That day seemed so long ago now.
Chapter Twenty-six
TIME
By the time I got back to the dorm, it was almost eleven. Daniela was sitting on the futon watching TV when I came in. She turned around and muted the TV.
“Where have you been?” she asked, concern tingeing her voice.
I shut the door separating the suite from the hallway. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t return my calls. What happened?”
“Sorry, I dropped my phone and it broke,” I said weakly. “Can I sit down?”
She scooted over to make room for me on the futon, and I collapsed into it. “I broke up with Hunter today,” I said somberly.
“Why? What happened?”
I took a deep breath. “I went to the coffee shop to do some sketching and overheard these two girls talking about how one of their friends had seen Hunter and Ada together recently. The girl said they were going into the health center. I told you before that he’d gone totally missing since last week, and I didn’t know where he was so I didn’t know what to think.”
Daniela tilted her head to the side. “Okay, that sounds crazy. What did you do?”
“I was frustrated and left to get away from them. You know, I just don’t have the energy for gossip and everything. But sure enough, as I was walking by the health center guess who comes out?”
She recoiled. “Hunter?”
“And Ada.”
“No way. What did you say?”
I told her the story of how I’d confronted Hunter and the fight with Ada. She gasped as I related the details of the screaming match and the people who had stopped to watch. Remembering the experience made me feel queasy.
“And Hunter did nothing?” she asked when I was done.
“Not until Ada bumped me as she walked away. Then he said he wanted to talk to me, but he chased after her instead. Before that he seemed kind of not all there.”
“Wow. I didn’t think Ada was such a psycho. So what do you think was going on with him and Ada?”
“No idea. I went over to his place to wait for him so that we could talk, but he never showed up. My bus is leaving tomorrow and I couldn’t call him, so I left him a note.” I bit my lip in frustration. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, but now it was done. I’d be on my way to Indiana tomorrow morning and I’d probably never come back.
Just thinking about the fact that I would probably never see Hunter again brought fresh tears welling to my eyes.
Daniela’s eyes widened. “Wait, why does that mean you had to leave a note? I thought you were only going back to your Aunt’s for a break. Does this mean you’re not coming back?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry Daniela. You’ve made this semester as good for me as you could; I couldn’t have asked for a better friend.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “—but I think I have to withdraw from the semester. With everything going on, the letter from Marco, me flunking all those exams, and this thing with Hunter . . . I—I don’t think I can stay here.”
She patted my hand to console me and gave me a tissue. I blew my nose into it.
“So what now?” she asked.
“I don’t know, I might take another semester off? Maybe take classes online when I feel ready? Obviously what’s happening right now isn’t working.”
“Do you think you’ll ever talk to Hunter? You know, to get closure? You guys were crazy about each other.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know what to think about Hunter anymore. Maybe he did something with Ada, maybe he didn’t, but it’s clear that he’s hiding something serious from me. I don’t know what he’s dealing with, but my mind is so messed up right now that I just can’t sort everything out. I wish we could have talked, but I couldn’t keep waiting for him.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “You have to take care of yourself first. Even if Hunter has some stuff going on, he could have at least found some way to explain things.”
I nodded, wiping my nose. “Thanks Daniela . . . for everything.”
“Hey, don’t worry. You should get some rest for your trip tomorrow. I’ll see you off in the morning.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Okay. Good night.”
I got up to go back to my room.
“Hey Lorrie?” she said. “Can I come visit you over Spring Break?”
I smiled, “Yeah, of course. I think Aunt Caroline would like to see you too.”
“Great!”
I went back into my room and started packing my clothes thinking that maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I’d be safe with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Stewart, and Daniela would be coming by to visit. Maybe all I needed was just some more time to sort myself out.
Chapter Twenty-seven
SECOND TRY
The bus station was depressing. Its concrete walls were painted a bland beige, and the mix of wood-panel benches and mustard-colored vinyl seats—that might have been modern in the eighties—looked like relics now. I had said my tearful goodbye to Daniela in the morning and caught a cab to the bus station.
I was sitting on the bench trying to keep my mind blank instead of wondering if Hunter had read the note I left him. At 8:30AM, half an hour before the bus was scheduled to leave, I heard an announcement crackling over the intercom.
“Attention please. Attention. The bus from Springfield to Indianapolis, traveling through Studsen is delayed due to a mechanical malfunction. The bus company is working to send a backup to our location, but expect a delay of three to four hours.”
A collective groan rose from the handful of people scattered around the station. God. What else was going to go wrong in my life? I slumped in my seat, feeling miserably defeated. Studsen was kind of in the middle of nowhere, and that was the only bus that came through the town.
I sat there for another few hours, frustrated. Another announcement over the intercom told us that it would be yet another “two to three” hours before the backup bus would be there to pick us up. I could feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes again.
This is so stupid. Am I seriously going to cry over a late bus?
Taking a few deep, shaky breaths, I tried to calm myself down. It was going to be okay. The bus would come soon and then I’d be away from all this. Away from the gossip, the failed classes, and the dirty looks.
Away from Hunter, the one happy thing I found at Arrowhart.
What was Hunter doing now? Had he gone back to his place last night? Had he read my note? Was he looking for me to talk to me? I’d only left him that note because I didn’t think there’d be enough time in the morning to find him and talk. Now, it looked like I would be stuck in Studsen until the late afternoon at the earliest. Maybe it would give me an opportunity to talk to Hunter one last time. Maybe we could figure out where we went wrong.