I walk up to the apartment door and freeze before I open it. I sigh, biting my tongue and just try to relax. I take a deep breath and walk in.
I look around to see Hunter and Jeff snuggled up on the couch a little too close for my liking. Hunter turns around and immediately jumps up, getting off the couch and rushing towards me. He pulls me into his arms and holds me silently for a moment. I sigh, staying completely still. I'm feeling so much that I dare not express any of it in fear that it might all just spill out at once.
Jeff gives me a small smile, "I'm glad to see you're alright. I'll give you guys some privacy, though." He walks out into his bedroom and shuts the door.
I look back at Hunter, "Where's Thad?"
He sighs sadly, "He and Jeff got in a fight on Saturday after you left. He's been in and out, but I think he's avoiding being around."
I frown, "We have to go and find him."
Hunter shakes his head, sitting me down on the couch, "He'll be back tonight, okay? We can talk to him later but right now we have other matters that need to be attended to, okay?"
I nod reluctantly, "You're right."
He pecks me on the forehead and then takes a seat on the other side of the couch, "I'm so glad that you're safe. Where were you the last few days?"
"I was with a friend," I answer, honest but vague, "I really missed you, though."
"I know, babe. I'm really sorry about the other night. I know it doesn't mean very much, but I never meant to hurt you." He explains sincerely.
"I know. And as long as you can swear that we'll never come close to that again, then I'll just forgive and forget."
"Of course, I promise. But um, that's it? You don't have anything else that you want to say?"
I shake my head, "We both know how much you hurt me the other night. We both know how much I hurt you be disappearing the last few days. I don't think we need to rub any of that in. I just want this all to be over with."
"Yeah, I understand," he replies, a sad tone in his voice, "I just got the impression you had a lot you wanted to talk about from when we spoke over the phone earlier."
"Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"There kind of is, actually. I know you don't want to hear this, but it needs to be dealt with," he sighs, quiet for a moment, "I'm not going to try to control what you do with your life. You just need to be honest with me about what you're doing. It's not that I don't trust you, but if you avoid telling me stuff, it just makes it look like you might have something to hide from me, you know?"
I nod, "Yeah. There's some things that I've been dealing with. And it's complicated. I've been avoiding telling you because I'm not sure about everything myself, and I wouldn't want you to think something that isn't necessarily true."
He bites his lip, "Yeah, that sounds kind of complicated. Can you just give me a rough idea about what's going on? Please?"
"Promise you won't get angry or do anything stupid."
"I promise. What is it?"
I take a deep breath, "I met this guy a while back, the guy I was on the phone with the other night..."
He clenches his jaw, "Just tell me, babe. What about this guy?"
I hold back from crying, still uncertain about telling him the truth. It's all or nothing at this point. I sigh, "Don't freak out. Don't say anything and stay calm until I'm done, okay?"
"Okay."
"Well I had met this guy at that club that night when I went with Thad and Nick. He was flirting with me a lot, but I told him that I had a boyfriend. He said he was okay with that and that he just wanted to dance. He got me a drink and I was out before we even got to the dance floor. The next thing that I knew I was waking up on the side of the road, cold, sore and alone. That's when I called Trent and had you pick me up at his place. I was afraid to tell you what really happened. Later on, I saw that same guy on a bus and I wanted to find out what really happened that night so I struck up a conversation. I made friends with him hoping I could figure something out. I don't know why but he was the only person I could think to call after I left the other night. He let me stay with him for a few days and he even helped me out with some acting stuff. He was just so nice the last few days that I don't think that he could've been the one that drugged me that night. It looks like it, but there's a lot that I don't remember. He just really seems like he legitimately cares about me."
The look on his face is stern, cold but concerned at the same time. His voice is nearly emotionless when he speaks, "You didn't sleep with him or anything like that over the weekend, did you?"
I shake my head nervously, "No, of course not."
"What's his name?"
I hesitate for a moment, "Why?"
"Why don't you want to tell me?" He asks, straight faced.
I take a deep breath, "I'm just worried that you might think the worst of him. Why do you want to know?"
He stares me in the eyes, "I think I might have an idea what happened to you that night. I'm hoping that it's not the case, but I need to know."
I freeze for a moment, "Worst case scenario, you wouldn't do anything to hurt him, though, right?"
"Right. What's his name?"
"Anderson. Cooper Anderson."
He pauses for a moment, a look of pure horror on his face for a moment. His features then softens and he sighs, "Yeah, I don't know."
I feel relief wash over me, as much as I want to know what happened that night, I don't want Hunter to get involved, "So...is everything gonna be okay with us now?"
He nods, pulling me into his arms, "Yes. If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure that you're safe and happy."
I kiss him for a long, silently emotional moment. We eventually climb into our bed, holding each other close. It feels great to be home, but it feels so much better to be reunited with Hunter. It feels the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. No more lies, no more fighting. For the first time in what feels like forever, everything feels perfect. Well, almost perfect. We still need to patch things up with Thad, but we can deal with that tomorrow. I'm worried about it, of course, but it feels nice to know that I'm not directly involved for once. I bury my face in Hunter's chest and shut my eyes, breathing in his familiar scent and drifting off to sleep.
