“What if she’s pregnant?”
My skin prickled and the hairs on my neck stood on end. This was getting ridiculous.
Ponytail’s eyebrows shot up into her bangs. “Oh my god, no way.”
Her friend pounded the table, leaning forward. “Come on. How many explanations could there be?”
“I don’t know, that sounds crazy.”
“Then what could it be?”
“I don’t know,” Ponytail said, shaking her head.
“I mean it would make sense. I’m not saying it’s for sure, but it would make sense, and I’m not hearing any better explanations.”
“I guess.”
I couldn’t listen to any more. Hearing that Ada and Hunter had been seen together when I couldn’t even get ahold of him was bad enough. I didn’t need to listen to these two girls speculating on why they were together. They would always go for the craziest explanation. That’s how gossip was.
Still, as I packed up my stuff my stomach felt like I’d been punched repeatedly. Even if Ada wasn’t pregnant—and who knew, anything felt possible at this point—it was still pretty shady that they’d been together at the same time he had been impossible to get ahold of. I searched my brain for more reasonable explanations for why he’d been going with her to the health center. Maybe they’d just been having a great conversation and he’d wanted to continue it, so he walked with her while she picked up a prescription or something. Maybe he went with her to get the results of a test. Not a pregnancy test. Like a test for cancer, maybe. Shannon, whoever that was, could’ve also been lying.
Thinking about the possibilities wasn’t making me feel any better. Trying to figure this out without more information would only drive me crazy. I just had to add it to the already long conversation I was going to have with Hunter, whenever that f**king happened.
I finished packing up my sketchbook and headed for my dorm. Maybe being around people wasn’t so great after all.
Chapter Twenty-four
THE CONFRONTATION
Ponytail’s words echoed through my ears as I trudged through the snow toward Floyd Hall in my black winter coat and matching pom pom beanie. The sky was gray and snowflakes were falling lightly down. The weather guy on TV called this a “dusting,” if I remembered right. I had paid a lot of attention to the local weather when I was taking a break from school and living with my aunt and uncle. It was just the right amount of stimulation to get my mind off my mom for a couple minutes. That had been a relatively pleasant couple minutes at the time.
Walking, staring at the snowy ground, I realized Ponytail had been right about one thing—Hunter was dating that girl whose mom got murdered. That girl was also seriously wondering where the hell he was. I needed to talk to Hunter as soon as possible. Pondering what had happened to him was driving me crazy.
Why had he left his apartment a mess? Why hadn’t he tried to contact me for days? What was he doing with his ex-girlfriend? I didn’t expect him to be a mind reader, but hanging out with your ex-girlfriend when your current girlfriend couldn’t get in touch with you was obviously going to piss your current girlfriend off. Especially when she was trying to deal with something terrible.
Why, of all places, would he be with her at the health center? It was attached to the college hospital; maybe he was going for a follow-up from some fighting injury. But why would he be with her? Why not ask me to go with him?
Trying to shake away the worst of my thoughts, I looked up to see the giant metal and glass complex that was the Arrowhart Medical Complex. I’d been so wrapped up in my head that I hadn’t realized the complex was on my way back to the dorm.
When I looked up, I saw a familiar figure. And an unwelcome one.
Hunter was walking toward me in a weathered brown bomber jacket. Stubble on his face indicating he hadn’t shaved in a few days and mussed up hair didn’t compromise his attractiveness. Ada was by his side wearing a black North Face winter coat that went down past her knees.
She had her arm around him.
My jaw dropped as I stopped in place. I was unwittingly reminded of my first boyfriend coming out of the movie theater with his arm around my best friend. How could something like this be happening again? Could this day get any worse? A million questions flew through my mind as I stood there, feeling my limbs freeze over. Every cold breath in my lungs made me feel closer to throwing up. I wanted to curl up in a little ball right there in the snow and not move.
Hunter’s eyes widened when they found mine. He brushed Ada’s arm from his back and hurried toward me, arms out. “Lorrie, I was just going to text you,” he said. Ada was trailing a few steps behind him.
“Where have you been?” I asked, my voice unsteady.
He came closer and stopped a few feet from me. “Listen, this isn’t what it looks like.”
I’d barely been able to keep myself together the past week; I’d been crying, sleeping, failing my classes, missing Hunter when I needed him most . . . So the sight of Hunter—the man I loved, or thought I loved—threw my emotions into turmoil. He had been my anchor but now . . . I didn’t know what to think. Overwhelmed, tears burst from my eyes. “What’s going on Hunter? I needed to talk to you! Where were you?”
His features softened further as he looked at me pleadingly. “Lorrie please calm down.”
My fists clenched and I stomped my feet, blinking away tears that fell down my cheeks. “Calm down? Now? Why should I be calm? You’ve disappeared for a week, didn’t respond to my texts or call, and now I see you with her! I thought we were supposed to be a team, why are you with her when I don’t know what’s going on?”
Hunter opened his mouth to respond, but Ada jumped in front of him before he could get the words out. “Shut up,” she spat, pointing her index finger at me. “How dare you? You barely try to find your boyfriend when he’s been gone and then yell at him the instant you see him? Seriously, a couple of texts? Give me a break. I would have called the police! You have no right to be screaming at him. He should be mad at you!”
Mad at me? What? I could barely leave my room for days and just flunked three exams, how was it my fault? How did she know about the texts, anyway? Was she checking Hunter’s phone?
“What are you talking about?” I responded angrily. Knowing that Ada and I had barely interacted, I struggled to make sense of her aggressive accusations. The time we’d met at dinner might’ve been awkward but this was ridiculous. Was this what Hunter was referring to when he said Ada was pushy? “Are you jealous?” I shot back.