Page 54 of Hunter

I stop playing to think about his request for a moment or two. The only picture I have of him is on my phone. He’s straddling his motorbike with his tats and usual scowl on show; he looks every bit the scary motorbiker that everyone has come to know him as. I’m not ashamed of my brother in the slightest; he makes it a point to portray himself in this way to everyone else but me. However, with your new boyfriend’s very rich and seemingly conservative father? I’m a little bit apprehensive about showing him.

With an inward sigh, I put the guitar down gently and respectfully, as if it were the embodiment of Daniel’s brother himself. I then reach for my phone that’s sitting in my bag. Pulling it out, Daniel’s father places his glasses on his nose and leans in to take a closer look. He accepts the phone and studies it, all the while I watch him with trepidation. He’s in his fifties and looks like a classic Hollywood actor, having aged well, and kept his physique, which is both tall and broad, just like his son.

“Woah,” he says with a slight chuckle, and I wait for the ensuing comment about his appearance, bracing myself for a short-sighted judgment of my brother that I’ll no doubt brush off with a nervous laugh, but inwardly feel angry about at the same time.

“I know, he looks scary, but he’s not as bad as people think he is,” I blurt out before he can get in there.

“Oh, no,” he says with a frown, “I was talking about the bike. I remember those bad boys; had one myself in my twenties. This one looks well-loved and taken care of. I’d love to meet him one day, see if he’d grant an old man a wish to have a go on it.”

“Oh,” I reply with a blush on my cheeks, to which he looks at me and smiles, knowing that I was in fact judging him before he had even had the chance to say anything about my brother.

“What? You think I was going to disapprove of the poor guy?” He laughs and places his hand on my shoulder. “Louisa, I’ve always lived by the old adage, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Take my son, for example, the one you’re dating, which his mother and I couldn’t be more pleased about, by the way. Daniel always used to think he never measured up to his brother because Kevin was always the more academic one, the talented one with things like guitar, math, and science. He became quite the destructive type back in high school. However, he was also a little sneak, always eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. He did so once, when I was having to give his brother a pep talk over not comparing himself to Daniel’s popularity, his people skills, and his ability to hold a room with his conversation and good humor. I knew he was listening, and I knew he was shocked to hear that his brother was just as envious as he was about his talents. Pretty much like he’s doing now. Get in here, Daniel!”

“How the hell do you do that, Dad?!” Daniel laughs as he enters the room, then kisses me on the cheek. “You didn’t tell me you could play guitar, by the way.”

“You never asked,” I reply with a shrug before he wraps his arms around me.

“A parent knows, they have this sixth my-child-is-spying-on-me sense!” His father laughs, then leaves us to go and find his wife.

“So, you ready to go?” Daniel spins me around to face him. “I want to do unspeakable things to you in that dress.”

“Definitely then,” I grin, “but I need to get back tonight, Daniel. I need to speak with Phoenix before he leaves tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, baby,” he says before pecking me on the lips. “So, was today as bad as you thought it was going to be?”

“No,” I admit, knowing I’m going to get an ‘I told you so’ speech from him. “Your family is really nice.”

“Well, they think you’re really nice too,” he says before dropping his lips down to my ear, and whispering, “but I think you're fucking fantastic.”

Chapter 21

Louisa

When Daniel drops me back home, I walk through the empty bar to try and find Phoenix. No one is here on a Sunday night, not even Jake, so this is the perfect time to try and talk to my brother about not going through with his plan with Javier. I know I only have about a twenty percent chance of talking him out of it, but I have to at least try. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive myself.

I walk into the living room to find him in just his sweatpants, sipping on a beer bottle, while playing Xbox for goodness’ sake. He’s one of the scariest men around, just by reputation alone, and yet, here he is playing video games. He knows I’m standing here, judging him, but he finishes killing whatever monster thing he’s shooting at and only then chucks the controller onto the coffee table with a smirk on his face. When his eyes fall on mine, he throws his hands in the air as if to say ‘What?’ I saunter over and throw myself onto the couch next to him.

“Phoenix,” I begin, then sigh when he leans back and rolls his eyes, knowing I have an issue by the tone of my voice alone. I can’t help it; I’ve always been a straight-to-it kind of girl. I can’t be bothered trying to walk around the houses to get my point across.

“Oh, God, what? You better not be pregnant, Lou!” he huffs, and I smack his chest while he laughs at me. “What is it? Seriously.”

“Don’t go,” I blurt out, “don’t go after whoever it is. Stay here with me and let it go, please?”

His face turns serious within the blink of an eye, and I almost feel bad for saying anything. However, I have to try and save him, so what else can I do?

“Lou, you know I have to go. I have to do this for Mom, for Dad, for all of us!” He turns to look at me with his big, soulful eyes. “Why are you scared all of a sudden? I’ve done this before, and you’ve never said anything.”

“Phoenix, I’ve always been terrified when you’ve done this before, I’ve just never had the guts to try and stop you.” I turn away from him, unable to take his looking at me with those labrador eyes of his. “The thought of losing you is unbearable; I already feel like you’re slipping away from me, as well as from life.”

“What do you mean?” He pretends to act stupid, but he knows what I’m talking about. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” I snap, realizing my face is now streaming with tears, which I know he can’t stand to see. “You’re so angry, so lost and I can’t reach out to you. Please don’t go, stay here with me, please!”

“Lou, I’m glad you’ve found someone, even if he does sound like a douche on paper.” He tries to laugh at me, but I merely shake my head over the sadness of it all, to which he eventually sighs heavily. “But it doesn’t mean you need to try and save me too. I’ll be fine; always have been before, haven’t I?”

“I just don’t want you to go, Phoenix,” I say as I turn to look at him as a last-ditch attempt to stop him. “Please?!”

He stares unblinkingly at me while I look right back at him, watching his throat bob a few times, as if he’s fighting the demons in his head for a moment or two. As soon as he looks away, I know I’ve lost the battle.

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