Some people in this world didn’t deserve a second chance… but he wasn’t one of them.
When I felt clean and refreshed, I put on a fluffy bathrobe and peeked out of the bathroom. Hunter had left a neatly folded pile of clothing right outside the door, along with my coat, shoes and phone.
I got dressed and stepped back into the main part of his massive bedroom. “Hunter?” I called out.
I found him lying on his bed, fast asleep. It was probably the first time he’d slept in days, given how tired he looked earlier.
I watched his chest rise and fall for a while, finding the steady rhythm strangely calming. Then I leaned down, kissed his forehead, and said goodbye.
I headed out into the hall and padded down the stairs.
“Laney?”
I looked up to see Adam standing by the landing, eyes wide.
“Oh. Hey,” I said, flashing him a nervous smile as I approached.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Uhh…” I racked my brain for an excuse. “Hunter messaged me and asked me to come and see him. He wanted to talk about our feud.”
“Oh, right.” His brows furrowed with concern. “Is everything okay now?”
“Yeah. We sorted it out.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
He grinned. “That’s awesome!” he said. “You really should’ve told me you were coming over, though. I could’ve been a backup for you in case it didn’t go well.”
“I thought I texted you,” I said lightly. “About an hour ago.”
“That’s weird. I didn’t get anything,” he said with a frown. Then he shrugged, expression turning light again. “I guess my phone is acting up or something.”
“Maybe, yeah.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Do you want to go grab a hot chocolate at Café Seven? I can text Trina to meet us there. Then you can tell us everything Hunter said.”
I smiled. “Sure.”
I couldn’t actually tell them what happened between Hunter and me, for obvious reasons, but I could make up something halfway decent on the drive into town.
As we stepped off the landing and turned down a wood-paneled hallway, the hair on the back of my neck suddenly rose, and a strange prickling sensation crawled over my skin.
I whirled around, struck by the sudden idea that someone was watching me. As soon as I turned my head, a door creaked somewhere down the hall, deepening my suspicion.
I knew it couldn’t be Hunter, because he was passed out upstairs. It couldn’t be Adam, either, because he was right here with me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stopping next to me.
I turned back around, deciding to ignore the weird sensation. The creaking sound probably came from one of the Sunday staff members cleaning somewhere down the hall, and I was just being paranoid after everything I’d gone through lately.
I didn’t need to worry about any of that anymore.
Adam nudged me. “Laney? Are you okay?” he asked again, brows knitted with concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I’m fine.” I smiled and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go.”