Where the Skies are Blue

Chapter Forty-Five:

"Mild concussion, two black eyes, and three stitches on her left eyebrow—"

The voice is unfamiliar. There's a blinding light. My eyes flicker open, and I'm in a hospital room. Hunter is sitting in a chair beside my bed. Katherine stands at the end with her arms folded across her chest as she speaks with the doctor.

I'm in the hospital.

Hunter punched me. My head hit a rock.

He could have killed me.

He could have killed me.

My eyes immediately grow misty with tears. My head hurts. I feel pain all over. Inside and out. I'm so sad. Why does he want to hurt me? This isn't okay. I can't do this anymore. I feel so empty inside. What did I do to deserve this?

When the doctor leaves, Katherine looks at me and notices I'm awake. "Hey, baby, how you feelin'?"

My shaky hand goes to touch my face, but Hunter reaches out and stops me. "Careful. Don't touch your stitches."

I yank my hand out of his grasp. He looks almost guilty. Like there is some remorse in him. I don't care. It's too late. I'm done. I'm so done. I'm so angry. I'm so disgusted with him and myself.

"Get. Out." I say coldly to him.

"Baby, he brought you here." Katherine has the audacity to say.

"He's also the one who put me here!" I snarl back at her.

Hunter's eyes widen. "Auden," He says in a hushed tone.

"I'll give you two a minute." Katherine says and begins to leave the room.

"No! Don't leave me alone with him."

"Baby, I'll give you a minute. Want one of them puddings?" She smiles, then nods and leaves me alone with Hunter.

I bitterly gnaw at my bottom lip, refusing to look at him.

"The fuck, Auden? Why would you say that to her?"

"I'm done." I hiss. "You could have killed me. Do you realize that?"

"Auden, please, that's a little dramatic."

I jerk my eyes in his direction. "I'm not being dramatic. Not even a little bit. Maybe not this time, but next time? The time after that? How many times will I end up here before you might actually kill me? This isn't a fucking joke, Hunter. You went too far this time, and I'm done. I never want to talk to you again. I don't want to be anywhere near you. You hurt me and I can't forgive you for this."

He sucks in a heavy breath. His elbows lean on my bed as he dips his head down in between his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with me." He whispers. "Auden, I'm so sorry."

"I don't care. I've heard enough of your apologies. Why do you enjoy hurting me? Is this how you're going to treat every girl you're with?"

"No—" He looks up at me with red eyes. "No." He says firmly.

"Well, like father, like son, I guess."

His eyes widen. I struck a nerve. He stands from the chair. His nostrils flare. I don't care that I've hurt him. Any love I once felt for him has switched to hate and even the sight of him makes me want to hurl. "You don't mean what you're saying."

"Yes, I do. I'm done, Hunter. I don't want anything to do with you. I fucking hate you." An actual laugh escapes my throat, and I feel so much rage like it's crawling over my skin like a million fire ants.

He rubs a hand along his jaw. "You'll regret that." He then shoots me a cold stare that sends a shiver down my spine before he throws open the door and storms out.

A sob ripples through me as I slap my hand over my mouth, tears pooling from my eyes. Katherine comes prancing in a moment later with two pudding cups in her hands. "Took a ton for later." She motions toward her purse. She looks me over. "Baby, let's get out of here."

"Why didn't you tell the doctor that Hunter did this? You know he did."

She places a spoon in her pudding then sighs. "Baby, you can't ever trust any of these people. They're never on our side. They're on guys like Hunter's side."

"Whatever." I hiss and toss the hospital bed covers off me. I angrily follow Katherine out of the hospital and into her car, where I seethe. A bomb ready to implode. "You don't protect me from Hunter because you're screwing his dad. Because it'll mess things up with him."

"You can protect yourself, baby. You can't rely on anyone else to do that for you. I protected myself my whole life."

"Yeah, and look where the hell you are. You're miserable, and the only way you survive is by moving from guy to guy."

"You're taking your anger out on the wrong person."

"No, I'm not. I'm pissed at you. George Woolf, really? Of all people. Do you have any idea how bad it will be when people find out? Do you honestly think he'll choose you over his wife? People are going to find out. Henry will be devastated."

"I've already thought about everything, baby, believe me. Men are simple, dumb creatures."

I scoff. "You're so selfish. Henry loves you. He loves us. We could be an actual family. We could be happy. Why do you want to ruin that?"

Katherine pulls her sunglasses over her eyes. "Henry deserves better than us, baby. You know that just as well as I do."

"You can change. We can make it work. Don't you want that? Henry will understand. He's kind, he'll forgive you for everything."

She laughs. "Baby, even the kindest of men can be wickedly cruel. They're just better at hiding it."

"So, you meant to tell me that Henry is secretly cruel? That I'm completely wrong about him?"

She exhales heavily. "Jesus, Child, Henry was never going to be anything. It was always George. He has success, he has more money than we can even imagine. Everything I do is for us. To give us a better life. A better life than I ever had."

"George is abusive. He's a complete psychopath, just like Hunter. That's the life you want for us? For me? Don't lie to my face and say that everything you've done is to give us a better life. Was letting BooBoo grope me every day all part of the plan? Was letting Zeppelin kiss me every time he came over part of the plan? You left me for weeks at a time, Katherine, when I was just a kid. I had no food. I was starving. We never had anything. You never gave me anything. You've let people abuse me my whole life and you're one of them!" Tears are streaming down my face, and I angrily swipe them away. "You're still letting someone abuse me, and you don't even care. You knew Hunter was hurting me, but you kept pushing me to stay with him so you could get closer to George. You're fucking sick. You view me as a threat, not a daughter."

"If your life is so bad, then leave. Nobody is making you stay. You're ungrateful and an immature child who thinks that life is going to be easy. I raised you to be strong, to stand on your own. I brought you here, so you never had to be hungry again or live in another run-down trailer again. It took some shitty things to happen to get us here, but we got here. I did this; I got us here, and you're still not happy." Her voice rises with each word, and when she pulls into the driveway of Henry's house, we're both glaring at one another. "If you're not happy here, you'll never be happy. Leave for all I care. Maybe you'll be happier on the streets, hooked on crack." She gets out of the car, slamming the door behind her, leaving me alone in the car.

I angrily move my fingers through my hair. My head throbbing.

Fuck her. Fuck Hunter. I need a fucking drink.