Taking the Fall (38 page)

“So you’d rather walk around hurt and in pain than let anyone else?”

She hung her head and let her shoulders drop. “I’ve done it for so many years. I don’t know how else to be.”

“Bullshit, you’ve been happy these last weeks.”

But now when she met his eyes there was no emotion there, they were just blank. “Have I been? Or have I behaved the way that made it easier for you to function?”

As long as she stayed here with him, it wasn’t over. As long as she didn’t get in that car, he could salvage his world.

“You are a coward, Molly. Life isn’t about karma and regret, it’s about finding love and happiness and never letting go no matter what.”

“Not when my children and their happiness potentially could be collateral damage.”

He took the last steps that separated them, placed a hand on her cheek and spoke from the heart. “I would never say they are nor would I ever put you in the position to choose between them or me, but nor are you, Molly! Don’t take the fall for the mistakes we both made. Don’t do that. If you want someone to blame, blame me! Let me carry the burden of regret! Because I do every day! It should have been us then. I should have just told you how I felt rather than be a jealous kid. I wanted you so bad for so long and I listened to someone else’s lie and took it for truth rather than asking the question myself. I can’t regret it all in its entirety because to do so would result in Leah never being born, and that to me is just unfathomable. But one thing I can do is correct it and make it right, now, at this moment and going forward. You and I belong together. I knew it then just as I know it now. And for that you cannot ask me to let you walk out of my life. I won’t allow it!”

“Well, then it is a good thing I’m not asking your permission. We are over, Hunter. It has to be this way. Truth be told, we should have never been.”

Molly got in her car, closed the door, and pulled out of his driveway. Driving away, she never saw the agony in Hunter’s eyes with her parting shot.

Hunter knew he should have chased after her, but hearing her words, the most malicious and tormenting words ever uttered, his feet were rooted to the ground.

Somewhere around 3AM, Molly gave up on the notion of sleep. Ensuring her girls were sound asleep, she left her parents’ place and headed over to the restaurant. She needed to be by herself; to think and to lick her wounds, as the saying went.

As she drove through town, she realized how everything looked the same, yet different—like she was looking at things through different eyes. The town that she loved and couldn’t imagine living anywhere but suddenly felt strange and unfamiliar. She knew why—Hunter.

The entire town was etched with memories of him sometime in her life.

She remembered even a time that she tried to find Reed, the Dennison in which she shared the same year, attractive, but he in that way just never clicked for her. No, to Molly it was one of his older brothers to who shined brighter to Molly. He shined the brightest of them all.

The memories flooded her as she weaved her way through the practically deserted roads of Clearwater Falls. No matter where she looked, she could see him or a time when their paths had crossed. Whether from recent memory or from years ago, memory and images in time popped up all around her. Like the sidewalk by Garland’s Pharmacy where Molly’s shoelace became entangled in the metal pedal of her bike. She couldn’t untangle it herself and the tension from the knotted lace on her ankle had tears pouring down her face. But then Hunter had appeared with his pocketknife and he cut the lace, removing her shoe to check her ankle and make sure no physical damage had been done. Molly guessed she had been about eight.

Then there was the time she had promised the Andreolis that she would help around the farm. She had agreed to do farm chores, but when she realized all that would entail, including the horrid smells, Hunter had appeared, offering to do her share inside the barn so she could go outside and get some fresh air. That was the summer she had turned thirteen.

As she drove by the high school and as the streetlights cast a glow across the baseball field, she remembered when everything changed. It was during her freshman year, when she had used the dugout as a place to hide from the pursuit of Jason Nicosia, an intense junior who had taken a shine to Molly. Being a small town, it wasn’t like Jason didn’t know who she was, but after a track meet, things had changed. Jason began to pursue her using one of her favorite treats, gummy bears, as a way to get her attention. Molly was uncomfortable with his attention, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him. Soon, he was arriving everywhere she was, delivering her bags of her favorite sweet treat, or “surprises” as he called them. After he had crossed the line at a school event referring to himself as a gummy and things he wanted to do with and to her, she panicked and fled to the safety of the dugouts. However, soon after she had arrived and sought refuge inside, she heard footsteps. She was petrified as the sound of someone’s approach became louder, realizing her choice of hiding places was neither smart nor safe. But, the face that appeared wasn’t Jason but Hunter, filling her with instant relief and an overcoming feeling of warmth.

Never asking why she was hiding, he just said one thing that had all her fear subsiding. He told her that Jason wouldn’t be bothering her again, in any way. She gave a grateful but silent appreciative smile; Hunter nodded to her and left her alone. He was gone but a moment later, it never dawned on her to question how he knew? She had just chalked it up to how he always appeared in the moments she needed someone the most.

That was when she knew, even at the age of fifteen, that she was in love with Hunter Dennison.

Molly pulled to a stop in front of
Molly’s
and the feeling of loss overtook her. She repeated to herself that all the children made it out alive and unscathed, but this was their livelihood, this was their home, and the blackened, damaged shell that was left was a perfect resemblance to her chance at the life she had always dreamed of having, the life where she was loved by Hunter.

As she entered through the front door, she was careful not to slip on the water, and found some solace that the main restaurant was not completely obliterated. Yes, there was a lot of water and some smoke damage, but mostly everything was intact and salvageable. However, as she walked through the place and into the kitchen, her swift moving optimism was quickly extinguished. The kitchen was a total loss. It was clear in the scorch marks as to where the oil had been thrown and how quickly the fire had grown and consumed. Everything was black and charred. Charred to the point that unless she knew it by memory what the kitchen had looked like, there was no way she would have been able to recognize it now.

And the tears and pain became too much to bear. She realized, as the tears fell and her body shook with sobs, that this was the first time she had cried about the effect of the fire on her life.

This charred room was the only casualty from an accident, yet she knew that was so far from the truth. So many casualties and so many victims; Jessica was a victim of Molly’s own selfishness, as was Hunter.

Replaying his words last night only made it worse; he was right when he called her a coward. Not because of the choice she was making but more because she didn’t consider his feelings. Yes, he was her lover, but he was so much more to her; he had been her friend.

She hadn’t lied when she said it would never be a competition between the happiness of her daughters and her own happiness. But she could admit now, at this moment, that he was right. It shouldn’t have to be one or the other.

Oh, how she wanted him here with her now to hold her and tell her it really was going to be all right; to feel his strong body hold her own weak and frail one together, without worry of him dropping her.

But she couldn’t.

She wouldn’t.

No, it was better this way. He deserved to be someone’s everything, not someone’s filler. And with how she needed to show her daughters that they were her number one priority and attend to their physical and mental needs, that was all he would be, a filler to whom she would take the physical demands she wanted as well as pick and choose the emotional ones. Leaving him with bits and pieces of a one-sided affair.

Such an affair that she was absolutely positively sure he would be a part of because of his love for her.

Hunter loved her.

He loved her so much, that even though he pleaded with her not to go, he let her go because it was what she asked of him, it was what she demanded of him.

He told her that she was falling on her sword, and truth be told, she wanted to fall on the sharpened steel, but at the last minute changed her mind and demanded that he impale himself.

And he did.

Molly grabbed the broom and began making sense of the mess in front of her. More time went by with little success. Looking at her watch and aware that the sun was beginning to rise, she heard the door open, and footsteps approached where she stood. Greg’s face riddled with unexplainable pain. His usual solid, unbreakable presence was anything but—in its place was a man surveying pure devastation. The tears that fell down his aged cheeks proved his obvious emotional wreckage. Molly’s already cracked composure fell victim once more and she too cried for the loss that they both felt so deeply.

They stepped toward each other and held onto each other, as Greg’s aged eyes looked over the kitchen that he considered his own. Between his soft sobs and the uncontrollable shake his body couldn’t contain, such sounds emanating from the man she considered to be a second father to her could just be her undoing. Molly rubbed his back consoling him with bodily contact and soft words of remorse.

Greg stepped away from her to tread through the space, and she watched as his whimpers grew and he reached out his usually so strong hands to touch what was left of his space.

He turned to her and said in a weak voice so unlike his own, “It was the oil, wasn’t it?” Not bothering to wait for a reply, he continued, “I knew I should have made sure it was disposed of rather than being lazy and leaving it for the morning.”

He reached out to touch what was left of the shelving that housed most of his pans, and the brittle burned wood gave way, crashing down on the already charred counter and floor.

“This is all my fault!” Greg said with conviction, doing away with the weakness and replacing it with anger.

“It is no one’s fault, Greg, just a horrible unfortunate accident.”

“My laziness equals incompetence!” His voice echoed off the shell of a room.

Molly stepped toward him, placing a hand on his forearm. “Don’t do that. Come on, Greg, you might as well say you should have never started making me s’mores in this kitchen thirty years ago if you are going to walk that line.”

“You always were a sucker for sweets,” he said finally giving her a glimpse of the smile she knew better than her own.

“If you want to take the blame for something, take it for being so incredibly good and always giving into a young girls’ inability to go without gooey chocolaty goodness.”

The senior man who looked even older in this setting turned in a circle and Molly knew he would carry the weight of this on his shoulders.

He turned back to face her and raised a steadier hand to her cheek. “Are you okay, sweet girl?”

Molly leaned into his warm hand, closing her eyes and finding comfort in his touch. Before stepping away and taking in their surroundings, she answered, “Yes, I’m okay. I want to be angry with the kids, but I can’t. It truly was a horrible accident. I just thank God they all walked away unscathed.”

“Yes, we should be very thankful for that blessing.”

They stood in silence both lost in their thoughts when Greg broke the silence. “Well, it isn’t going to clean up itself. Might as well not let the sunrise go to waste.”

Greg started picking up large pieces of debris and piling them over in the corner. They soon could see they were making a dent in it when they heard the front door open again.

For a moment, she thought she would see Hunter’s handsome face peek through the door, but she knew deep down inside he wouldn’t come. She made a point of that. However, who emerged from the wreckage was the last person Molly would have ever expected: Allison Lloyd.

A cloud of confusion circled Molly’s brain and suddenly fear filled her that something had happened to Leah or Hunter.

“Allison?”

Such an immaculate woman should look out of place amongst the blackness and chaos, but Molly will give it to her, she seemed comfortable. Like a chameleon, Allison Lloyd could make any setting her own.

“Hello Molly, Hunter told me what happened. I felt I should come here myself to offer my condolences. I am so sorry for your loss. I’m sure you are devastated.”

“Is Leah all right?” she asked fearfully.

Molly wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but for a moment, for the smallest of seconds, Allison looked nervous. But then she placed that perfected plastic smile on the face that God was gracious enough to give her, and her husband’s money was undoubtedly responsible for the upkeep of, and answered, “Physically, yes, but emotionally, I would say not in the least.”