“I don’t want things to be like this between us.” My eyes are trained on the table. I can’t look at him. I am so embarrassed by the way I have been acting this past week.
“Well then, you shouldn’t make them like this.” His tone is cold and dismissive. I can tell that he has no interest in talking to me right now.
I look up to see my dad being led to the table. I can’t help the smile that crosses my face. I feel like the little girl who was waiting for her daddy to come back all those years ago. He smiles at me as he sits down and even though we aren’t close, I can sense Hunter tense.
“Hey, sweetie. I’m glad that you agreed to meet with me.” His term of endearment doesn’t go unnoticed by Hunter or I. Where I smile at it and feel like it shows he still loves me, I can tell by his scoff that Hunter is less than impressed.
“Me too. I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.” My mind is racing as I think of how much time we missed together.
“Well, you can ask me anything you want.” The waitress stops by to drop off menus and take our drink orders and it’s not lost on me when Hunter orders a whiskey, and then tells her to make it a double.
“What happened when I was younger? Why did you leave?” My entire body tenses up as I wait for the answers. I want the answer but it terrifies me at the same time.
Shock is evident on his face at my question. “Well, you just go right for the jugular. I regret leaving you every day, Sam. I left because your mother and I couldn’t make it work. She was so volatile most of the time that I just couldn’t be in that house anymore. I had no way of leaving her without leaving you.”
“What about all of the years after?” I want to believe what he says. That he never wanted to leave me.
“I wrote you letters. I lost count how many of them, but I have a feeling your mother never gave them to you. She was hell bent on keeping you away from me. You mother was one to hold grudges and I had wronged her, so she completely cut me out. That’s why I knew now was the right time. She isn’t here to keep us apart anymore. I want to make up for lost time with you, Samantha. I want to prove to you I can be the father that you deserve.” He smiles at me and I am so happy. This is what I had always hoped for, that he would come to me and tell me how important I had always been to him.
We place our orders with the waitress and Hunter orders another drink; he hasn’t said a word this whole time. All he is doing is sitting there stoically. I try to catch up with my dad, talking about all the years we have missed and the few memories I have. This has given me hope. He came back for me. He cared.
“Bullshit.” We both look over at Hunter. “That’s a sorry ass excuse. The fucking story is ridiculous. If you wanted to see your daughter, you damn well could have.” He downs another drink, I’ve lost count of the number, as he stares daggers at my dad.
My eyes go wide in shock. “Hunter, you don’t know—“
“No, Sam. You don’t know him. The guy abandoned you. He has been gone for years and never gave a shit. He wrote you letters? What fucking century are we in? He could have showed up the way he did today at any point in these past years but he didn’t. Using your mother being here as an excuse is convenient, but it’s a damn excuse nonetheless. You really can’t be buying this damn story.” His fist slams down on the table, making us all jump. Right now he is scaring me; I have never seen this side of him.
He looks at me and I don’t know what to say to him. “I have the one thing I have wanted for years and you can’t understand it. Why can’t you just be happy for me?”
“That’s funny, I thought the one thing you wanted for years was a family that loved you. I fucking gave that to you. I fucking loved you.” He gets up and walks out of the restaurant. He said loved, past tense. Does he not feel like that anymore? I know I have been extremely difficult this past week but I have just been going through so much, he has to understand that. His words cut me, each one like a knife digging into my heart.
I look back over to my dad, swallowing back the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry about all of that. We have been going through a rough patch and I think you just got the backlash of it. I am so glad that you came and that we had this chance to talk. Are you going to be in town for a while?”
“I will be here as long as you’ll have me, Sam.” He smiles and his eyes crinkle. I can’t help but smile back at him.
I settle the check with my waitress and then walk out to the lobby with my dad. I give him a hug, trying to memorize the feeling of it. I have missed him so much that I want to engrain every memory from now on into my brain. He gets into a cab and I walk back to the elevator, knowing that when I get upstairs I will most likely need to deal with a very pissed off Hunter.
I need to try to maintain control and not fight with him. It’s been my actions that have put him in the state he is in now. As I stand in front of the hotel room, I take a deep breath, readying myself to swallow my pride. I walk into the room and he isn’t in the living room. I check the bathroom and it’s empty too. Maybe he went to lay down, he did end up drinking a lot.
When I open the door to the bedroom bile rises up my throat.
No.
Hunter is lying in the bed naked, while a woman I have never seen before is on top of him, riding him. My hand goes to my mouth as my eyes well up with tears. “Oh my God.”
Hunter looks up at me with a smile on his face. “Hey doll, you wanna join?”
“Who is she?” the blonde asks, although my presence doesn’t deter her from continuing to fuck him.
Hunter laughs before looking at the blonde. “She’s no one, babe.” His hands go to her hips and he is now pretending like I’m not even standing here. I run away from the room and into the next bedroom, not knowing what to do. There is press everywhere downstairs; if I try to leave in this condition it will be the front page story. I lock the door to my bedroom and curl into the fetal position on the bed.
My heart feels like it has shattered into a million pieces. He made me trust him. He said he was different. He made me feel safe. He told me he loved me.
I let out a scream as sobs wrack my body.
I lost him for real this time.
The sound of them having sex echoes into my room. I can’t stay here and listen to this. I pull out my phone but most of the numbers in it are no one that I can trust. That’s when I pass Jules’ number. She is the only person I feel like I can reach out to. If she even answers my call.
“Hello?”
“Jules? It’s Sam.” I choke out the words, barely able to say them.
“Sam? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Her voice is worried and she is talking quickly.
“I need somewhere to go.” I don’t want to get into all of this on the phone but I can’t stay here.
“Okay, do you want to come here? Is Hunter with you?” His name drives a knife straight through my chest.
“Would you mind? It’s just me.” I almost whisper the last sentence.
“Come on over. I’ll be here when you get here.”
I thank her and then hang up. I text Joe and ask him to get the car but it takes a little while because I can barely see the phone screen through my tears. Trying to hide myself from the waiting cameras, I pull on a hoodie and grab the biggest pair of sunglasses I own.
***
The ride to Jules’ house is a blur. Joe doesn’t ask me what is wrong but my hysterical crying and Hunter’s absence probably gives him a good idea. Once we pull up to her house, I race up the steps and the door opens without me even needing to knock.
“Oh my God. Sam? What happened?” Her face is full of concern as she takes in my obvious disheveled appearance.
I step into the house and head straight for the couch. I recount the events of the last week. How I pushed Hunter and everyone else away. How my dad showed up. The fight. The scene in the room.
“I can’t believe this. I mean, I know his history babe, but I never thought he would cheat on you. I’ve never seen him love someone like he does you.” Her words get to me, only causing the tears I stopped to return. “What are you going to do?”