Page 176 of The Broken Note

My eyes shoot to his. He’s gazing at me as if I’m a broken doll, shattered on the floor.

Anger spurts from the depths of my soul and causes me to shake.

I curl my fingers into fists. “You’re wrong. I don’t love him. I never loved him. He was… he meant nothing to me.”

Hunter presses his lips into a thin line.

“I never believed him when he said he’d be there for me. I never trusted him when he kept showing up for me and saving me. I never wanted to belong to him.”

The frigid armor around my heart is thawing, releasing a torrent of emotions that I don’t want to deal with.

But it’s like spilled beer.

Once it’s out, you can’t scoop it back in.

“I didn’t like him touching me…”

When he touched me, my numbness cracked and broke apart. I wanted him to touch me more.

“… I didn’t like him treating me like I was his property…”

He made me feel vulnerable and out of control.

“… I didn’t like that he was always around.”

But now that he’s not around, all I can think about is how I can see him again.

“Does that sound like love to you?” I challenge Hunter. “Does that sound like I miss him?”

Hunter’s face goes dark all at once, like he’s been drained of every emotion. Like he’s so incredibly tired.

I see it and I feel particularly cruel. “Why did you come on this trip with me, Hunter?”

His eyes slant over my face.

“I know Jarod Cross approached you. I know it was a good-paying job.” I pause for a minute as the room spins again. “But why did you say yes? You should have just left me alone. It would have been better for the both of us.”

An alarm pings.

It’s Hunter’s phone.

He glances down at it and then looks up at me. “Happy birthday, Cadey.”

“I turned eighteen five hours ago.”

“In the UK, but not in the US.” He nods. “Now you’re eighteen in both countries.”

“I’m eighteen.” I scoot closer to him. Leaning toward Hunter, I say, “What do you want to do?”

His hand rises to my face.

I close my eyes and tilt my head up. Since the beer didn’t do its job properly, maybe Hunter can.

He moves in close. So close I can feel his beer-scented breath on my cheek. He smells different than… no. I’m focused.

This is Hunter.

Hunter.