Breaking Free

Chapter 14

Katlyn's P.O.V

I looked at Hunter's fading shadow as he walked into the night and out of sight, turning my head, I directed my attention to Marshall. "Why are you ignoring him?" I asked curiously. "Who?" He responded, ferning ignorance.

"Hunter, come on we both know that you have been giving the poor man a cold shoulder," I told him. "Hunter needs to learn to be responsible for his actions, he is not a teenager anymore and he should know by now that you can't blame people for your misfortune forever, at some point all these excuses and horrible experiences will be history and mean nothing, life is not a smooth ride. We all pass through pain and loss but holding on to what was and not appreciating is, is the worst mistake anyone can make." Marshall finished and came to where I was sitting on the couch.

"You can at least talk to him, you are the only person he can truly open up to, it's not fair for you to forsake him now." I said, feeling angry all of the sudden. "Hunter should know how it feels to be shut out, when you want to talk to someone so badly and explain to them, simply reason with them and have them hear you out but they are too angry to even listen to your side of the story. He needs to learn how to be empathetic, it's not always about him."

"Am not on the side of Hunter's parents but I know that raising a child is not simple, the Jones haven't been perfect parents but they've tried in their own way. His mother should never have to break down and cry just so that her son should hear her out. A child should never be the reason for his parents dismay, Hunter's family is literally breaking and honestly it's all his fault. If only he could forgive and try to move on everything would be much easier for all of us."

Before I could even interject on what Marshall had said, his phone started ringing. He moved quickly to the kitchen island where he had left it while I walked behind him. "Yes, Heather?" He said and I knew with no doubt who was on the other end, I moved closer so that I could ask him to let me speak to her. "Bloody hell! Why would that boy do that!" Marshall yelled and I stopped moving, staring at the panicked man infront of me.

"What happened?" I questioned, as soon as he put the phone down, "Hunter wants to kill himself, if he hasn't already," he responded as his body dropped from the ground. My heart stopped upon hearing what Marshall had said, I looked at him and how weak the news had made him. "Listen here, we can't just sit here and mourn someone who is probably alive, let's look for him, he might still be alive." I said to him.

As he stood and we ran out of the house, in search of Hunter, I just prayed that we found him alive because if not, Marshall would forever blame himself for his death, and I didn't want to see that happen.

★★★★★★★★

"Katlyn it takes less than 3 minutes for an adult to drown and Hunter has been missing for close to an hour," Marshall yelled as he came out of the water for the 6th time now. "Let's keep trying, I know he's alive and his clothes are here, meaning he jumped from the cliff and landed in the water." Heather yelled back. I sighed and moved closer to the two, I was going to find Hunter myself.

"Am going in," I said and started taking off my clothes. "That's dangerous, you can't do that Katlyn, the water is shallow and it's hard to see because of the darkness," Marshall stood in front of me as a way of stopping me. "If Hunter is out there, then am going to find him and you can't stop me." I said, leaving no room for objections. "Katlyn," he called as I walked into the water, "Leave her," I heard Heather's calm voice.

Marshall was right, it was very dark and the moonlight was not enough. As I swam deeper and deeper into the water, I tried my best to catch even a glimpse of any form of life but I saw nothing. I kept on looking for Hunter desperately, and going back to the surface whenever I started running out of air. The water was freezing and scary to swim in, the more I searched, the more I realized that the possibilities of finding him alive were minimal.

The rising rides took me with them as I struggled to swim, I was tired and my patience was thin. I didn't fight it, it threw me on the other side of dry land, a little far from where I left Heather and Marshall. I got out of the water and sat on the wet sand. "Where could you be grumpy man?" I asked myself as I silently cried and prayed for a sign.

I knew Hunter didn't like or love me but that didn't change how I felt for him. My feelings towards him had never withered, I loved him from the first day that I saw his baby picture and I loved him more when I finally got to meet the older version of him. He wasn't a saint or the kindest person on earth but I saw how he treated the people that he loved and my only wish was that one day he could look at me with those same eyes that made my insides swirl. I wanted him to smile at me, I just wanted to be loved by him and I didn't want to lose him, not now.

He wasn't put in the best position to make the right decisions, he made decisions based on the information that he had and maybe he was too hard on his parents but they needed to know just how much pain their actions caused him and they needed to know that the time they lost with him would never be brought back. He said and did the right things in wrong ways but at the end of the day, he was just human and humans make mistakes, they get tired and lose the mark sometimes.

I just wanted to tell Hunter that I was on his side, I understood his pain. I knew what it was and how it felt to be neglected by your parents. I wanted to tell him that he was loved and his life meant a lot to me and everyone. As I sobbed and broke down on the wet sand, I saw something shinny on the ground. I whipped my tears and moved closer to it, it was Hunter's necklace. The one I stole from Marshall when I was still on the streets.

If it was here, that meant Hunter was also not far from the place that I found it. I started walking fast and searching with my eyes for any signs of him. I called his name but all to no avail. I kept on going until I spotted a figure from were I stood. I ran to it and felt goosebumps when I realized that it was him.

Laying down on a big rock with only his briffs on, Hunter's body looked almost lifeless. I moved closer and turned him on his back. Fear gripped me as I looked at him, he wasn't moving, he was as stiff as a rock. I started calling for help, I knew Marshall and Heather would hear me from the other side. I kept shouting and shouting for someone to help me until they showed up in what looked like a boat with some other people that were probably medics.

"You found him!" Heather whispered as she came to where I was on the ground with Hunter. The doctor came and touched his wrist, he tried to get the water out of him but nothing came out, "It's dry drawning, he's still alive!" From there everything happened so fast, they kept on shocking him and giving him mouth to mouth. The next thing I saw was Hunter being carried and put in an ambulance. A lot of people were there, the police, water divers, and the news reporters. I watched as they took his body to the hospital, I was glad and thankful that he was still alive but I still wanted to see him conscious.

"I shouldn't have ignored him," Marshall spoke quietly and I turned to look at him. "Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't know he would do this," I said to him as I reached out to hold his hands. "She's right Marshall," Heather added, "It's not your fault but I think we all knew that eventually this would happen, it was bound to happen. At this point Hunter is like a grenade, a ticking time bomb, and poison. If we don't help him to get out of his depression then sooner or later he'll drag us all down with him, if he is suicidal then he'll try this again. He needs help and fast."

"So what do you suggest?" Marshall asked, "therapy," she responded quickly. "Hunter and I had a conversation about this but he refused, I just hope this time when he wakes up it's going to be different," she finished. "Hunter's parents are here!" Marshall said with panic and I just stood there waiting to finally meet the famous Mr. And Mrs. Jones.