Unmaking Hunter Kennedy (51 page)

“Can you add anything to the rumor that you tried to kill yourself? What do you say about that? Throw me a bone, dude. I haven’t sold a good story in weeks.” The annoying guy on the porch pushed closer, his gaze hungry, almost wild.

Hunter realized the questions no longer hurt at all. They were just questions. Questions to be answered, and he was going to choose which ones he’d answer, and what the answers would be.

He sucked in another deep breath and looked behind him. His mom, hearing the commotion had made it into the hallway just as Aunt Nan came barreling down the stairs.

And yes, she did have her baseball bat in tow.

It felt great to have his family standing behind him.

Hunter had to hide a smile as he listened to his aunt talking a mile a minute. “Darn television recorder. If I hadn’t been watching that vampire show again, I would have seen this on the news. And, if I weren’t so damn old, I’d have heard the commotion outside. Step aside, Hunter. Let me get these bastards off our property.”

He realized the man with the cameras had taken at least fifty shots of the scars on his wrists. Who knew what photos the others had taken.

The press crowd grew louder. “Hunter! Tell us if it’s true. Did you try to kill yourself! We see the scars. Why is that woman holding up a bat?”

Moving in front of Nan to block her from view, Hunter spoke to his aunt through his grin. “Put the bat down, Aunt Nan. I think we should go with one crazy person in the family at a time.”

He flicked a glance back at her. She nodded and put the bat behind her.

His mom stepped forward as though she would say something to the press. “Let me handle this, Mom. I’ve got it.”

She nodded and stepped back too.

Hunter pushed past the obnoxious guy with the too many cameras and stepped out onto the porch. The night air cooled his lungs and he got a better look at the crowd. He couldn’t miss Charlie Roth standing front and center with his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.

Traitor.

Charlie met his gaze and shot Hunter the
chin-in-the-air
jock salute.

Hunter returned it with his best
you-suck-glare
.

Charlie obviously wanted Hunter to know exactly how his cover had been blown.

Hunter grimaced, not wanting to admit how much that knowledge hurt. Charlie had warned him to stay away from Vere, and Hunter had broken his promise. Hunter didn’t blame the guy. But he also didn’t give a damn what Charlie thought anymore.

His only regrets were that he’d botched his attempt at being honest with Vere and how he lost her in the process.

The girl should never forgive me. I took advantage of the situation—of our friendship, and I didn’t play fair.

I owe that girl a major apology.

But Charlie? Well, he can kiss my ass.

Hunter would not be passing out any apologies for being in love.
Hell.
The guy had actually done him a favor and didn’t even know it. More resolved than ever to speak to the press, Hunter held up both hands and made no move to hide his scars. He layered on his very best, photo shoot smile. “You’ve found me. Not sure how.” He tossed a glare at Charlie before adding, “Yes. These are scars on my wrists. I’ve got nothing to hide. Now that you’ve seen them, I mean to make a press statement to all of you. Soon.”

Everyone on the lawn and in the street and driveway quieted.

Charlie’s mouth dropped open, and even from this distance Hunter watched as the kid visibly paled.

That’s right, bastard. Nothing to hide. Not anymore.

Hunter kept his hands up. Again, making sure his scars were well and truly visible under the bright lights. “Until I get my statement organized, or if you need details about my life here in Colorado, I will ask you to direct your questions to one of my
best friends
here, Charlie Roth,” Hunter said, using a scathing voice that said the opposite, while he pointed his index finger at Charlie. “I totally
trust him
to speak for me. He thinks he knows me really well, and he’s always wanted a bit of the spotlight so I hope you give him a chance.”

Charlie twisted his head around as though looking for an escape.

HA. I’d love to see you try and run from this bunch.

If the situation didn’t suck so much, Hunter thought this could be more than funny to watch. Hunter tossed Charlie his widest grin and waved. A few paparazzi had already reached the poor sucker.

Good. Let the ambush begin.

Hunter continued, “In the meantime, you are all standing on my aunt’s garden. If you could please...” Hunter gulped.

As if on cue, a long black limo pulled in behind the media circus blocking the street.

SHIT. JUST PERFECT. This has to be Martin.

He shook his head and almost had to laugh.

Hunter counted it down in his head:
5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

The crowd shifted and some of the teen spectators at the end of the street started to scream as they, too, spied the limo.

His mom had not been making any of it up. Only Martin would orchestrate a spectacle like this in a quiet suburb. The driver opened the door and his agent stepped out, followed by two familiar looking guys.

No way. He brought Adam and Royce with him to Colorado? What new, screwed up game was this?

Hunter scanned to see if anyone else came out of the limo. Thankfully, there was no sign of the grinning,
fake Hunter Kennedy.
If Martin brought the band along minus that freak, then Martin had meant to blow his cover big time with this limo-stunt. Who wouldn’t have noticed that limo and
GuardeRobe
in this town?

Martin had probably tweeted the arrival and called some of the paparazzi here ahead of time, which would explain the monster crowd already assembled. Charlie was probably only responsible for the local news van.

It felt great to know he wouldn’t have to hide his scars anymore. His ‘crazy’ was out in the open, and didn’t even care. The corporate office at
NewtNet
would have to take him or leave him, as is.

Hunter shook his head resignedly. He had to plan his next moves. In the meantime, Martin would be the next victim to frost this parasite-press-cake for him.

“Oh my God, it’s the rest of the band!
GuardeRobe
is here! Right there!” A girl screamed, then another, then another. Half the high school’s student body had flooded into the cul-de-sac. The crowd and all the paparazzi rushed around the limo.

Hunter nodded to Charlie who’d been left in the dust by the press.

Lucky bastard, got off easy for now. But they’ll be back. You’ll see how it is, friend.

Hunter turned around and shut the door and locked it, but not before witnessing Martin and the band needing to haul-ass back into the limo for safety.

Hell yes. Colorado had some awesome, dedicated fans!

Hunter had the strangest urge to smile at his mom, so he did. “Wait till Martin hears that I’ve spilled everything. It’ll take them at least thirty minutes to make it to the front door. I only wish I could hear the string of flip flopping lies as they pour out of his mouth.”

“Maybe we should turn on the TV so we can watch him.” Aunt Nan fisted her hands, as though she wanted to battle.

“I’m proud of you, Hunter,” his mom added. She hugged him and he returned it. They both smiled at his aunt who had turned to shove the baseball bat into the hall closet. “I’m going to keep this down here in case I need to take a couple of whacks at that Martin fellow,” she said, head still in the closet.

“I’m going to keep this down here in case I need to take a couple of whacks at that Martin fellow,” she was muttering, head still in the closet.

Hunter made his way to the foot of the stairs. “Mom, I’ve still got some thinking to do. Could you put a hold on packing your bags for a bit? I need some time before I face Martin and the guys. Please don’t let them in. Tell him he can take the guys to a hotel. That should disperse half of this press. Tell him I’ll talk to him
tomorrow
. Not one second before.”

“I’d love to.” She looked happy, really happy.

“I’ll be the first to tell that Martin that he’s not allowed to enter this house.” Aunt Nan reopened the hall closet as quickly as she’d closed it.

“No baseball bats, okay? Martin shouldn’t be hated for being the best in the business. I might need him someday.”

“Humph. Speak for yourself.” Aunt Nan glowered, but she shut the closet and left the bat inside.

“What do you mean by
someday
?” His mom wrinkled her brow.

Hunter took a deep breath and let it out. “Maybe you two can help me come up with the right way to tell Martin and the guys that I’m staying here. I will only be working during summers. Through high school at least and maybe even college.”

42: too little too late

VERE

“I know. I know. I suck. I totally suck and you have every right to disown me. But you have to know my parents swore me to secrecy. I was not allowed to tell you about Hunter.”

Vere and Jenna had stopped to catch their breath at the swings in their neighborhood park just around the corner from Vere’s cul-de-sac. After the mad dash from the Hodjwick hell-party, this was the perfect place to debrief and stuff her brain back into her head.

Not to mention make Jenna understand. “But. BUT HE WAS LIVING NEXT DOOR. GOING TO THE CABIN! PLAYING CARDS WITH ME. AAhhh. AHHAHHAHH.”

Vere sat on a swing. She also had to gather her thoughts before killing Charlie for calling the press.

Wait till Mom hears that Charlie outed Hunter.

God. Wait till Charlie retaliates and tells Mom that I, full on, made out with Hunter!

Whatever. I’m not ashamed of the making out. I’m ashamed that I was the world’s worst friend.

That I abandoned him. That I refused to listen.

That I was completely, utterly, and absolutely stupid!

Jenna followed suit and sat in the swing next to hers. She’d been babbling and cursing the whole way here and she obviously still needed to sort through some of this.

“Hunter Kennedy? Hunter Kennedy this whole time, and I never even knew?” Jenna gasped, still catching her breath. She let out a low whistle and dragged her feet through the dirt under the swing. “You. Made out. With Hunter Kennedy! Pinch me, please. OMG.” She giggled. “OMG. You. At the party. Saying all that stuff.” She giggled again.

“Pinch me back. YES!” Vere rolled her eyes, pushed off and started swinging. “He wasn’t exactly Hunter Kennedy when I kissed him. He was only a great guy. You know, my friend?”

“You KISSED Hunter Kennedy, but you’re calling him ‘only a GUY’? Can you NOT hear your own words? It’s insanity.”

“Yeah...but once we started kissing, his name never even came into play.”

“YEAH BECAUSE YOU WERE LOCKED ONTO HIS LIPS. OMG. Oh. MY. Aaaahhhhha!”

Vere slowed her swing to a stop and turned her head to look at her friend who was now sporting a huge, goofy grin. Vere went on, “Uh. Are you going to yell at me for lying to you? If so, get it over with. And get over who I kissed, too. I need my best friend back so you can help me make a plan,
please
.”

“Yell at you? Are you nuts? I’m going to hug you! This has to be the single, most positively amazing thing that has ever happened to us. To me, to you, to this whole town.
OHMYGOD
. Charlie was on the NEWS! Your house was on the news!”

Jenna jumped off her swing and twirled around in circles in front of Vere. “We’ll have book deals, photo shoots, you and me on the cover of those gossip magazines. Maybe we will get our own reality TV show. This is going to be so cool. We’ll be on TV! Get to go to the Video Music Awards! Aaah!
OHMYGOD
.”

“Oh no. We will not do any of that. Let’s just vote on that right now. Besides Charlie’s already beat us to the scum-bag-friend-low point. Be calm. Try.”

Jenna put both hands on her head. “HOLY COW. CHARLIE IS FRIENDS WITH HUNTER KENNEDY. OMG. OMG! I’m friends with HUNTER KENNEDY. And holyOMG. AhhhAaahaha!” She twirled and twirled. “My heart is beating so fast, Vere. I’m going to die. I. Love. Him. So. Much.”

Vere sighed. “Jenna. Stop. Get it out of your system. No weird behavior, no deals with shady newspapers, no hidden digital cameras in your nostrils. Nothing. Whatever ideas you are launching in that devious little mind, end it right now. We will not sell him out.”

“Fine. No sell out. Unless
my best friend
, Hunter, agrees it is appropriate and he wants to do a reality show.”

“You sound crazy, you know?”

Jenna hopped up and down. “How can you even call me crazy after tonight? I thought you’d gone mental back at the party. As in total, psychotic break. You were certifiable right in front of the whole school. When you started laughing, I was sure you’d been possessed.”

Jenna mimicked Vere: “
I—I—I think I’m in loooove with Hunter Kennedy.
” Her eyes bugged out and she threw her arms wide. “You saying all that, while Curtis lay flat on his back, while I was faking that cramp! Ha...”

They burst out laughing together and both fell down on the sand.

“Oh. My tummy hurts. Stop making me think about it. I can’t even go there. I’m sorry. I did sort of lose it,” Vere gasped out, staring up at the dark sky.

“You’ve had almost a month to get used to this ‘Hunter Kennedy lives next door’ idea. I’ve only just ramped in.” Jenna crossed her arms under her head. “Oh-my-God! EEeeks!”

Vere shook her head. “The clock is ticking, fangirl.”

“A little patience. Not yet.” Jenna grinned. “Can we just talk about how last weekend I went to a lake cabin and played cards with the lead singer of
GuardeRobe?
And then he bought me a haircut, gave me make up tips and picked us both whole new wardrobes, including a homecoming dress for each of us! Please just let me scream or something. Please!”

Vere smiled at Jenna. She was so funny. “Bad idea to scream in the park on Saturday night. I think we’ve drawn enough attention to ourselves this evening.”