Page 47 of Falling With a Spin

“Okay,” I smile and walk towards my car.

I glance back before getting in the car to see him on the phone, his hand in the air in frustration and nodding to whatever the person on the receiving end is saying. I close my car door, worry filling me as I drive home.

Hunter

I keep my eyes on Emma as she walks away. That fucking girl has my head spinning. I didn’t plan on kissing her at all, but the joy and happiness on her face was everything, and the next thing I knew, her lips were on mine.

My smile fades when I look down at my phone and see the missed call from my Dad. My parents have been trying to reach me for the past few days. Even going out of their way to get my two older brothers to call me. It’s become ridiculous at this point.

It’s not like I’ve been ignoring their calls on purpose. Okay, I have been. But I’ve also been busy too. The band and I practice at every chance we get. We have a gig coming up on New Year's Eve, and everything needs to be perfect. On top of that, I’ve been tutoring Emma, and she has been doing amazing. When I’m not doing either of those, I catch up on my classes.

There’s just been no time to call them back. I continue to tell myself.

The vibration from my phone brings me back as my Mom's contact shows up on my phone this time.

“Hey, Mom,” I answer, trying to be as cordial as possible.

“Hi Honey, how have you been?” She asks, the sound of shuffling papers coming through the phone. I glance down at my watch, realizing she is at work. My mom rarely calls while she is working unless it’s crucial.

“I have been good. Pretty busy, I just got out of the library helping my-” Crap. I don't know what to call Emma. My friend? My girlfriend? Okay, I can’t say girlfriend since we haven’t had the chance to talk about that yet. I don’t know what she wants either. Hell, she might not want to see me anymore.

“Hunter?” My mom questions.

“Yeah, sorry mom. I was helping my friend study for her class.” I finish, hoping it doesn’t sound too suspicious.

“Oh, isn’t that sweet of you?” she feigns interest. “But I do have to make this call short since I have a meeting with a client soon.” It doesn’t surprise me. My mom is a top-notch lawyer and has only lost one case since she started. It was before my brothers, sister, and I was born, but our dad told us that it devastated her to the point she buried herself in work, doing everything she could to become better.

“Yeah, of course. What’s up?” I ask, walking down the quad and waving to people who I recognize.

“Your Father and I want to know which major you are deciding on.” She gets right to the point. “This is the year you have to decide and buckle down on the next few of your classes.” Annoyance bubbles inside me, and I would rather eat nails than talk about my future with them.

Since before coming to Crestview, the pressure of choosing to be a lawyer like my Mom and older brother or a doctor like my Dad and Alec’s twin, Riley, has been at an all-time high.

“We’ve had this conversation plenty of times, Mom. I’m choosing to go with a business degree and minor in music.” I’m not a complete idiot. I know you don’t make much money in the music industry, so I chose to go with a business degree, hoping that would reduce the number of constant calls.

At this point, it’s like talking to a brick wall. Music has been a dream of mine since my uncle took me to my first concert when I was ten years old. Ever since then, I’ve been writing music.

“Hunter, you know you can’t go anywhere with a music degree that will support a family. You need something more reliable.” She goes straight for the throat on that one. Always mention the need to support a family when I’m not even married yet. I’m twenty years old, and there is so much I still want to do before I settle down.

“I'm well aware of that, and that's why I haven’t just chosen music. You know this.” I walk back towards my car, anger boiling up inside me.

“Yes, yes, I know. A business degree. That's excellent, but we don’t approve of it.” Her voice becomes firm and strict, and a door closing echoes through the phone. “You have until the end of the semester to choose which major you are going to follow. If you don't, we will be choosing for you, or we won't be paying for your school anymore.”

A humorless laugh leaves me, “You said that last time, and I'm still here.”

“Your Father and I are serious this time, Hunter. We will no longer throw money into a degree that will evidently put you in a cardboard box on the street.” She ends the call, and I stand outside my car, still clutching my phone.

Why can’t I do something I love? My brothers got the choice; my sister gets to be a dancer, but me? Nope. I get cut off and told that I’m useless.

Anger rises inside me, practically toppling over as I get into my car and drive. Not going anywhere in particular as I try to clear the words that my Mom threw at me.

Pressing play on the dashboard, the playlist from earlier starts up. Currently, Just Pretend by Bad Omens is playing through the speakers. Emma sent me the playlist after our first tutoring session when I told her I hadn’t listened to many songs. She called it a disgrace since I’m in a band, which makes sense. But I’m so focused on our music that sometimes I don’t give myself the chance to appreciate other artists out there.

It’s funny how this one person can come into your world and turn it upside down.

When I saw her sitting on my bed that morning, all I could think about was how could someone do something like that? Treat someone so terribly for no possible reason.

My grip on the steering wheel tightens, and I glance at the clock on the dash.

---