by Selena Kitt
My dad is beaming, so I try not to let on that I'm in agony over this dinner. Hunter quickly wipes the dismay off his face when he sees his mother smiling at my dad. The two of them hug and exchange a quick kiss before they turn to us.
"Allison, this is Angela Marks. I'm sure you two have met before since you and Hunter have been going to school together for so long, but it's time that you are formally introduced. Oh, and we have an announcement. " I swallow hard still hoping for a miracle. "Angela and I are getting married. You guys are going to be brother and sister. Well, step brother and sister, but we're all going to be one family." No miracle today.
We sit down and order drinks and an appetizer. I have no appetite and I can't even look at Hunter. My dad and Angela keep themselves busy in conversation, so they don't notice that Hunter and I are completely silent and miserable. It's good because I've never seen my dad look this happy, and I don't want to ruin his evening.
About three glasses of Champaign in, Angela and my dad are laughing and holding hands across the table. Hunter says he's going to go for a walk, and I get up quickly to join him.
"You guys can go if you want. The driver can take you home and then come back for us." My dad says and then turns his attention back towards Angela.
Hunter walks out of the restaurant and hurries down the sidewalk. I have a hard time keeping up with him, and I have to jog a bit. I'm definitely glad I decided not to wear high heels tonight. He rounds the corner and walks through a gate into a community garden. Once we're out of sight, he pulls me to him and covers my mouth with his.
"What are you doing?" I say when I pull away from him.
"I need to know it's going to be okay. I need to believe that we're going to find a way to make this work." He says and tries to kiss me again.
I break away from his embrace. "Hunter, I don't know how this could possibly be okay. There is no way to make this work. We're going to be siblings. Can you imagine if our parents found out? We have to break things off before the school finds out." I say it resolutely, but my heart is breaking.
"Allison, no. You can't mean that. There is always a way. I've fallen for you so hard. I can't lose you now. I can't lose you and then have to live in the same house with you."
"That's exactly why we can't do this anymore. You have to forget what happened between us, Hunter. It was mistake. It was a big mistake." I'm fighting back tears, but I can't let him see me cry.
"Please, don't say that. You don't mean it." He pleads with me.
"I do mean it, Hunter. It's over."
I don't mean it. I have no idea how I'm supposed to end things with him, but I have to move on. It feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest, and I can't breath. I take off out of the garden and make my way back to my dad's car. I don't want to leave Hunter stranded, so I hail a cab instead.
Once I'm home, I call Terri and tell her everything. She listens to me cry and tells me it will be alright a hundred times.
"It's not going to be okay. It's never going to be okay. You were right, Terri. I love him, but we can't go on. Can you imagine what people would say?" I sob into my phone.
"I know sweetie. I wish I could tell you to forget what people say and follow your heart, but I think we both know that would be a mistake. Besides, you're young. We all get our hearts broken when we're young." She tries to soothe me, but I'm the one breaking my own heart right now.
I'm being a coward, and I know it. Hunter and I started our relationship before we found out about our parents, so everyone would have to understand. I just don't think I can deal with the fall out. Even if I could, that's not the worst part. What I'm really afraid of is Hunter not loving me back someday. I'm afraid our relationship will run its course and he'll move on. If I break it off now, I'll never have to face him getting bored or tired of me. That's the real reason I'm breaking it off, and I'll never forgive myself.
Chapter 5
Hunter
I'm glad that my mom is happy, but this has turned into the worst day of my life. I opened my heart to Allison, and she stomped all over it. I know that us staying together would be hard, but it wouldn't be impossible. School is almost over, and we're both legally adults. We could keep things quiet and low key, and tell our parents when the time is right. I know that we could make it work, but she doesn't even want to try. I've tried to call her and text her several times, but she won't speak to me.
Later that night, I find out from my mom that she and Allison's dad are getting married at the end of the month. He offered to have a ceremony and reception, but she said she'd rather just get hitched at the courthouse. That means we'll be moving in with Allison and Will in just over three weeks.
The next day at school is painfully awkward. The news has already made it around the school, and Allison won't even look at me. It's so hard seeing her and not being able to touch her. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive this.
If she would just talk to me, I think I could be okay. She won't though, and after two weeks, I snap. I'm done feeling all of this pain for a girl who won't even acknowledge my existence. Maybe this was just a cruel joke all along. Maybe Allison already knew about our parents, and she was just trying to toy with me. She's always acted like she hates me, and maybe she does.
Well, fuck it. I'm done being a sucker for her. This is the end of my senior year, and I'm going to have fun. Love is stupid, and all it's ever done is cause me pain. From now on, I'll be the Hunter Allison always believed I was. That version of Hunter is a lot more fun than the sitting around crying over a girl version of Hunter.
My first order of business as old Hunter is to ask Cynthia, the girl who wasn't elected head cheerleader, out on a date. Cynthia is the closest thing to a rival Allison has, and they are what most people call frenemies.
They have calculus together just before lunch, so I make sure and stop Cynthia on her way out of class. The classroom is right next to Allison's locker, so she's there the entire time I'm asking Cyn out. Cynthia accepts enthusiastically, and Allison gives me a death glare that could melt steel.
"What are you doing?" She hisses at me after Cynthia walks away.
"I'm asking an attractive young woman out on a date. Not that it's any of your business."
"And you pick her? You're doing this on purpose, Hunter. Why are you trying to make things harder?" She asks, and I almost reach for her when she chokes up a bit. No, she did this, not me.
"Hey princess, the world doesn't revolve around you, but maybe you should tone it down a little bit because I would hate for anyone to hear my new sister getting jealous because I asked out another girl." I snarl out in a barely contained whisper.
Allison turns on her heels and takes off down the hallway. I smile a little to myself knowing that I've made my point, and I convince myself that I'm not using Cynthia. I mean, sure I guess I technically am, but she's getting a date with the quarterback out of it. She's a decently attractive girl, not as beautiful as Allison, and I'm sure we'll have a good time.
Our third date is the night before mom and I move in with Will and Allison. Before I left to go pick Cynthia up, mom loaded the trunk of our car with boxes of stuff from our house.
"It's stuff I don't trust the movers with. Just drop it off in the living room anytime before midnight. Will said he'd be up." She says and kisses me on the cheek.
"Why don't you take it over there, or you could have Will come pick it up." I sound like an asshole not wanting to help my mother out, but I don't want to see Allison.
"Just help your mother, please. You know Will and I are getting married in the morning, and I wanted to keep to at least keep some traditions alive."
"Right, he's not supposed to see you tonight. Sorry mom. I'll take them over there after I take Cynthia home. What if the door is locked. I don't want to ring the doorbell that late."
She hands me a key. "Here's your copy of the house key. I guess it's pretty official now. Okay, I've got a ton of stuff to do tonight. Have a good time on your da
te, and don't stay up too late."
I get to Cynthia's house and have to wait twenty minutes for her to finish getting ready even though I wasn't early. Ugh, I hate games. I know everybody thinks you have to play them, but I'm just not up for it. I'm about to say forget about it and leave, but she finally comes down the stairs.
We go to dinner and a movie, and I drive her home. I think she was expecting more, but that's not going to happen. Cynthia is an okay girl and she is pretty, but she's not worth risking my scholarship over. Wait, mom's marrying Mr. Moneybags tomorrow, so I don't need a scholarship anymore. Do I?
It still feels like sex with Cynthia would be going too far. Even though Allison and I aren't together anymore, I don't want to do anything that will make me feel like I cheated on her. I do want to spend as little time as possible in that house tomorrow, so I ask Cyn out for another date tomorrow night.
"I have to go tonight, gorgeous, but why don't we go out again tomorrow night?"
"Sure, Hunter. That would be great." She says and squeezes my thigh.
"I'll pick you up for dinner around six." I say and get out of the car.
I walk around and open her door for her. My mother tried to teach me how to be a gentleman, and some of it stuck. I walk her to her door, and Cynthia pulls me in for a long goodnight kiss. I have to admit that it feels good physically even if it doesn't feel very good mentally.
"Cynthia, you know I can't get seriously involved with anyone right now." I say when we part.
"Haha. Hunter Marks you're hilarious. I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm leaving for college in the fall too you know. I just thought a man with talents like yours might be a fun distraction for a while. Think about it, okay."
So there it was. Cynthia had obviously heard the rumors about my equipment and just wanted to have some fun. She would be an entertaining distraction from the pain I felt every time I looked at Allison, and with us living in the same house for the next few months, I was going to need all of the distraction I could get.
I pulled up in front of the house that would be my new home and cut the engine. I was about to get out of the car when I saw Justin Kern's car pull into the driveway. It takes all of my strength to stay back when I see Allison get out of his car. I guess if she's moved on, there isn't any reason for me to keep denying Cynthia what she wants.
After Justin kisses Allison goodnight and the feeling of nausea leaves me, I take the boxes into the house. She's nowhere to be seen, and I'm glad. The last thing I want to do is get into a shouting match with her the night before our parents’ wedding. I look around a little, and I'm still in shock that this is where I'll be living starting tomorrow. Mom and I's old house is nice, but this place is a mansion. I don't see Will anywhere either, so I leave and lock the front door on my way out.
By the time I get back out to my car, I'm so angry again that I'm practically seeing red. I'm never going to let a woman get to me like this again. One heartbreak was enough for a lifetime. From now on, it's all fun and no feelings. I drive to the drugstore to get condoms for my date with Cynthia tomorrow night, and I smile as I think of how pissed Allison is going to be when she finds out.
I hope that someday I can stop thinking about her all of the time.
Allison
I didn't want to go out with Justin, but I guess I wanted to make Hunter jealous. I was hurt when he asked Cynthia out right in front of me, but I know that I had no right to be. I had hurt him badly because I was scared, and I'd given him no reason to believe that we might fix things between us.
He barely spoke to me when we moved his things into our house on Saturday. As soon as the moving was done, he was out the door and on his way to another date with Cynthia. I found my dad and asked him if we could talk for a few minutes.
"Daddy, now that you've got Angela, I've made my decision about Paris. I want to go to school there. In fact, if it's okay with you, I'd like to leave right after school get's out this year. I think spending the summer there would give me time to acclimate myself before classes start in the fall." I say and he beams.
"Of course honey. Are you sure you want to spend three months alone before school starts, though?"
"I won't be alone, dad. It's Paris. My French is getting pretty good, and I'm sure I'll make friends."
"I'll contact an international real estate agent on Monday. We'll find you an apartment in a nice, safe neighborhood close to the school."
"Thanks, dad. I'm glad you finally found someone who makes you happy." I say and hug him.
"Angela is amazing, and I'm so glad you and Hunter worked things out. I was so worried for a while." He says and smiles even bigger.
I don't have the heart to tell him anything about Hunter and me. I have no idea how he would react. It would be embarrassing, and I don't want to make him feel bad, either. I'll just go to Paris, Hunter will go off to play college football, and in four years, I'm sure this will all have taken care of itself.
Getting through the last couple months of school proves to be more challenging than I anticipated. By the time I got back to school on Monday, the rumors about Hunter and Cynthia sleeping together were everywhere. I thought about confronting him, but I really needed to let it all go. He didn't make that easy.
As soon as the two of them slept together, he started bringing her to the house. They liked to go swimming at night while my Dad and Angela were out on dates. As you've probably guessed, my room overlooks the pool. They would be out there for hours splashing and laughing, and it drove me mad. Occasionally, I would hear moaning, and I'd have to put on headphones and turn the volume on my laptop all the way up to drown them out.
We make it through the next couple of months by ignoring each other except when we have to put on appearances for our parents. Justin and I become good friends, so when he asks me to prom, I say yes. Big surprise, Hunter takes Cynthia.
When we get to the dance, Elizabeth, the girl Justin should have asked is alone. I give him a hug and tell him to go for it.That means I spend most of the rest of the dance sitting in a chair watching Hunter and Cynthia rub against each other. Justin asks me to dance a couple of times because he's not an asshole, and I accept.
This time, when the song ends, I don't make it back to my table because Hunter grabs me and pulls me close to him. I look around and I don't see Cynthia anywhere.
"Where's your date?" I ask, but I don't pull away from his embrace.
"She's in the bathroom. Figured you could keep me company until she get's back." He says and tightens his hand on my lower back.
"I don't want to keep you company. I just want to go home." I say in a low whisper.
"Awe, come on princess. You're leaving next week anyway, just let me have this dance." He says and smiles genuinely at me.
"People will talk if we're dancing like this."
"Let them talk. Like I said, you're leaving anyway." He says.
I consider snapping at him, but instead I just dance. I let myself forget everything that has happened and just relish the sensation of being pressed against him again. It hits me how much I'm going to miss him, even if he has been being an asshole lately, and I almost give in and tell him how much I've wanted him back.
"Hunter." I whisper against his chest.
"Yes, sweetie." The sound of him calling me that makes my heart almost pound out of my chest.
"What's this about?" Cynthia's shrill question breaks the moment.
"Oh, Hunter asked me to dance while you were gone. He was just being nice since I'm technically here alone now." I stammer out and back away from him.
"Well that's sweet, Hunter. A charity dance for your new sister." She says and laughs.
I glare at her and then turn my attention towards him. He doesn't laugh with her, but he doesn't say anything either.
"Have a good night." I say and leave quickly before he can see my tears.
I rush outside and take a deep breath of the night air. In an instant, Justin is beside me. Elizabeth comes out too a
nd joins us. Wow, the two of them look great together. Being happy for him almost makes me feel better. Terri comes out next with her date in tow. I hadn't wanted to disturb her this evening. Her boyfriend, Chance, is leaving for the military next week, and I think he is going to ask her to marry him tonight. I'm screwing up everybody's night.
"Allison, I can take you home." Just says and wipes a tear off my cheek with his handkerchief.
"No, you guys go back in. All of you. You go back in and have a good time. I'm going to call a cab." I say and get out my phone.
"No, honey. Chance and I will take you home." Terri says and takes my hand.
