She felt Hunter pull his arm away and then step directly in front of her, crouching down slightly as if he was about to speak to a child, and Carmen supposed, in a way, she must’ve reminded him of a lost child right then.
“Not because I’m having second thoughts,” he told her, as if able to read her mind. “But I don’t want them seeing it as you needing support.”
“I do need the support,” Carmen said without hesitation, feeling no shame in admitting that she needed help sometimes. “Not really feeling all that in my element right now.”
“How you feel doesn’t matter,” Hunter said bluntly, making Carmen involuntarily wince. “What matters is you do not appear weak because that will only give them incentive to pick on you.”
“You think I’m weak?”
Hunter snorted. “Are you kidding? You survived me in school. You accepted this stupid invitation. You’re here. Maybe a little rusty and a little bent out of shape, but you’re still here, standing on both feet. Heck, I’d say you were baptised by fire itself, Carmen.”
Carmen cracked a smile at that, feeling the constriction in her chest loosen up a little, and then followed Hunter through an archway in the wall next to the staircase which she could remember led to the living room.
While Hunter pulled off the casual demeanour, strolling into the room like he belonged there, Carmen’s body was tensed and her muscles were as stiff as lead.
And so upon finding only one other person there, a sigh of relief fell past her lips, a sigh so heavy that it caused this particular person to whip his head towards the two of them.
Cole Rutherford’s eyes glided right over Carmen, as if she wasn’t even there. Then again, she would rather not be acknowledged than be seen and antagonised.
The twenty-six-year-old pushed himself off the wall, slipping his phone into his pocket as he approached them. The expensive suit he had on looked like it was tailored just for him, which it probably was.
“Hunter,” he greeted in that low voice of his. “I thought Uncle Grayson said you guys won’t be able to make it tonight.” Uncle Grayson. As in Grayson Donoghue, Hunter’s dad.
“Yeah.” Hunter shrugged nonchalantly. “Had a change of mind.”
Cole lifted a brow, a knowing look in his eyes. “So why isn’t your father here?”
Carmen’s chest constricted again. She didn’t want Hunter to pay for choosing to stand by her. She knew what his father could be like.
“You should probably ask him,” Hunter replied coolly, not appearing the slightest bit worried. Carmen wondered how good of an actor he was, because he’d have to be insane not to be worried about going against the wishes of Grayson Donoghue.
“I will.” Cole smiled, but without any warmth to it. “Should I also ask him if his son is accustomed to bringing the trash into the house rather than taking it out?”
Trash. He’d called her trash.
Trash.
Carmen thought she shrunk a little bit more.
Hunter’s forehead creased, his eyes looking genuinely confused as he stared at Cole. “What are you talking about? I didn’t drive you here. You came by yourself.”
Carmen’s heart jumped up from her feet to her throat as she looked at Hunter with wide, flabbergasted eyes. Was he flat out defending her? To Cole’s face? Cole Rutherford, who Hunter used to look up to back when they were kids?
Cole’s face flushed, the tips of his ears growing a deep shade of red. “Careful, Hunter,” he said in a low voice. “You don’t want to sabotage that shot at a football scholarship, do you?”
Carmen watched as Hunter tensed, his body going rigid and lips forming a thin line at the barely-veiled threat.
“I trusted you with that,” Hunter said slowly, his voice sounding almost urgent. “Don’t you dare hold it against me.”
Cole smiled coldly, and his grey eyes—a physical feature that almost all Rutherfords had, including Carmen—flashed with warning. “Should’ve thought about that before you took the pills then.”
Hunter’s face completely drained of colour and the two of them watched as Cole turned around with that air of superiority and walked away, all the while not even sparing a glance at Carmen.
“Hunter, what was he talking about?” Carmen asked with a frown. “Why would you have problems with the scholarship? You’re easily a top pick for any college.”
As if her voice was all that it took to remind him of where they were, Hunter snapped out of his troubled state and squared his shoulders again, offering Carmen a strained smile. “It’s nothing you need to bother yourself with. Don’t worry.” He waved it off. “It’s just Cole and his empty threats.”
Carmen forced a smile in return and let it go, but deep down she knew just as well as Hunter that Cole wasn’t the type to make empty threats.
“There you are,” a woman’s voice floated towards them and Carmen turned to find her mother’s older sister, Beatrix Rutherford, approach her with her father trailing behind.
“Dad.” Carmen blinked in surprise. “Where were you?”
“He was with your grandma,” Aunt Beatrix said, watching Carmen intently. Something flashed across her eyes as she continued to stare at Carmen, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. “She asked for both you and your dad, needed to speak to you about... well, I don’t really know what about.”
“Why?” Carmen asked, unable to help the overwhelming curiosity, losing control over the questions colliding into each other in her head. “Why now?”
Her aunt shrugged. “Must be
