A Masterpiece Unraveled (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 2) (2 page)

"You have nothing holding you back in Vermont other than your apartment and your friends. What about moving here permanently? We can look for a school for you to teach at down here, or anything you want to do."

She pulled her hands from his.
"I have to have a voice to teach!"
Tears pooled in her eyes again.

Hunter sighed. "I know that. I'm just throwing out suggestions."

She shouldn't have snapped. Hunter really was trying to help, and she didn't need to get so frustrated. None of this was easy on him, either.
"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. Now we're both at a crossroads with our careers."

He hadn't gone back to flying and his nightmares hadn't stopped. Hunter had gone to his doctor's appointment for his psychiatric referral, but then he stopped talking about it. She couldn't keep count of the times she'd woken up to Hunter thrashing about or yelling from whatever nightmares tormented him. They were always about the crash. She'd wake him up if he wasn't already and after he cleaned himself up from all the sweat, he'd climb back in bed with her and tell her what happened. The way he described them, it was like he was right there all over again. Sometimes he had new memories, or what he believed to be, but with nightmares and twenty years of not knowing, who knows what was real or not? Either way, they were horrible.

"You can at least go back to your job once you get the help you need."
She shouldn't have thrown that in his face. Not at all. Becca exhaled sharply and clenched her fists.

"Maybe I don't want to go back. Not now, and maybe not ever," Hunter snapped as he jumped to his feet. He narrowed his eyes as he took a step back from her. The two stared at each other, the silence so loud it was deafening. This was torture. The intensity of the rift between them scared her. "Every time I look at a plane, I see what happened to you. I remember the way I felt trying to tell you how to land. I think I've had enough of them for a while. Yeah, I can get help for the plaguing nightmares, but I don't think going back to being a pilot is going to work. I've been thinking about selling mine. I can't keep it after what happened."

"Sure you can."
She hated the idea he'd give up his plane because of her. Her fists clenched again. She almost couldn't control it. The clenching became a nervous habit the past few weeks.

"No, I really can't. It's time. I need to let it go." Hunter raked a hand through his hair and stifled a sigh. He finally noticed her balled fists. "Hey, don't do that." He gently slipped his fingers through hers. "You're going to hurt yourself even more. Come here and let me hold you," he pleaded. He moved to sit again.

Becca shifted to get comfortable in Hunter's arms. He slid them around her, then rested his head against her shoulder. "You know I'll support whatever you choose."

When it came down to it, Becca wanted to be here with Hunter. They'd been through so much in their history of knowing each other, even if this time around really tested them. To her, it felt like things changed. The last thing she wanted was to give up. There really was nothing holding her back. A few weeks ago, before Carrie, they'd both wondered how to handle their relationship through the next year. As much as it sucked, the opportunity had opened. It would be stupid not to do what they both wanted in the first place, and that was to stay here with Hunter. It was a chance to start over and get away from her grandparents and Vince.

The decision made, she moved out of his arms to face him. Becca ignored the sting in her hand as she gave him her answer.
"I want to stay here with you, permanently."

A look of relief washed over his face as he hugged her. "I'm so glad to hear that, angel."

She heard the unspoken words. He didn't have to say it, but Becca knew. He'd worried she would give up and want to get away. Not that she could blame him for worrying, because she had pulled away. She'd kept to herself more often than not.

"I have to leave soon. We have an appointment for Sienna about her speech therapy. Do you want to come with?" Hope filled his tone.

"You go. Give her my love. I don't want to get in the way."
Much as she wanted to see Sienna, the idea of leaving the house didn't sound good. Sienna already struggled with the concept of Becca not being able to talk. She was so young and just didn't understand. Beverly and Todd were learning sign language to understand Becca so that Hunter didn't have to interpret all the time. She'd dealt with this ever since waking up after the crash not being able to speak. Somehow, the older she got and the longer her voice didn't work, the more it affected her. She couldn't even list another person she knew that had a voice which stopped working at random times.

Hunter stared at her, his eyes filling with a tinge of sadness. "Bec, listen to me. You're never in the way. Get that idea out of your head. You being here with me makes you part of a family. Got it?" His tone was firm but loving.

She nodded. Ugh, she needed to get past this, now.
"Still, you go. I'll work on her mural some more. I hope to have it done before she comes this weekend."

"If you're sure..." He didn't sound convinced.

"I'm sure. I promise I'll be fine."
Or maybe not. If she was left alone to her self-destructive thoughts, she might just lose it altogether.

"Okay. When I get back, we'll figure out when the best time is to move everything over here, if you want. It shouldn't be too long. We're just meeting the team and filling out some papers." Rising to his feet, Hunter held his hands out to her. "Just text me if you need anything."

She hugged him, knowing he had to leave, but she wasn't ready to let him go yet. Her heart pushed and pulled when it came to Hunter. She needed and wanted him there, but sometimes the idea of having a little peace and someone not hovering over her sounded good, too. Finally, she pulled away.
"Have I been so bad you worry about leaving me alone?"
Why did she actually have to ask? Even she knew how silly it was! She'd been horrible!

His eyes widened. "Honestly? Yes. But it's not like anyone can blame you. What you went through is more than enough to break the strongest person, and you've always been strong. You were forced to face your biggest fear. I'm afraid too, but I know it's nothing compared to what you must feel. It's not something anyone should take lightly, Bec. Of course I worry about you. You keep looking for her, you're not sleeping, and you hardly want to leave the house. If I have to admit it, then here it is. I'm afraid if I leave you, I might not be able to get back to you again." He wrapped her in his arms again. "This is the hardest part, knowing you're hurt and scared and there's nothing I can do about it. I get it, angel. I get exactly what you felt a few weeks ago." He combed his fingers in her hair.

She held him tight, taking in his words. God, what a mess the past few weeks turned out to be. This was the summer they were supposed to enjoy falling in love and the newness of a relationship. Instead, they were both on edge, full of fear and doubt, and unsure of things. They were barely hanging on some days. Their lives had already been so complicated and full of turmoil.

"As much as I want to stay and hold you right here, I really do have to go," Hunter whispered. He took a step back and held her gaze. "I'm always going to be here for you. I may not always know what to do, but I'm right here. Remember that." He leaned over to kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

As he walked away to head out for the appointment, emptiness settled inside. She did love Hunter, but she was honestly afraid of what the future held. She didn't know how long she could hold on and try to be strong when all she really wanted was to break down and let it all out. Never had she felt such an intense rage like this. She'd gone through a mix of emotions after waking up a different girl after the accident. This was different. Strange and scary, her mind was a place of darkness, something she'd never dealt with before.

Hunter was right. She kept looking for Carrie everywhere. That stunt she'd pulled at the fund raiser put her on edge, let alone everyone else. She woke up night after night at every sound, thinking she'd come back and would finish the job. If she slept decent, then Hunter didn't.

Drawing in a deep breath, Becca headed for Sienna's room to work more on the mural. Her painting had suffered as well. She'd been doing it on and off when the muse was willing, and she wanted to get it finished soon.

*****

"That went rather well," Hunter said to Eva after the speech therapist left. "Sienna seemed to enjoy it." He turned back to watch his daughter, who had climbed up on the couch next to Beverly and Todd.

Eva seemed lost in thought. "Yeah, it did." She sounded very distracted. She'd been that way off and on for the past few weeks. Hunter chalked it up to her working through things. She'd been very civil with him when they talked at least. "How's Becca doing?" Eva asked with genuine sincerity.

"Not too well. She got an email this morning from the school. She doesn't have a job in the fall. She says they claim budget cuts, but she has a feeling it's because of everything that happened and that she's not able to speak."

"That sucks." Eva frowned, shoving her hands in her jeans pockets.

"Yeah. She's pretty bummed. She did decide she's going to stay here and leave Vermont." As long as while he was gone Becca didn't change her mind, anyway. For the most part, he didn't think she would, but there was that doubting voice in the back of his mind who said otherwise.

"That's what you both wanted, right?"

"Yes, but not like this." Definitely not the route he wanted things to go.

"What's this I hear? Becca lost her job?" Beverly shot up from her spot on the couch. Sadness reflected in her eyes as she locked her attention on Hunter.

He nodded, relaying the same message to her.

"Poor girl. That must feel terrible. I hate that it happened this way, but I'm more than happy she's going to be moving here. Now if only the answers she needs would come, maybe it would help. And how are you doing with all this, Hunter?"

"Not so well," he admitted. "I can't reach her right now, and it's never been like this before. I do have to say, I know where everyone is coming from now with how you felt about me a few weeks ago." If only he'd learned this sooner, some of the current problems could be avoided.

"Are you able to talk about your nightmares? How are your appointments going?"

Hunter flinched. He'd only gone to the initial one. Well, he'd made it to the parking lot. He hadn't gone back. Another promise broken. He really did have every intention on going in, but he just couldn't walk through those doors that day.

Eva disappeared upstairs without another word. He stared after her. Not that it mattered where she went, but he found it a good distraction instead of answering.

"Hunter?" Beverly pressed.

"I went once. With everything going on, I haven't been back." He should have just told the truth. Why did he have to blurt out a lie? Did it have to be so difficult to admit when he was wrong?

Beverly put a firm hand on his shoulder and looked him right in the eye. "Honey, I know you're worried about Becca. We all are, but you need to take care of yourself, too. This isn't going to go away on it's own. With what happened recently, it can only make matters worse. Don't hide behind Becca's fears to avoid taking care of your own. You both are in a vulnerable place and you're going to need each other's strength and support more than ever. You need to face what's going on with you."

Hunter took her words to heart. Much as he hated to admit it, Beverly was right. He had been hiding. "It's just hard having to go through the nightmares and the crash over and over again," he said quietly. "It feels like it'll never end."

"It will, son. You both will get past this, even if it takes time." Beverly hugged him. "We're here for both of you. I wish Becca could have come today."

"I do too. I hate leaving her, but I can't push too hard either. Some days I wonder if she blames me for what happened." Some days? Try every damn day. He blamed himself.

Beverly's face crumpled. "Hunter, you have to stop doing this to yourself. You can't take the blame for everything that goes wrong with those you love. Did you have the idea to take Becca on a plane and do God knows what with her? I know you feel like you made this happen because you ran off upset, but you didn't do this. Do you hear me? This is exactly why you have to talk to someone. You carry years and years of guilt that you shouldn't have to and it's taking a toll."

Hunter opened his mouth, completely flabbergasted.

"She's right, you know." Todd moved to stand by his wife. "You keep apologizing to me for all the commotion caused at the airport. You didn't do anything wrong."

He sighed. "I get your point. I'll go back. I need to get past this. There's too many conflicting feelings in my head and it's getting worse." No doubt about it.

"Daddy!" Sienna tugged on his hand.

Hunter smiled at his daughter as he picked her up. Right there was one big reason to get better. Sienna needed him, too. "I love you, Princess." He wrapped her in a hug, then tickled her belly. Sienna squealed in bouts of laughter. He peered at Todd and Beverly over Sienna's head. "Are things going well here?" He jerked his head at the stairs, hoping they understood he meant Eva.

Beverly nodded. "A day at a time, that's what we're all doing."

He understood. "I think that's all we can do lately. Thank you both for everything. I'm going to see when Becca wants to go back to deal with her apartment. I love that she's going to be here now. I just hate that she had to lose her job because of all this."

"There's always a reason for everything." Beverly's eyes held compassion.

Hunter was about to say something, but the ringing of his phone stopped him. "Sorry." He set Sienna down and pulled it from his pocket. He didn't recognize the out of state number. "Hello?"

"Hunter? It's Rissi. I called you because I didn't want to tell Becca over a text message. Someone has been asking around about her, and a few times my husband has caught someone lurking around her apartment. With everything going on, I wanted you to know right away."