Bad Boy Saint (Bad Boy 1)

CELIA: Hunter, sorry to be contacting you, but I need to talk to you about Graham. Please reply or call me as soon as you get this.

I sent the text and waited to see if it went through. Sure enough, it did and so I waited, hoping he'd reply right away.

Nothing.

I opened my binder and started reading through my notes for my first class the next morning, but my mind was distracted, wondering when Hunter would reply.

An hour passed, with me checking my cell every few moments, but Hunter either didn't check his messages or he decided to ignore me.

I couldn’t blame him.

How he must hate me…

Amy came over later for supper and we went to the cafeteria. We got our food and sat at a table, munching down our tacos and drinks, surrounded by the other students at Kirkland House.

"So, did Hunter reply to your text?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I didn’t think he would. He must hate me. I'd hate me if I were him."

"He doesn't hate you," Amy said. "I'm sure if he knew what happened, he'd offer to help. You and Graham have known him forever, right? That has to count for something."

"You'd think," I said doubtfully. "But he didn't answer."

"What did you tell him?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. I just asked him to contact me and that I had something to talk to him about Graham."

"Tell him that Graham's in the hospital. He'll respond if you do that."

I nodded and took out my cell.

CELIA: Hunter, Graham's in the hospital. He was beaten up pretty badly. I need to talk to you about him. We need your help.

I showed Amy and she nodded. "He'll respond. He was Graham's best friend forever until Spencer butted in."

"Yeah, but can you forgive a family that's responsible for your brother's death? I don't think I could…"

"All you can do is try."

We ate the rest of our meal, with me worrying how I was going to get the money together. It was Hunter or Spencer.

Neither option was going to be easy…

I decided to go to the hospital that night and see how Graham was doing on the new ward. He had his own room and was sleeping peacefully when I showed up. I sat on the chair beside his bed and waited for him to wake up. The room was tiny, but it had a window and the light from the setting sun were warm on my face. I checked my cell for Hunter's response but there was none.

Finally, Graham woke up and smiled as best he could when he saw me.

I stood and bent over to kiss him on the cheek. "Hey, there," I said and smiled back. "How are you feeling? You look much better. Except for the double black eyes and broken nose and jaw wired shut and head wrapped in bandage."

He smiled, his eyes amused. He must be feeling better. "I'm good. Did you talk to Hunter?"

I sat back down. "I texted him twice but no response."

"Go to the gym and see him."

"I will," I said and took his hand. "You don't worry about this. I'll go after I leave here. He must be still mad about everything and decided to ignore my texts."

He nodded slightly in response. "Don't blame him."