a small shake, squinting his eyes. “You didn’t see how he acted today, Sutton. He…he wasn’t even the same Cade I’ve known since freshmen year.”
Guilt fills my stomach. “If you hadn’t been so wrapped up in my health crap, you probably would have noticed sooner. I’m sorry, Hunter.”
“No, it wouldn’t have changed anything,” he assures me, rubbing his fingertips against the tops of my arms. “At the end of the day, Cade’s a big boy. I just really hope he’ll let us all help him instead of fight it.” He kisses the top of my head. “Since this shit happened earlier, all I’ve wanted to do is come see you.”
I nod slowly, moving my hands to his chest. “It’ll be okay. You’re a good friend, Hunter.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He cringes. “I’ve gotta go see him. But first, just walk with me for a little longer. We don’t even have to talk. I just want to be near you.”
“Okay.” I give him a small smile.
He looks down at me. “Okay,” he mimics me.
And we walk. Ignoring life’s issues for a few minutes.
