Page 5 of Save Me

“I brought dinner. I’m going to wash up,” he said, then took the envelope and went to his room. He sat down on the side of the bed, slid his finger beneath the flap and ripped it open, then pulled out the letter and began reading.

Within seconds, he broke out in a cold sweat, then took a breath and kept reading. He read it through twice, then laid it aside and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, staring blindly at the floor through a wall of tears. There was a pain in his chest, and a knot in his belly.

The university had just rescinded his scholarship, and he knew with every breath he was taking that Greg Mayes was behind it. It was a death blow to his future.

The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and when he stood, it felt like he’d aged a thousand years. His steps were dragging as he washed up and went to the table. His mother had cut up the chicken and put a spoon in the bowl of potato salad. She handed him a plate as he walked by. He put some food on his plate and put ice in a glass, then filled it with sweet tea.

His parents were already moving into their usual round of beer and banter, slinging barbs at each other as they ate, but he was numb. Their arguments didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. He tried to eat, but he couldn’t swallow past the tears. He’d lost Lainie, and he’d lost his chance to get out of this hellhole life.

He went to bed that night as defeated as he’d ever been. He checked his phone as he did every night, praying there would be a text from her. But there was nothing. He put the phone on a charger and closed his eyes, but all he saw was her face, and the way her breath caught when she came apart in his arms.

HIS PARENTS WERE in their room down the hall, and after all that had happened today, they were as close to sober as they’d ever been.

“You still think it’s best not to tell Hunt about Greg’s call?” Brenda whispered.

Chuck grunted. “Hell yes. Greg is crazy out of his mind. The girl is pregnant and they’re ‘dealing with it.’ Besides, what good would it do? After all this, they’ll never be together again.”

HUNT DIDN’T THINK he would sleep, but the next time he opened his eyes it was morning, and it felt like someone had died. He felt sad, and empty, and aimless. He left the house while his parents were still asleep and went to pick up his paycheck from the supermarket, told them he was quitting and then drove without purpose, randomly looking for a miracle. But there were no rainbows left in Hunter Gray’s world.

When he stopped to get gas, Jody Turner, one of his friends from school, was on the other side of the pumps. He glanced up when he recognized Hunt’s old truck.

“Hey, buddy. Saw a picture of Lainie in the paper. Who’s the guy she was with?”

“That wasn’t Lainie,” Hunt muttered.

“Naw, man, it was her,” Jody said.

Hunt looked up. “You think I don’t know what she looks like in a bikini? That was not her body.”

Jody’s eyes widened. “No shit?”

“No shit,” Hunt said.

“So, what’s going on?” Jody asked.

“Her old man is what’s going on,” Hunt said, and then looked away, unwilling to talk about it anymore.

Jody finished filling up, then replaced the nozzle in the pump.

“Sorry, man. See you around,” he said, and drove off.

Hunt filled up, and moments later got in the truck and began driving around the city, going up one street and down another, saying goodbye to the only place he’d ever known.

He didn’t know where he was going, but he wasn’t coming back. He drove without purpose for almost an hour before he turned onto City Park Avenue, and as he did, the building up ahead caught his eye. It was a knee-jerk decision that made him turn into the parking lot. He got out of the truck, and walked straight into the office, and up to the front desk.

A uniformed officer looked up, gave Hunt the once-over as he approached and liked what he saw.

“Morning, son. How can I help you?”

“My name is Hunter Gray. I want to enlist.”

The officer got up and ushered him into another office.

“Sergeant Morley. We have a new recruit,” the officer said.

Morley stood up to shake Hunt’s hand. “Have a seat and let’s see what we can do about that.”

HUNT WENT HOME that afternoon, and walked in on a conversation that ended his last regret about joining the Army. His parents didn’t know he’d come into the house and were in the kitchen, each of them with a bottle of beer in their hand, but he heard enough to know the fallout of Lainie’s disappearance and the end of his scholarship were connected to what his dad was saying.

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