Wingless and Beautiful

Chapter Thirty-One

We enjoyed the rest of the show backstage. When it finished, Denise went up to us.

“Alice, you were amazing!” She hugged me. “People were raving about you!”

“She was really great, wasn’t she?” Chaise said. “I hope Chelsea and her band of brainless bandits got to hear her tonight.”

“Oh, they did! So did a bunch of all the other people who were mean to you,” Denise smiled proudly. Then she looked over at Chaise. “And you better watch out. A lot of the guys from Jacksonville were asking about her already.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

Denise sneered at him. “It would be nice to have somebody new tailing her for a change!”

“Ha-ha! You’re very funny!” Chaise gave her a sarcastic smile.

Denise turned to me. “Who taught you how to play that song? Your stepfather?”

I shook my head, remembering Hunter once again. I gave her a bitter smile and shook my head. “Not my stepfather. But someone else who… was once very dear to me.”

I knew Denise didn’t miss the sad tone in my voice. Her eyes drifted to my necklace. “H?”

I didn’t answer.

“So, the bugger knows how to play too, huh,” Chaise muttered under his breath.

I just shrugged and decided to change the subject. “I’m all done here. Why don’t we all go?”

“I was planning to grab something to eat after this. You haven’t had anything to eat yet,” Chaise said.

“Great. I’m starving too!” Denise agreed.

Chaise groaned. “Seriously, you have to come again?”

Denise narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m sure she hasn’t said ‘yes’ to any of your attempts to ask her out for a date yet.”

“Well, this wasn’t a date. I was merely looking after her well-being.”

“Then great. There’s no problem if I tag along.”

I merely laughed. I was definitely glad that Denise would come with us. I would be a bit uncomfortable being out alone with Chaise at this hour.

As we walked out, I could feel a lot of people looking at me. Some were even calling out my name, telling me I was amazing up at the stage.

I merely nodded and smiled shyly at them.

At the parking area, I saw Hunter with Tania. My heart pounded inside my chest. I was glad I was with Denise and Chaise. I was pretty sure I would not be able to walk in front of Hunter at all. But it was inevitable because they were in front of the space where Chaise parked his car.

Tania looked stressed. It seemed like she was shouting at him. Hunter was quietly leaning against a red car, holding the pendant of his necklace in one hand. His face was flushed and he looked like he was struggling to control his emotions. He didn’t even look like he was listening to Tania at all.

He looked up and saw us walking past them. He caught my eye and held my stare. I couldn’t understand the emotion on his face as he looked into my eyes.

Did he hear me sing? Does he recognize me at all?

I had a feeling he knew who I was. Unfortunately, remembering me and admitting that he knew me were two totally different things.

Hunter’s glance drifted off to the rose I was holding in my hand. I saw the bored expression on his face before he turned away.

“Burger Inn?” Chaise asked as we all hopped in his jeep.

“No! Half of the people who were in the concert will be there too! And I just want a moment of peace, please!” Denise replied.

“Me too,” I agreed with her. “Because of what I did tonight, I’m sure a lot of people would recognize me there. And I don’t want to be the subject of table conversations, whether good or bad. I just wanna be left alone to eat a hearty meal with my friends.”

“Agreed,” Chaise nodded.

“God damn it, Hunter!” we heard Tania shout in frustration. “Why?!”

“You know why!” Hunter bit back at her.

We all turned to their direction.

Tania looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“I swear, I will tell your father about this!” she wailed.

A few of Tania’s friends from Jacksonville approached them.

I saw Hunter shake his head. “I don’t care,” we heard him say. His face looked stoic. “Knock yourself out.” Then he walked away from her.

“Aarrghh! Can we go?” Denise groaned. “I have too much of this at home already, I can’t bear any more of the Hunter-Tania drama! Come on, Chaise, drive!”

“Oh, I thought you girls wanted to listen. That sounded juicy,” Chaise chuckled as he pulled out of the lot.

“What was that about?” I dared ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

“That’s Tania being the brat that she always was,” Denise answered. “She hung around the house a lot, even when Hunter wasn’t at home. God, I hate her guts!”

“Why wouldn’t he be at home when she visits? Weren’t they sort of a thing?”

“Tania kept chasing Hunter and he was being difficult. I don’t know. He must be getting kicks out of seeing girls make a complete fool of themselves in front of him.”

“His ego?” I echoed.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Who knows what’s going on in Hunter’s mind nowadays?”

“Maybe he’s not really interested in her,” Chaise suggested.

“Come on, just look at her! Who wouldn’t be interested in her?” Denise pointed out.

“Ahh… me?” Chaise asked, looking at Denise like she was out of her mind. “I’m totally not interested in her. Maybe she’s pretty and she has all sorts of clothes you would find in a fashion magazine. But I’m not interested in that.”

“You are an exception. All you see is Alice,” Denise argued.

“Denise!” I hissed at her.

“Well, that is true,” Chaise said, grinning at me.

Chaise took us to Shrimp and Lobster Palace, a cozy Chinese restaurant that served the best Chinese food in town.

“This is my treat, by the way.” Denise announced as we sat on our table. “You both had been so helpful to me. Even you, Chaise. The principal was so pleased. The immersion program was a total success.”

“Are you sure you’ll get the bill for this?” I asked.

Denise nodded. “I won’t hang out with you anymore if you don’t make me pay.”

“Oh, in that case, I’ll tell the manager now that this is all on me, if that’s what it will take for you to leave me and Alice alone,” Chaise teased.

“Don’t you dare!” I warned him. Then I turned to Denise. “Okay. But don’t get used to it.”

“By the way, I have another favor I need to ask you guys.”

“There it is!” Chaise said. “I knew there was a catch to this.”

“Shut up,” Denise glared at him. Then she turned to me. “I have some cousins coming over. I need to take them out of town for an overnight swim in a family-owned lake house. Please come with me!”

“What do we have to do with your cousins?” Chaise asked.

“Actually, I’m not asking you, but if your presence there will make it easier to convince Alice to come, then I will endure it!”

“Why can’t you handle your own cousins?” I asked.

“Yeah, really. I’m sure they couldn’t be any worse than Hunter Vaughn,” Chaise quipped.

“We were close when we were growing up. But we haven’t seen each other in a long time. I would be very uncomfortable. And besides, I entertained a whole school delegation for almost two weeks. I’m tired. I could use some help on this one too.”

Denise looked desperate. After all the favors she did for me, this seemed like a small favor in return.

“Okay,” I said. I turned to Chaise. “We could use your help too.”

Chaise sighed. “Okay, you know I can’t say no to you. And besides, it would be better if I’m there to make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

Denise smiled “Great! You didn’t have to bring your guard dog, Alice. But still, I’m so glad you said yes.”

I laughed while Chaise glared at her. My days would sure be boring without witnessing these two murder each other with their words.

Chaise dropped Denise off first and then he drove to my house.

“Isn’t your aunt home?” Chaise asked. He was looking at my house. It was completely dark inside.

“She’s still at work.”

“You’re gonna be alright on your own?”

“Sure. Our house doesn’t really scream luxury. Breaking in would be a complete waste of time.”

I hopped off the car. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Call me if anything happens, okay?”

I nodded. “Night, Chaise.”

I walked towards the porch and opened the front door. Before I went in, I noticed a white SUV parked opposite our house. I could hear the faint sound of the engine, like somebody was inside, but all the lights were completely off. I hadn’t seen that car in our neighborhood before. And I knew that the house opposite us was vacant. The car didn’t fit quite right in our neighborhood because it looked expensive.

After getting ready for bed, I took Hunter’s diary out from my bag. It had been a while since I wrote anything on it. Since finding out about Tania, I couldn’t find the strength to write anything to him. He had asked me to keep this diary when he was blind, when I thought he really cared for me. But he felt like a completely different person to me now.

The boy I met in CRC was flawed but beautiful. And he loved me. The boy I see now was perfect but full of anger and arrogance. He didn’t want to remember our time together at all. And apparently, there was another girl in his past that he forgot to tell me about.

I took my pen and started writing.

Dear Hunter,

If I could shout at you now, I would.

If I could hit you over and over so you would feel the same pain I feel right now, I would.

If I could show you how angry and hurt I am, I would.

But I couldn’t…

I couldn’t…

I couldn’t…

The boy I used to know had gone to a place I couldn’t reach him. And I was reduced to a memory he would rather forget.

Before we come to an end, I wish I could shout at you, hit you, show you how mad I am right now. But even if I could, I don’t think you would hear… or feel… or see.

Tears ran down my cheeks. I hugged Hunter’s diary in my chest and I cried myself to sleep.

The next day, Meredith was calling me at six in the morning. She left her key and asked me to open the door for her.

“Good morning,” I greeted her sleepily.

“Thank you so much!” She kissed my cheek. “I’m sorry to disturb your sleep. I know you’re pretty tired with the concert last night.”

Before I closed the front door, I noticed that the white SUV was still there.

“Was the house in front of us rented out already?” I asked Meredith.

“No. I still saw the ‘For Rent’ sign at the front yesterday. Why?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “So how was work?”

“Great! Exciting stuff going on. How about you?”

“It was great!” I told her everything that happened during the concert.

“I’ll bet you felt really good,” she beamed. “I would have given anything to see you perform on stage.”

“It’s okay, Mer. Someday, who knows?” I smiled at her. “I could sing for a living.”

“You have to go to college. You can sing on the side, but my sister’s dream is for you to get a degree. I won’t fail her.”

“But you know it’s expensive, right? I need to work too.”

“Maybe you’ll get a scholarship. You can work on the side, and I will help. Don’t worry. We’ll manage.”

She gave me a hug. I suppressed the tears because I really felt bad for Meredith. I knew in my heart that she deserved a better life than this. She was not even a decade older than me, and she was taking full responsibility for the messed-up eighteen-year-old her sister left behind.

I hugged her back. “I promise, Mer. Give me a bit of time. You won’t have to carry this burden all by yourself.”