Drake ✔️

Chapter 59

Shay

"Until next time, Lavender." 

River squeezes his arms around me one last time as we say our goodbyes in the airport parking lot. I throw him an unimpressed frown, he knows how I feel about that nickname. But as predicted, he laughs it off. 

"I meant what I said about buying out, by the way. You could totally move to North Bridge and make a fresh start." I deliver my parting line to him, hopeful that he'll get serious about the idea. He rolls his eyes, but he doesn't brush the topic off. I know he's thinking about this a lot, and he knows it could actually happen. He has the money, he has the brains to get into summer school and enrol at NBU in the fall. He could totally fucking do this thing. And that's exactly why he's acting hesitant. 

Starting over again is scary. Take it from me first hand. 

"Hit me up when you make a decision, alright?" I give him a genuine smile which he returns. 

"Of course. Don't be a stranger, Baby DT." He winks and I punch him lightly in the arm. That nickname, I just won't tolerate.

I open my mouth, ready to instruct River to drive safe and to keep me updated on things after I'm gone. But no sooner have the words reached the tip of my tongue than I almost choke on them. Because the man in question just screeched one of his sports cars into a disabled parking spot, right out front of the airport entrance.

River and I went back to Hunter's place this morning, so that I could check up on him again after the state he was in last night, and so that I could say my last goodbye. Suffice it to say, Hunter was not very responsive. He was hungover as hell and he wasn't much up to talking - probably because Ricardo was still skulking around the house, and Chanelle was busy making coffee and arranging funeral flowers in vases. When I got up to leave and said goodbye - for what I had hoped to be the last time ever - Hunter glared at me and reached for the bourbon. He didn't talk much at all, and I chose not to question it. 

But, as it turns out, maybe Hunter does have something he wants to say to me after all. 

River turns around to see what I'm gawking at, and the two of us watch as Hunter practically stumbles out of his car, almost tripping over as he slams the door shut violently behind him. Clearly, he's drunk off his ass again. And he's causing a scene right out front of the airport, which is so unlike him. I sigh internally as his dark, bloodshot eyes meet mine and he charges towards us. 

"Fuck." River says under his breath. "He clearly kept the bourbon bottle close by all morning." 

"Seems that way." I murmur in response, just before H reaches us. I'm standing here with River, but his eyes don't leave mine as he barges past River, coming to a stop directly in front of me. 

"Don't go." He cuts straight to the chase, and the emotion I can see swimming behind his drunk eyes almost makes me waver. Almost, but not quite. 

"I don't live here anymore, H." I whisper slowly. I know he's going through a tough time, but I'm not walking on eggshells for him. I'm leaving Illinois today and I ain't coming back again. He needs to hear this. 

"I don't care." He responds, reaching forward and taking both my hands into his. I gasp and step back from him, not prepared for the unexpected physical contact. 

He sees my hesitation and drops my hands, then he looks around at River like he's only just realised it's not just the two of us. Never mind River, the busy swarm of human airport traffic are eyeing us judgmentally as they exit and enter the building. Like any of us give a shit about these random people. Not when Hunter's like this.