The Past Between Us

~32~

Edited

"And if you're lucky, if you're the luckiest person on this entire planet, the person you love decides to love you back." -Nathan Scott, One Tree Hill

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The coffee shop had been full when Jace and I had arrived. The sun was just starting to set, and it was almost empty now.

"So, all this time. Hunter had been protecting you from Nichole?" Jace's face was tense with concentration.

I nodded slowly.

He sighed. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. I always wondered why he always came to me and asked me to help you whenever you were in trouble, instead of doing it himself. I could see that asking me killed him but he did it anyway."

I gasped, breathing suddenly became really hard.

"You mean all this time-" My eyes were widened in disbelief.

Jace smiled. "He never stopped caring about you Scarlett."

His large hand came to rest over mine, and he squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It wasn't my place to tell you, it was Hunter's secret, not mine."

I gulped. Trying to swallow the growing lump in my throat.

"He's a good guy Scarlett. He's a little lost right now. Sometimes all we need is for someone to find us. Bring him back, you're the only one who can."

I looked into Jace's eyes and I could see his honesty. I could tell that he still cared about his friend.

The sound of the door-bell jingling caught our attention.

Every ounce of breath left my body when I saw who it was.

Hunter.

His eyes scanned the shop leisurely until they finally found mine, and widened in shock. This was the first time I was seeing him ever since that incident with Nichole.

The first time I was seeing him ever since I've found out the truth.

Hunter's eyes suddenly focused on something else. It took me a moment to realize that Jace still had his hand over mine and that was where Hunter was looking. A pang of guilt pierced through me. Jace seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he hastily retracted his hand.

I held my breath as Hunter slowly made his way towards our table, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Hey." He acknowledged Jace with a polite nod before turning to me again.

"Can I talk to you?" He sounded nervous.

I swallowed. Something about this didn't feel right.

My legs were shaking as I followed him to another booth. For a moment none of us spoke.

"How are you?" He asked finally, his voice was soft.

"I'm okay." I tried to smile reassuringly, but I couldn't.

He breathed deeply and trained his gaze on the floor so he wasn't looking at me anymore.

"I came here to apologize."

"You have nothing to apologize for. What happened isn't your fault. All this time you were trying to protect me. I should be the one apologizing." I told him firmly.

His gaze suddenly snapped to mine and I gasped.

There was so much pain in his eyes. So much agony.