Finding You

Chapter 34 - Found a Demon in My Safest Haven

"Sean still had a few friends at the school though, and soon word got around that Washington had a girlfriend," Hunter says. "You, he had you." He says this bitterly, like the words taste bad in his mouth.

My breath catches in my throat, and my eyes widen. "Me?" I repeat, loudly enough so that he hears me, but not so loud that he hears how my voice trembles.

"Yeah..," Hunter continues. "God, Mia, I'm so sorry," he says softly. "One day, I pulled this stupid stunt and got kicked out of St. John's. My parents, they pulled some strings and got me into Northwest Academy in the blink of an eye. That first day at practice, I saw you turn Sean down, and I figured you two must've broken up. But the way he was looking at me that whole first week, he obviously still cared about you in some way at least. So I decided to have some fun with him..."

"Oh my God," I breathe, as my eyes widen in realization and shock, and I feel a sharp pain shoot through my chest. "You were using me."

"Mia, listen to me, please -," Hunter starts desperately.

"I never understood it. I never knew why you chose me. It all makes sense now," I say in a sort of shocked daze.

The pain in my chest is still intense, but I grow numb to it. It's like, it hurts, but it hurts in a place that isn't here...isn't now.

"No, no, Mia, I swear to God, it's not like that. Shit, I didn't even know you then. It's different now, I'm different now," he pleads. He shifts, and in an instant, he's on the floor kneeling in front of me, trying to get me to look him in the eyes. But I can't manage it, as my vision blurs with tears.

"That day.. That day you helped me, you already knew who I was," I say, determined to keep my eyes fixed on the wall of lockers behind him. I can't look at him right now. If I do, I'll lose it.

My entire body is shaking. Why can't I stop shaking?

"Yeah..," Hunter admits, looking to the ground.

I can feel a few tears start to form. "All that stuff you said, about wanting to get to know me, and asking me to show you around school, following me around, waiting for me at my locker, hanging out with my friends, everything.. It was all just to screw with Sean?" I ask incredulously, as the tears begin to fall.

"Mia, please -"

"Was it?!" I yell, standing up. I'm yelling. How am I yelling when it's all I can do right now not to suffocate?

Hunter stands as well. "Yes," he admits.

"Oh God..," I say, bringing my hands to my head. My mind is racing, my stomach is churning, and my body is shaking. Why can't I just stop shaking? I half lean, half stumble into a locker for support. My legs feel like they could give out at any second. "So all this time, you were just using me? Everything that you've said up until this point has been a lie?"

"No! God, Mia, no. You have to believe me, it hasn't been about that for me for a long time now," Hunter says, crossing the room to me in one stride. Before I know it, he's too close, his hands on either side of my head, caging me in his arms with my back against the lockers. "This isn't about winning some stupid rivalry, okay? I would never hurt you like that. It may have started out that way, but things changed a long time ago."

"How am I supposed to believe that?!" I scream at him, but he doesn't move back even an inch. "You've been lying to me this entire time! You were just using me, and I can't -," I cry, as it becomes impossible for me to speak. More tears fall, but I can't really feel them. Not now. I only know because Hunter reaches up, and wipes one away with his thumb, gently stroking my cheek.