Page 53 of The Monster I Am
The room falls eerily quiet with an awkward hostility that would make spirits up and leave to find the light. I shoot a quick glance at Ry to gauge his reaction, his face giving nothing away except for widened eyes.
No one knows what to say. And for very good reason.
Hunter was the last person I’d ever expect to fall under Bexley’s spell. I’d assumed his hatred for her would supersede any of her witty charm. I guess not even the great Hunter Lannister is immune to it.
Who can blame us though? We’re just mere mortal men.
“What?” Rylan finally questions in a dark whisper.
There’s no victory smirks or sneers. If anything, Hunter appears equally perplexed by this strange turn of events—like evenhestill can’t believe what happened.
“That’s not the worst part,” Hunter mumbles, eyes focusing anywhere except on the two of us. “Max paid her a visit.”
“What?!” Rylan repeats, louder.
I reach into my shorts, fetching my phone. “She still hasn’t responded to my texts. Is that why? Do we need to check on her?”
Hunter laughs dryly. “I’m fairly certain she’s ignoring you both because you broke her rationality and version of reality. At least, that’s the impression I got before Max decided to weigh in on your little love confession. As for the welfare check? I stood guard last night. She’s with Roberts now.”
A pained expression crosses Rylan’s face. “Fuck—this is all my fault. Olivia’s big mouth has alerted him.”
Hunter nods, all serious. “He’s trying to blackmail her to leave town. Made threats against you if she doesn’t.”
“I need to go see her,” Ry exclaims, standing. “Then I need to pay a visit to my father to try to straighten this all out.”
Snorting, Hunter pushes to his feet. “Be real here, Rylan. You know what Max is like. Once his mind is set on something, there’s nothing that can be done to change it. If you go charging in there like a bull, you’re affirming everything that’s already concreted in his mind. He’s waving a big, Rylan-sized flag right now.”
“He’s right,” I agree begrudgingly. “We need a plan first before you confront him.”
“I know how to handle my father,” Rylan argues. “Which is why I know we need to act now. He’s not patient.”
Hunter folds his arms. “You’re correct. Bexley decided to keep this little bit of information to herself. The window he gave her has now expired. Which is all the more reason that we think this through.”
“Is that why you stayed?” I press.
“Yes.”
“Is that theonlyreason?” I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
Hunter glares at me. “Shut up, T. You have no idea what it was like being with her that night. Or how much it fucked me up that she was willing to die for me.”
That silence returns again, but this time, there’s no awkward tension, just the horrible lingering memories all of us remember too well.
“But she didn’t,” Ry finally answers quietly. “She didn’t die because you saved her.”
The Fire
Smoke billows out the window into our faces, sweaty palms desperately clinging onto a body as Ry and I blindly pull with all our strength. The two of us are suddenly thrown backwards when Hunter lands on the grass outside. Barely a second passes, when Hunter rips himself away, scrambling to his feet as he rushes back toward the smashed glass.
Before I can calculate or process what’s happening, Hunter is shoving himself headfirst back through the window, sending me spiraling into a full-blown panic attack.
What the fuck is he doing?!
“Hunter!”
“Grab my legs,” is all he says before we feel gravity challenge us to a death match. We quickly launch forward to take a hold of his legs, managing to catch his weight before he can crash-land back into the inferno below.
The flames are licking at the wall beneath us as our arms inside burn from the heat, and Hunter slips slightly, sending Ry and I racing to use our own legs as leverage against the wall.
