The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Forty-two

"Why are you in a mood?"

"Because I am," he replies. "Now go sit down in my chair and get comfy. I have the New Year's Eve thing on TV you can watch that. Just stay here in here for now."

"No, don't go!" I call as he's turning to leave the room, and he turns back around with a pained look.

"I need to call Olly to come get you."

"Don't call him," I walk over to the end table and grab the whiskey bottle off it. 

"I have to call him and put that down."

"Nope," I quip as uncap it, but I barely even get it to my lips before he snatches it away.

"Hey!"

"You had enough," he sighs. "Why are you here instead of with Olly? Did you two fight?"

"Obviously," I scoff.

"I see I'm not the only one in a mood," Hunter says dryly. He brings the bottle to his lips and downs a big gulp.

"That's a double standard," I complain. "If you can drink, so can I."

"I'm not as drunk as you," he points out. "Was on my way to doing that, and then I heard someone yelling something about an apple girl. I had a feeling that was you."

"That's me, the apple girl!" I cheer out loud with a goofy grin. "Lemme have one more sip of that."

"No.'' But as he sets it down, I grab it, and he doesn't stop me instead he looks at me carefully.

"It's your anniversary, I thought y'all were getting a room or something."

"We were until the stupid mailman came."

"What does the mailman have to do with this?"

"They should wait New Year's is a holiday. Don't ruin people's holidays with good news that's not good news for everyone, you know what I mean?" My words all come out in one slurry, blurred rush.

"I hardly got a word of that," he says as he takes the bottle away from me again. "Look, whatever this is, y'all will work it out. I'm going to call Olly to come and get you."

"I said don't!"

"I know what you said, but if I don't call him, this gets much worse," Hunter says. "There isn't anyone here sober enough to bring you home, and you can't spend the night here. Olly would flip."

"Then he can flip out all the way to Boston," I say, and with that, all the suppressed anger and hurt comes bubbling back up.

Damn it, the shots made those go away, I thought!

"Oh," Hunter says slowly. "Olly got into Havard?"

The look on Olly's face as he read that letter and the terrible fight afterward all come back to me at once, and the tears come spilling down my face.

Hunter's arms are around me in a second, soothing me in a comforting hug, and I want so badly to savor it, but he pulls away fast. Hugging is one of the things we aren't supposed to do, there was this talk, last month and it was a whole thing...

I missed it though, being hugged by Hunter. I have to refrain from clinging to him as he lets go.

"Did he say he's going?" Hunter asks. He takes a safe step back ensuring there's distance between us.

"I dunno," my lip quivers. "He wants to."

"If anyone can make it work, it's you two," Hunter assures me. "I know it might not seem like it now, but it will be okay."