Sam and Matt headed back towards Sam's car, and Hunter's gaze left mine as he slowly walked towards his. He wasn't even wearing shoes.
"Hunter?"
He stopped and turned around to look at me.
"May we talk for a minute please?"
He nodded and walked back to me so we were standing a few feet apart, facing each other.
"What the hell was that?"
He looked at the ground and shifted his feet. I couldn't tell if he was ashamed or distraught.
"Hello? What is wrong with you?"
"Why are you being so harsh?"
"Why did you just play ghost for fifteen hours, huh? Put yourself in my -- our -- shoes in trying to look for you and then find you barefoot in the middle of nowhere and then see if you still think I'm being harsh."
"I told you I just needed to think."
"There are ways to do that without scaring the living hell out of everyone who cares about you. Imagine if your parents knew about this."
"Aren't you supposed to be, like, consoling me right now?"
"Is that what you're looking for? Pity? Because, look. I took you to my apartment, I gave you clothes, I cleaned you up, took care of you when you puked all over my bathroom then watched you walk out the door without saying anything and you know what my first thought was? It was that I hoped you were okay. And I couldn't be happier that you're okay. I also couldn't be angrier that you're trying to redirect whatever is wrong with you at me after all that."
By now, Matt and Sam had stopped to turn around and look at us, before getting in Sam's car and driving away.
Hunter didn't respond, so I took the liberty to continue.
"What has gotten you so messed up in the head that you need to do all that then have the audacity to actually say to me 'aren't you supposed to be consoling me'? It is my dang choice to console you or to not console you, and I've now apparently wasted a whole day trying to find you and instead of this being a happy ordeal here, you greet me with this. I'd be happy to console you because I spent a nearly sleepless night last night worrying about you and was awoken to Matt at my door saying you weren't home followed by Sam in tears saying he couldn't find you anywhere. You know we've been in the car for six hours and combed pretty much the entire city of Nashville. The least you could do is be appreciative that we care that much."
"I'd be concerned if you didn't."
"I cannot believe you, Hunter! What drove you to pull this stunt?"
"You didn't have to come looking for me! I told you I wouldn't have my phone; I told you I needed time to think. I told you to stay. It was completely your choice to come looking for me."
"You don't appreciate us at all, do you?" I said venomously.
"No, I do. It's ju-"
"No, Hunter. Listen. You thank me, you thank Sam, you thank Matt, and anybody else who puts up with you enough to care enough to go to the lengths we've gone to JUST to make sure you were okay. And don't give me an 'it was your choice' lecture. It was also 'your choice' to reach a whole new level of immaturity and do this," I said, pointing to our surroundings. "You need to grow up a bit, kiddo."
"Why are you talking to me like this?" he said snidely.
"Because you're being too damn selfish! You haven't thanked me once! You know I had nightmares about you being in trouble last night? You know I slept three hours and you were all I could think about? I told you your best friend arrived at my apartment in tears, and you act like you couldn't care less!"
