The Secrets That Free Us

Chapter 23

Hunter

I throw my gym bag onto the counter and pull a bottle of water from the fridge.

I've been going to the local boxing gym since I came home and so far it's been a good way of keeping my emotions in check.

"Hi hun." My Mom greets me as she walks into the kitchen.

It's strange being home, everything stayed the same but so much has changed.

The kitchen is still painted in the god awful green tone that my Mom tries to say is artsy, but the paint isn't perfect anymore. There's a few chips in the paint and very faint scuff marks from where the dining table chair has been moved one too many times. There's also still cracked plaster from where I punched my fist through it before I left.

I cringe when I think about how out of control my temper once was. I mean sure, I'm no fucking angel now, but I do deal with my emotions a hell of a lot better than what I used to.

"How's things between Grace and you?" My Mom asks as she pours herself a cup of tea.

She's dressed in a fluffy pink robe and her hair is scraped back from her face, she looks tired and I feel like a massive dick for all the shit I've put her through over the years. All the time she had to come to the school because the principle had had enough of my shit. All the late nights that she had to come pick me up from the police station because my temper got the best of me yet again. And not to mention getting sent to a fucking detention center and risking my whole future.

My Mom worked so hard to get us into a nice neighborhood like this one, she wanted more for me than what her parents gave her and her disappointment of a son is constantly fucking up her dream.

"Good, I guess." She sips her hot drink eyeing me carefully, waiting for me to expand. "She still doesn't know about where I was or why."

"Sweetheart, you should talk to her. She should know the truth."

I rake my hand through my hair in a nervous manor, "Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna shower then go to bed."

I pick up my gym bag and make my way up the stairs.

After I've showered I try to relax and have an early night but I can't help but think about what My Mom said. Is she right? would Grace understand or would she hate me even more?

I throw one arm behind my head and lay the other one across my bare stomach.

I don't actually know how Grace would react, I mean we've been getting along so great I don't want to ruin it by telling her the truth now.

Fuck it. I can't sleep and I'm driving myself mad here. I check the clock and see that it's 1am, I guess time flies when your life's one big fucking mess.

I had put a loose pair of black shorts on after I got out of the shower so I just throw on a plain black hoodie and push my feet into my trainers.

As soon as I shut the front door behind me I take off along the street sprinting.

Running has always cleared my head so I decided that's what I should do. My body protests from the rough training session I already completed today but I ignore it, continuing to push through the streets.

The night is dark and silent and all I can hear is the sound of my labored breaths and my trainers hitting the pavement.

I push up the hill towards the one place I want to be right now, some branches snap at my legs as I push through the wooded area until finally I see the moons reflection in the calm stream in front of me.

The stream is located at the back of a wood so not many people actually know that it's out here. The grass has barely been disturbed and the water is unpolluted. A clam feeling begins to wash over me in the sanctuary of this place until I get the distinct feeling that I'm not alone.

I move out from the woods and stand on the fresh grass when I see a figure sitting on the hill that leads to the stream. The figure has their legs pulled into their chest and a hood covering their head. I turn to leave until the person tilts their head towards the sky, the first thing I notice is the way the moon glistens against their moist cheeks. Whoever it is has clearly been crying. The figure moves a little more and my stomach knots when I realize that the figure is in-fact Grace.

My legs pull me towards her before I even realize what I'm doing, "What the fuck are you doing out here?" I yell at her, she ignores me.

"Grace I'm not fucking around it's 1am and you're about half an hour from home."

My body is radiating in anger, what the fuck is she playing at? what if someone had of hurt her?

When I near her I notice that her eyes are open but she looks a million miles away. She finally looks at me and I see the small white buds in her ears, no wonder she didn't hear me.

I gently pry them out of her ears being careful not to yank them out like I want too.

"Why are you here?" She asks, turning back to look at the stream. Her voice is void of any emotion, indifferent and uninterested.

"I came for a run and ended up here. Why are you here?" I ask through gritted teeth, she just shrugs her shoulders.

I sit on the bank beside her and cringe when I see she's only wearing her pj shorts and a Tshirt.

It isn't cold tonight but it certainly isn't warm enough to be wearing just that.

I sit beside her and stare at the stream with her for a while before either of us speak again.

"Do your Mom and Dad know where you are?"

"They're out of town for the night."

What the fuck? "So they just left you?" I fume out loud. They know she isn't doing well, what if she had of tried to hurt herself again?

"I'm eighteen Hunter, I don't need a babysitter 24/7" The emotion still lacking in her voice is the scariest thing to me right now.

I wipe a stray tear from her cheek and flinch when I notice her cheeks are ice cold.

"Gracie you're gonna freeze to death out here." I pull my hoodie over my head and resist the urge to visibly shiver when I feel the cool breeze nipping at my bare skin.

"With any luck" She deadpans, more to herself but it still flips a switch inside of me. I've tried to control my anger but she doesn't seem to get how fucking serious this situation is.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Grace do you know how fucking worried I was when Cole came to see me and told me what had happened? I cried myself to fucking sleep. No one wants to lose you we want to fucking help you but you running around town with a god damn death wish"

My words are rushed and furious and only when Grace turns to me with narrowed eyes and flames practically burning behind those green orbs do I realize my mistake.

"What do you mean, 'When Cole came to see you'?" At least her tone of voice now sounds dangerous, murdery is an emotion right?

"I promise I will explain everything to you soon, but don't be mad at Cole, he was so worried and didn't know what to do." I tell her honestly, that seems to piss her off even more.

"And you do?" She yells. "Hunter you left. You left this place and you left me. You don't get to come back and think you know how to fix me."

"That's not what this is." I yell back. " I missed you Grace, I missed you every minute of every fucking day and when Cole came I knew I had to come home." My tone has softened by the end of my confession and I see the tears pooling in her eyes again.

"Then why did you leave?" My own eyes burn at how broken she sounds when she asks that and it breaks my fucking heart knowing I left her all alone.

I pull my hoodie over the top of her head and then bring her small frame into my body and wrap my arms around her as she lets out soft sobs. I place a soft kiss on her forehead and whisper, "I had to baby, I didn't have a choice." The sooner I find a way to tell her the better.