Page 17 of Definitely Not a Thing

I gasped. “You’dbetter not, Mrs. Linda can ask about me anytime she wants!”

He just stared at me for a few seconds before the tension in his shoulders slumped. “Yeah. I would never tell her not to ask about you. She loves you.”

“And I love her,” I replied.

And you.

Loved you.

“How is Maggie?” he asked, almost bringing the slightest smile to my face.

“She’s good. She’s going to bring you cucumbers from her vines next time she comes up.”

His eyebrows went up. “Does she know we…”

“She knows.”

“And she’s still bringing them for me?”

“She’s gotta give that shit to somebody – her words,” I said.

There was quiet for a moment, and then, “Are you going to give them to me when she brings them?”

“I’ll leave them at your door.”

Eyebrows back up. “Intact, or…?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” I shrugged. “And… I don’t want to talk to you right now, so can this be… done?”

“This conversation, or… us?”

I laughed.

To not burst into tears, even though it was areallyfine line.

“Both,” I replied. “I’m telling you – we’re done.”

Hunter’s jaw went tense, and he blinked a few times before he nodded. “I guess that’s it then.”

“I guess so.”

He opened his mouth like he had one more thing to say… then changed his mind, or thought better of it, something. Whatever it was… he didn’t say anything else, just headed to the elevator.

Head down, shoulders slumped, looking pitiful.

As if this wasn’thisfault.

Instead of watching his sad performance, I went aside, closing and locking the door behind me.

I… kinda wanted to scream again.

Instead… I cried.

The tears I’d been doing my damndest to hold back in front of Hunter all broke free, and before I knew it I was full-blown sobbing. I dropped to a seat on the floor, hugging my legs, head resting on my knees as I cried myself into a headache.

And then… the feeling in the room shifted.

My head popped up, looking around for the culprit… landing on Calvin.