Hunter's Chance

t w e n t y - f o u r

"It's weird."

"That was a long time ago Jade." I said to her as I sipped on my drink.

"I know, but it just doesn't make sense."

That night with Matt had seemingly spent the majority of it's time in the backseat of my mind. Far enough out of reach that I wouldn't have to revisit. If there's anything that I've learned though, it's that Jade is persistent. When I agreed to dinner, I didn't realize that I would be interrogated for every detail of the relationship between James and I. Though watching it play back, I can't deny the charm to our bumpy roads and minor detours. "What do you mean?" I finally asked.

"James. He said that he would be there at seven and he wasn't." Her eyes were everywhere but on mine when she asked, "has he ever been late to anything else?"

I sat back to really think about this. "No, I mean he hasn't kept me waiting, not since that night. If anything he surprises me by showing up unexpectedly." Now my curiosity had built. Where was she going with this? " People show up late all of the time. I mean, even just this morning-"

"Rae," she interrupted. "It's James. He's never late." Her eyes were on mine now, holding me firm in place.

It was over my head, all of it, and I realized this as she pushed her plate of food out of the way and sat back in her chair. She wouldn't look at me, not even then, but I knew that she was trying to tell me something.

"Jade-" and then as if on cue, my phone was ringing. Conner's name was flashing on the screen and if I knew one thing it was that he only ever calls me for one of two reasons. Either he's found himself a song to recommend to me, or it was about my mom. It was a fifty/fifty chance and I knew that when I swiped the screen.

"Bud, is everything okay?" I hesitantly asked. There was a long pause, I could hear his breathing through the receiver and then I felt it. He didn't have to say anything.

"I'm on my way."

-

The air was different, thicker, or maybe it was the color of the sky, was it darker? I wasn't sure. I just knew that something was off and when I pulled into the driveway of the white house, the tire swing was moving just so and the front porch light was on. Everything looked in place. Immaculate even, from the outside. The rest of the world moved on with their nights while I was preparing for what was on the other side of that door.

"Stay here." I told Jade, shutting the door in front of me. "I'll be right back"

On the front porch, I hesitated. My game was off and it all felt alien to me. I stepped away, pacing, just as I caught glimpse of a girl staring back at me through the reflection of the window. I recognized her as she mimicked my movements. I tugged on my shirt and pushed my shoulders back. She smiled at me then, giving me the boost of reassurance I needed and that was all it took. I was back.

I pulled on the screen door as it creaked. It was quiet now which meant that more likely than not that she was unconscious. There were times, believe it or not, where I would find this house to be extremely loud. Patsy would be playing and laughter would be echoing off the walls. Now though, on this night, I'm greeted with silence and I knew what that meant.

There was a slit of light under my mothers bedroom door and I succumbed to it. I tiptoed my way down the hallway of broken memories until I heard it. I heard her heaving over and over again. My feet instantly picked up as I barged through the bedroom door. She wasn't there. And then the aching sounds replayed, this time coming from her bathroom door.

I followed the sound to find conner pulling her hair out of her face and rubbing her back as she hunched over in front of the toilet. Her back would concave as she would throw herself forward, hurling into the toilet. He looked up at me and it didn't take long for me to push him aside, stepping in his place.