"Never let an old flame burn you twice"
Sydney Janes was a normal teenager until she got behind the wheel one fateful night. She lost her parents in a bad crash, but found Tony Becker - Hollywood's infamous troublemaker. Seeing she was only a kid wh...
I woke up to a missed call from my mother and a text from Sydney. I opened it and read:
so much for calling me back
Hunter popping up in my room distracted me from replying.
"What's for breakfast?" He asked me.
*
I parked and walked Hunter to the doors.
As we walked, he was in a pretty good mood. He'd been talking my ear off all morning about how he can't wait to see Malena and hopes to set a new personal record (PR) at his meet later.
"Hunter, listen," I talked, "you know you can tell me anything, right? How's Anna been?"
"Different," he said. "she doesn't hit me anymore when she gets mad, and she drinks less. I think that's why she started smoking, but I'll take it. Ever since her last boyfriend left her, things have been better. But-- nevermind."
"No, say it," I urged him.
"She misses you, Will. Every night she cries saying she wishes you'd come back," he said, kicking a rock.
I moved out the way for some teens running by us.
With squinted eyes from the sun, I asked Hunter, "Well what do you think?"
He hunched his shoulders at first. "I don't want to say it and you get mad at me," said Hunter, not meeting my eyes.
I stopped him walking and put one hand firmly on his shoulder.
"Tell me," I pushed, looking between his eyes.
Hunter deeply sighed and knocked my hand off his scrawny body.
"I want you to get back together, there! We were happier then," he raised his voice.
He had me at a loss. I wasn't expecting that at all.
Anna and I used to be somewhat of a thing, on and off -- usually off-- but I didn't know he felt that way, or his mother.
The guilt tripping almost worked. Almost.
"Hunt-" I tried but he cut me off.
"Whatever, I gotta go, the bell's about to ring," he spat, walking off with two teammates.
I watched crowds of kids pool into the school until the doors shut behind the last of the stragglers.
Hunter might've given me some childish attitude before, but never nothing like that. It hurt me he felt so strongly, I didn't want to be the root of his unhappiness. But Anna and I was something that should've never happened. And while it's not a regret of mine necessarily, I definitely didn't even want to think of working on our relationship. Or lack thereof.
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