“Why—what—um…what’s her name?” He asks.
“Ever,” I say, feeling slightly better about this conversation now that half of it is out on the table.
“That’s beautiful,” Charlotte says. “Where are they right now?”
“Figuring things out in a hotel room downtown.”
“Why are they there?” Hunter asks. “They can stay here. We have the space. God, they don’t need to be in a hotel room right now. I mean, I can obviously assume Tori doesn’t want them staying with you guys at the moment—that’s gotta be awkward, but we’re happy to help.”
I don’t know what look ends up taking over my face when he says that, but in response, there’s a shift in his eyes and he swallows hard. “So, that’s the other part of…this,” I say.
“This?” Hunter asks.
“Tori had another episode last night,” I explain.
Hunter lowers his head into his hands and rests his elbows over his knees. “No,” he sighs. “That is not what either of you need right now.”
“It was pretty bad. I lied when I said we were going out to dinner last night. I just used that as an excuse so you would watch Gavin.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he says. “What—um—what’s going on now, then?”
My breaths quicken again. This situation has me so worked up I can’t even control my own damn lungs anymore. “I had to call an ambulance, and all that shit. Then I went down there first thing this morning to see how she was doing.”
“And?” He lifts his head from his hands. “How is she doing?” I reach into my pocket and toss the tiny fucking envelope at him. He takes a second to open it and peek inside before handing it to Charlotte. Hunter’s eyes close and his head falls back. “Shit.”
“She’s moving to Idaho, to find her estranged father, and so she can get away from me and Gavin. Evidently, we are the triggers to her suicidal episodes.”
He laughs with a strangled sound. “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. Tori can’t just leave like that, but—after the way I’ve seen her act these past couple of years…I don’t know what I should think.”
“Yeah, I don’t know what to think either,” I tell him.
“What mother—” Hunter stands up and his face fills with redness. “What mother could voluntarily leave her child? She’s just going through a hard time. God, that doesn’t mean you thrown in the damn towel, though. She can’t—No, she can’t do this.” I knew this would hurt him. He’s as close to Gavin as I am with Olive, and there isn’t much of a difference between the love I have for the two of them. They’re both my blood. Hunter grieved for Olive—he still grieves for Olive not having her birth mother. Now, he’s going to have to do the same with Gavin, just like I will. “What the hell could have caused this?” He’s shouting now, and Charlotte stands up to calm him down, like she oftentimes has to when things get out of control.
“She had a traumatic childhood. Her mother hung herself and her sister—she watched her sister die days after her mother died. Apparently, she blames herself. It’s why she never wanted to have children.”
“People say that all the time. It doesn’t mean they abandon their kid if they accidentally put one on this earth,” he argues.
I know this. I know all of this. I didn’t want a kid; now I couldn’t live without him. I watch the motions of anger, resentment, understanding, and hurt work through Hunter’s tell-all face. It’s minutes before he takes a deep breath and sits back down. “This is heavy, bro. It’s a lot to take in. A lot.”
“Why haven’t you told me any of this? You know I’m always here for you. I feel like these are things brothers share, you know?”
I knew the hurt emotion would last the longest with him. “I don’t know. I was scared. In both situations.”
Hunter continues running his hands up and down his face while breathing in and out loudly. “Okay, we can do this. We can handle this.” This is part of the reason I kept things to myself. There is no we. It’s a me. Not that I don’t appreciate the support I know he would give me in a heartbeat, but I have to figure this all out.
“I appreciate you saying that, but there isn’t much to figure out.”
“Tori is gone right now, maybe permanently, who knows, and Cammy is moving back to Connecticut so we can share some kind of custody with our daughter.”
“How does this all happen in one week?” Charlotte asks.
“One thing might have provoked the other…” I say, feeling guilty for causing Tori’s episode, but at the same time, a little thankful I was able to not only stop her from hurting herself this time, but also find out the truth now rather than in years to come when I’m even more miserable than I’ve been for the past twelve months or so.
“I was wondering,” Hunter says. “Crap, I don’t even know what to tell you.”