The Things We Hide: A Friends to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 2)

by Cassandra Hallman

  I turn the shower on scalding hot, trying to wash all my doubt about Hunter and me away. I take much longer than I would usually take in the shower and by the time I get out my skin is pruned. I wrap myself in one of the fluffy large towels this fancy hotel provides and walk out to the bedroom. Hunter is not in here, but I can’t hear him in the other room either. I crack the door open and stick my head in the living room area. Nothing. “Hunter?” Still nothing. Where the heck did he go?

  I go back to the bedroom and get dressed. I use the hairdryer in the bathroom and the lotion that’s sitting on the counter. Once I am done and realize that I am still alone I decide to use this time to make the much overdue phone call. I pick up the phone on the nightstand and start dialing the number I know by heart. I get about half way through when I hear the front door open. I slam the phone down and waltz into the living area. “Where the hell were you?” I yell at him, putting both of my hands on my hips.

  Hunter is apparently amused by my little outburst because he is laughing at me. “Sorry, I thought I would be back before you got out of the shower.” I look down at the three bags he is holding. “I got us some dinner,” he says and gives me a dazzling smile. What was I mad at again?

  I can’t help but return the smile. “Thanks, I am hungry.”

  He takes the containers out of the bags and arranges them on the table. “I wasn’t sure what you like so I just got a bunch of different stuff.”

  “I’m not picky. When I am hungry, I’ll pretty much eat whatever.” Perks of growing up with limited resources. You eat what you can get, or you go hungry. Really hungry.

  “Yeah me too.” His comment makes me wonder if he isn’t picky for the same reason. I realize that I really don’t know much about Hunter and his family. We sit down next to each other and start eating. He brought a variety of Chinese foods, and so far, everything is amazing. Too curious to stay quiet, I finally ask, “Do you have any family?”

  “No one worth mentioning.” He takes another bite and chews it thoroughly like he is needing the extra time to think about what he should say. “I don’t have any siblings that I know about. My grandma raised me, but she died when I was fourteen. I stayed with my aunt for a while, but she hated me, so I left.”

  I can tell from the way he says it that he doesn’t like talking about it, and I am glad that he still shared this much with me. I make a mental note not to bring up his family anymore.

  After we are done eating, I notice another bag Hunter brought that didn’t have food in it. He sees me looking at it. “Go ahead open it.”

  8

  Hunter

  I watch her eyeing the bag suspiciously. She slowly picks it up and looks inside like something is about to jump out at her. “Nothing is going to attack you.”

  She frowns and takes out the bikini I got her. “Eh, thanks?” She looks confused, probably because I just gave her a bikini in fifty-degree March weather.

  “This hotel has an inside pool. I thought we could go for a swim.”

  “Oh.” Understanding marks her face now. “Cool, that would actually be nice. I haven’t been to a pool in forever. Thanks.” She gets up and kisses my cheek before disappearing into the bedroom. My hand automatically goes up to my face, my fingers touching the spot where her lips were a moment ago. I want to somehow keep it there. I don’t want to ever forget how her soft warm lips kissed me so sweetly.

  So far everything in my life has been temporary. My parents moved me from one crappy apartment to the next until they dropped me off at my grandma’s house on a random Wednesday. I never heard from them again. I thought I had a home with my grandma but then she left me too. My aunt’s house was never a home and from there I moved around on my own. I thought Jaxon and Colt were going to be my friends until the day I die, and even that dream got crushed.

  I don’t want this to be temporary. I want to keep Jenna in my life now more than ever. She has been a good friend for a while but now that she has finally let her walls down a little, I want her to be part of my life even more and I will do anything I can to make sure that happens.

  She steps back out of the bedroom dressed in her new bikini. She gives me a little swirl making me smile. She looks so gorgeous. Her long brown hair is falling down her back in thick brown waves like a chocolate waterfall. “You look beautiful.”

  She smiles, embarrassed at my complement. “What are you going to wear?”

  “I was going to go naked.”

  “Even though I would definitely appreciate that, I don’t think the hotel management would feel the same way.” I smirk at her answer.

  “I have some shorts in the overnight bag that I had in the car. Those are fine for swimming,” I clarify. She raises her eyebrows at me.

  “You mean your getaway bag for when shit hits the fan? Or do you always keep a burner phone and a wad of cash in an overnight bag.”

  “Aren’t you glad I was prepared?” I like that she is smart enough to see through my bull, but I want to keep her away from my work as much as I can. I need to shield her from that ugliness.

  I get changed and we head to the pool. I just left my shirt on to walk through the hotel, but Jen wore the bathrobe and slippers from the bathroom. The hotel provided two bathrobes for our room. It looks very comfortable, but there was no way in hell I was going to be seen wearing a fluffy bathrobe.

  When we get to the pool, my face falls into a frown and my mood darkens. I was hoping to have Jenna all to myself at the pool. The two chatting middle-aged guys sitting on the side of the pool are cramping my style. They greet us casually when we walk in, then return to their conversation. I shoot them a glance that says, ‘leave already’. Either they didn’t get it, or they don’t care.

  Jenna takes off her robe and hangs it on a hook. I suddenly regret that I got her this bikini and not a full-length bodysuit. She turns to me with a huge smile. “Do you need me to help you out of your shirt?” She asks seductively, and I forget about the two guys for a second. I nod, and she walks over to me, grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it up. She skims her fingers across my stomach as she goes, sending shivers up my skin. She throws the shirt over a chair and takes my hand to lead me to the pool. We go in the shallow end where the stairs lead into the water. I glance over to the two guys who have stopped talking and are now full on gawking at Jen. I am about to say something, but they see me glaring at them and quickly look away. Good choice. The water is pleasantly warm, and we walk into the middle until the water is right below Jens chin.

  “I can’t go any further,” she whispers.

  “Why?” I ask and step closer to hear her quiet voice better.

  She looks around embarrassed. “I can’t swim well.”

  “Oh.” I am a little shocked by her statement, especially since she was excited to go to the pool. “You want me to teach you?” I feel a little weird asking and I don’t want her to be embarrassed about it. But if I don’t, who else is going to teach her?

  “Yeah, but not when other people are here,” she whispers in my ear.

  I look up to the two guys. “Time to go gentleman.”

  The two men stop talking and look at me. “Excuse me?” One of them says like he can’t believe what I just told them.

  “You heard me, time to go. Or would you rather for me call the hotel security and tell them that you have been acting inappropriately in front of my seventeen-year-old girlfriend?”

  They look at me in shock but then gather their things and leave without saying another word. Only when I turn back to Jenna do I realize that I’ve just called her my girlfriend. Apparently, she doesn’t mind, because she just smiles and looks up at me through her lashes. “Do you always get what you want?”

  “Not all the time. I used to never get what I want, but then I figured out that you just need to go for it if you want something. It’s the only way things will turn out the way you want them to.”

  She stares into the water for a few moments, like she is really thinking about what I
am saying. I let my hands run through the water beside us, just watching her think. Her long brown hair is floating next to her shoulders, making interesting patterns right beneath the surface.

  “I can swim a little bit, just not well,” she says unusually shy sounding.

  “Okay, let’s see what you got.”

  She starts off swimming from one side to the other, in the part of the pool where she can still stand. I can tell she sometimes puts her foot down, struggling to keep herself up. I move next to her and put my hand flat under her stomach to push her up a little. I walk next to her as she goes and she instantly gets more confident. “I think you can swim better than you think. You just need to stop worrying that you can’t do it. Just trust yourself.”

  “You sound like a motivational speaker,” she snickers. “I’ll try my best, coach.”

  I’ll walk her around the pool a few more times before I stop at the stairs. “You think you can swim all the way to the deep end? I’ll wait on the other side for you. If you freak out, I will rescue you.”

  “Okay, just don’t let me drown. I am needed.” Yes, by me.

  I swim to the end and wait for her on the other side of the pool. She takes a deep breath and start swimming my way. I can tell she gets worried once she makes it into the deeper water, but she keeps going anyways. The closer she gets the more exciting her smile gets. I stretch my arms out and once she touches my hands, I pull her into my embrace. She snakes her arms and her legs around me like vines.

  “See, I told you, you could do it,” I tell her proudly.

  The next couple of hours we spend playing around in the water like kids we both never really got to be. I didn’t think this day could turn out this perfect, but it certainly did.

  Because she is perfect.

  9

  Jenna

  I wake up the next morning cuddling up to Hunter’s chest. When we got back to the room late last night, I was exhausted. I changed out of my bathing suit and into a shirt in record time before falling into bed. I think Hunter stayed up last night and came into bed later, but I’m not even sure.

  I feel so good this morning that I almost forgot that we are here because someone broke into Hunter’s place and coincidently after Colt got out of jail. I feel guilty for being happy right now. I should be worried instead. Maybe it’s a way for my brain to cope with the stress. I just forget what’s really going on and pretend I am on a short vacation with my boyfriend.

  Boyfriend. The word still feels foreign to me. I was surprised when Hunter called me his girlfriend yesterday. For a split second I thought he just said it to get rid of those guys, but then I remember our little talk. He said he wanted more than getting me into bed. I want the same, even though it goes against everything I stand for. I have been trying to avoid this exact scenario, me falling for a guy way too much and way too fast. I know what he told me is true in some ways. I am not my mother. I am more independent than she ever was. Still, everything is happening so fast, I really hope I am not making a huge mistake here.

  “What are you thinking about?” Hunter startles me. I could have sworn that he was sleeping. I think about lying and not worrying him, but then decide on the truth.

  “Are we moving too fast? Don’t get me wrong I don’t regret anything and I love spending time with you, but I still worry that this is all happening now when this crazy thing with Colt just happened.”

  Hunter starts to move his hand around my back, stroking my skin soothingly. “You’re still worried that you’ll become your mom?”

  “More than anything, yes.”

  “Look, I can’t guarantee you that we will stay together forever, but I promise you that I want to be with you and I won’t do anything to compromise that. Also, I don’t think we are moving too fast. It’s not like we just met. I’ve already spent more time with you in the past year that I have with any other girl.”

  Hunter is right. We have been good friends for a long time now and if my talking on a three-hour car ride doesn’t annoy him, then that’s a good enough endorsement for me. I need to talk to Eliza today and tell her everything. She is going to be so happy. She has been nudging me towards Hunter for months. I would have given in much sooner if I had realized how good this feels. Hunter stirs under me, holding me to his chest even closer. “You ready to go back to my place?”

  “Yes. I can stay with you for the rest of the week, but then I need to go back, okay?”

  Hunter lets go of me and I lift myself up to my elbows. He frowns at me. “Why?”

  “I need to finish school. Only a few more months and then I’m done.”

  “You know you could finish school here. Go to the same school Eliza goes to, she would love that.

  Or you could even take online classes,” Hunter pleads with me and it breaks my heart that I am not able to tell him the truth. Why can’t I be eighteen already?

  “I’m sorry, I just can’t right now. Once I finish school it will be different,” I promise him. Apparently, he is satisfied with that answer. He kisses me and reaches for his phone. It starts ringing before it’s in his hand. The display lights up with Jaxon’s number. Hunter answers with, “I was just about to call you.” I can instantly tell that something is wrong from the way his whole body stiffens. He sits up, his face looking worried and angry. “What?” He yells into the phone like he can’t believe what he is hearing. “What kind of evidence?” He asks with equal disbelief. “Okay, we will,” he sighs. “You too.”

  He hangs up but doesn’t look at me or says anything. I give him a minute before saying, “I’m guessing we can’t go back to your place.”

  “There is a warrant out for my arrest. Jaxon got one as well.”

  No! His words are acting as a needle that is bursting my bubble of happiness with a big loud bang. I knew Jaxon and Hunter both do illegal stuff but for some reason it never occurred to me that they could actually go to jail. I have been so good at pretending that they don’t do anything bad that I also pretended that nothing bad could ever happen to them. My mind goes straight to Eliza. She needs Jaxon more than anything. He is the only person that she actually talks to. He makes her feel safe. Then I think about how I would feel about Hunter leaving. I would hate to not be able to see him.

  “It’s not true. What they are accusing us of.” Hunter murmurs.

  His statement confuses me and his tone scares me. I am pretty sure that Jaxon hosts and participates in illegal fights at the Bunker and Hunter runs bets and loans out money. Why would someone accuse them of something illegal that’s not true if they are actually doing something else that’s against the law?

  He finally looks at me and repeats, “It’s not true.” His eyes are pleading with me and that alarms me even more.

  “What are you being accused of?” I already know this is going to be bad by the way he is acting, but I am still shocked when he says the words out loud.

  “One of the girls that works at the club said that Jaxon and I raped her.” He is looking at me like he expects me to say something back, but I am utterly speechless. Why would someone say something like that? There is no way Jaxon and Hunter would do such a terrible thing, right? Then I remember what he just said on the phone. There was evidence. Doubt creeps up on me. I hate even thinking it but I can’t ignore the fact that Hunter and Jaxon are not the typical law-abiding citizens. Once again, I’m reminded that I must have inherited my mom’s horrible judge of character.

  I’m so confused, I still don’t know what to say. I want to tell him that I believe him, that I know he would never do something atrocious like that, but my stupid doubts won’t let me. Instead I ask, “What kind of evidence is there?”

  Hunter looks like I just punched him in the gut. I have never seen him so hurt and disappointed. I instantly regret my question. “I don’t think you and Jaxon did it, I’m just wondering.” My voice is so shaky, even I can hear the lie. Hunter doesn’t answer, he just gets up from the bed and goes into the bathroom, slamming the door behind h
im.

  I don’t know how long he is in there, but it seems like a very long time. I can hear the shower run for a while but when it turns off, he still doesn’t come out. I get dressed and start some coffee with the in-room coffee machine and wait for him. When I’m halfway done with my coffee, I had enough waiting. I walk up to the bathroom and knock on the door. “Hunter?”

  The door swings open much quicker than I expected, making me jump back. His facial expression is emotionless. “Get your things together, I’ll take you home. No reason for you to get dragged into this mess any more than you already have been.”

  I want to tell him that I am sorry and that I believe him, but I just can’t bring myself to say the words. Instead I nod like a coward and start gathering my stuff. Maybe this is for the best. The last few days have been so crazy, I need time to breathe and think.

  The car ride is long and awkward. Neither one of us wants to talk and for the first time, I am actually glad when we pull up the driveway of my group home. Even though Hunter normally walks me in, I am still surprised when he gets out of the car and grabs my bag. I figured he wouldn’t take me in today with this weird mood between us. I open the front door and the first thing I see is Lily sitting on the bottom of the stairs crying. Lily is only six and the youngest of all the kids in here right now. “What’s wrong Lily?”

  She sniffs before answering, “Miss Carissa said she doesn’t have time to put together my new toy I got for my birthday.” Anger boils up inside me. Lily’s birthday was Thursday, almost a week ago, and none of the caregivers could be bothered to put it together for her?