Hunt Me Down - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Nathaniel’s POV
“We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas…” Mom sang with a huge smile as she taped a thick, dark blue garland to the top of the living room window.
“Isn’t it too early for Christmas songs and decorations?” I asked.
“Nonsense! There are only… Would you pass me the tape, sweetie, I’ll need more of it?” I gave her the desired item and she snipped a piece of it. “There are only two weeks left until Christmas Eve. I should’ve started when I got back from your grandma’s this Monday but I was so tired. I’ve always hated jet lag.”
I extended my hand to help her get off the chair she was standing on and she went on with her happy babble:
“I can’t believe she had me fly all the way to England for a cold! A cold; can you imagine that? She could’ve said something about it… And so soon after your birthday… And oh, presents! I got you some things from England but I’ll place them with the rest of your Christmas presents… We should go shopping this weekend; I need more blue decorations. Have I told you I picked this year’s Christmas decoration colors to be shades of blue and silver?” She went on before I could reply: “I can’t wait to decorate the tree and… What is the matter, sweetie? Don’t you like the idea?”
Five minutes into the conversation, she had finally noticed my lack of enthusiasm.
“It’s fine, mom,” I replied, taking a seat on the couch and reaching towards the coffee table to take the remote control. My mother sat down in the near-by sofa and took the item out of my grasp.
“Fine? Just fine? Blue is your favorite color, sweetie,” she said, placing the control back in its place. “We can do it in red and gold, if you’d like; that’s also a good combination.”
“It’s not the decoration scheme, mom.” I tried to get up but she placed a hand over my knee, a look of parental concern in her blue eyes.
“Oh, sweetie, I thought it might not be. You’ve been so moody the past few days.”
I shook my head; ‘moody’ didn’t quite cover it.
“Was it your sister? Did she do something over the weekend?” My parent kept probing and I wondered what were the chances that she won’t follow me if I replied with a simple ‘no’ and went to my room. Knowing my mom – zero. “You know can tell me everything, right?”
“Teenagers never tell their parents everything, mom,” I replied coolly and she gaped at me, surprised and a little bit scared. I’d never held such a tone with her before. She attempted to smooth her features and even managed a semblance of a smile before she protested:
“But you do.” She stroked my hair, her touch a bit hard. “You are my perfect boy,” she added, voice slightly high-pitched. “You are the perfect son, Nathaniel; you wouldn’t hide things from mommy.”
“I’m far from perfect,” I stated and her hand froze before falling limply at her side. She began to hyperventilate, her breaths coming out loud. “It wasn’t Vallery, mom,” I lied to calm her down and took her hand between my palms.
“Then what was it?” Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Something must’ve made you act like this; you are never like this!”
“I broke up with Irene,” I shout out and in an instant her face changed from panicked to surprised and then to a look of pity. Was this normal? Could women really have such sudden mood swings?
“Oh, sweetie, what happened? You two looked so much in love.”
“Dad mentioned something about moving again and I thought it would be better that Irene and I ended our relationship now before we got even more serious,” I lied again. Was I getting good at this or did she want to believe me so badly that she ignored me stammering when I talked about dad? He had said no such thing.
“Oh, sweetie,” she got up to envelop me in a hug and rubbed my back. “It’s such a shame; she was a nice girl.”
“We are still friends,” I reassured her, skipping the part that even though we tried to act as friends things were rather awkward between us at the moment.
“But of course you are,” she exclaimed, letting go of me. “You are such a dear boy; who wouldn’t want to be your friend. Now,” she clasped her hands, “I have to make a list with what new decorations we will need… We are sticking to blue and silver, right?” Once more, she gave me no time to reply. Not that I wished to interrupt her babble; it meant that she was so cheerful again. “I’m so glad it wasn’t a problem with your sister; that girl has no pity on my nerves! Such a shame about you and Irene though… Oh, lights! We can buy Christmas lights that shine only in blue…”
*****
I didn’t know why I covered up for Val. Maybe I was covering up for myself. I could never tell mom and dad what happened the past weekend; mom had gone into hysterics just thinking that I might be hiding something from her and whatever her mind could come up with, I’d bet all the money in my savings account – those that Val owed me included – that it was nothing compared to what happened at Vegas.
If I told mom about that she’d be hart-broken; I had never delivered her such a disappointment before. She’d send Val away to a boarding school and my twin and I would only be able to see each other around holidays. I was furious at what Val did to me, but I loved her and I couldn’t bear seeing her only a couple of times per year.
Mom would also have us move out in less than a week, I knew she would. She’d convince dad that it was for the best and he’d ask for a transfer. And then I’d never see Hunter again.
I had not spoken to him since Sunday and today was Thursday. He was actually acting civil towards Val! They had lunch together, they hung out after school… Sure, from what I’d overheard he was a bit cooler towards her than usual, but for the most part he acted as if Vegas never happened.
A hesitant knock came from my door and I knew it was her. Val had tried to converse with me on several occasions but I only spoke to her briefly and when it couldn’t be avoided. I knew my silent treatment tormented her but I was actually glad it did; she had to learn that her actions had consequences. I did not, of course, plan to never speak to her again, but I wasn’t ready to forgive her just yet. I didn’t even know why she would put me through all that for crying out loud!
The knock repeated and I sat up in my bed with a sigh.
“Come in, Val.”
The door opened slowly and she poked her head in.
“Are you sure?”
“No, but come in anyway.”
She entered and closed the door before approaching me, chewing her lower lip on her the way to the bed.
“Can I sit down?” She asked and I brought my knees to my chest to make room for her. She sat at the edge and went on in a low voice: “Can we talk about Vegas?”
“What’s there to talk about?” I hissed and her eyes enlarged. People really weren’t used to me being impolite.
“I want to explain…” she began but I cut her off.
“Explain?” I repeated and jumped off the bed. “You mean the part when you took my savings or how you pretty much blackmailed me into going to Vegas or how you tricked me into thinking I was married to Hunter Harris? God, Vallery, of all the things…” I went to my desk and leaned on it. “Of all the things you’ve ever done and which affected me, this… I don’t even know… It’s so… evil that I… How could you…? Why? Just why?”
She got up as well and stood in front of me. My sister reached to place her hand over my shoulder but I pushed it away.
“Just tell me why the hell did you do that?” I almost screamed, slamming the desk drawer shut.
“I thought it would be good for you,” she said quietly and I just gaped at her.
I was speechless. She thought it would be good for me? How could she think that? What could she possibly perceive as good in that situation?
Vallery sighed and leaned sideways on the desk to look at me.
“You never do anything, Nat,” she began to explain. “Your high school years are almost over and all you have to show for this period of your life is good grades.  I knew I’d probably never get a chance like this; a chance to make you do something wild, I guess you could call it, and I just wanted…” Her eyes watered up and her voice shook before she went on.
“Oh, Nat, I didn’t know you’d take it that bad. I thought I was doing you a favor. I just wanted you to have one of those stories that you’ll tell in years at a party – well, maybe not at a party since it’s you we’re talking about – but that you will tell in years and laugh about it. I really didn’t think you’d take it that bad,” she repeated.
She looked as if she was about to cry. It took a lot to make Vallery cry. I was starting to get angry; not at her, but at me because I was beginning to forgive her.
She had done something horrible, yes, but by her own weird, messed-up logic, she was doing it for me. And it was killing her that things went the wrong way; it was killing her that I was mad at her. She had often told me that I was the person she loved most in this world and I believed that to be true. I imagined how I would feel if our roles were switched and she was this angry at me. Yes, she deserved my rage, but maybe it was time to start mending things up.
“‘Badly’,” I corrected and she raised an eyebrow. “It should be ‘that badly’.”
She snorted, muttering ‘Grammar Nazi’.
“Aren’t you supposed to be sucking up to me?” I reminded her and she sniffed. She managed a small smile before she spoke:
“Yeah, I am even about to suggest I do your chores for a while.”
“Even after I obviously sort of forgave you?”
“So you don’t want me to do your chores?” She asked hopefully.
“By all means, do them,” I said sweetly, crushing her hopes.
“Oh, I almost forgot; here,” she handed me an envelope and when I opened it, I saw a few twenty dollar bills. “I know it’s not much, but I have a lot to return so I thought I better start now.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, opening the drawer and placing the envelope inside. Val’s gaze followed the movement and her blue eyes became large again.
“Is that…” She began, but I cut her off:
“No!” I shouted, slamming the drawer.
She took a step back, her eyes still not back to their regular size as she pointed at the drawer I’d just shielded with my body. Too late; she had already seen its content.
“It was it!” She said excitedly. “That was the ring; it was your wedding ring… Why are you using it to hold those candy wrappers together?”
“I… It’s not… V-Vallery…” I began to stutter and pointed a shaky hand at her. “I just… The wrappers!” I exclaimed. “I needed something to hold them together and… and the ring was at hand…”
“What’s with the wrappers, bro?” She asked with a huge grin.
“None of your business! Go do the dishes. Now!”
“Today is your turn,” she protested. “And don’t try to change the topic.”
“There is no topic to change,” I insisted. “I’m not talking about this and if you want to get back on my good graces, you’ll do my part of the chores right now.”
“Fine,” she growled, obviously displeased. Not that she could push me now; I was just starting to forgive her and she wouldn’t jeopardize that.
Vallery strutted towards the door, shutting it with more force than needed once she was out. Just a few seconds later – enough time for me to sigh relieved that I was alone again and wouldn’t have to reply to her inquiries – she reopened the door and popped her head inside with a huge grin.
“Just so you know, Hunter also kept his band. He has it wrapped around your marriage certificate.”
And with that, she was gone again.