It was a rare occurrence to see Ivy crying but she managed to speak through the tears, "I knew about Hunter's dad's problems and I knew about your sister, Em, but I never thought they were in some way linked. I'm so sorry, I should have told you - "

"No. It was Hunter's story to tell." My frustration grew, "Weird how he was telling me I needed to tell him about Jaimie and stop hiding things from him when he was the one keeping a bigger secret."

"It doesn't even make sense," Theo piped in, "Hunter was how old when your sister... you know? And Ivy told me he was living with his mom then. None of it makes sense."

"Doesn't mean he didn't do anything else for his father when he was older. He had a way to contact him if he called his dad to ask him for help. He could have easily been involved somehow and his connection to you was too convenient." My mom walked into the lounge, arms crossed and a fire behind her stare.

I matched his stare with equal ferocity, "Mom please, I was there. You don't think Hunter fought his dad when he attacked us? He might have hidden the truth from me but he was not involved. His dad must have done something or told the police something."

"They've got your statement though." Skylar came to sit next to me, "Surely that counts for something?"

None of us could answer her question so we were all silent. Despite the silence that passed over us, the house was loud. I could hear Ivy crying and Theo's murmurs of comfort. Hannah's wailing was the worst and without Hunter to settle her down, I was sure she wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Without waiting for anyone to stop me or question me, I took my keys and left.

-

He refused to look up. I watched his body stiffen when I closed the door. He was tense and I was sure he knew it was me visiting him.

He was concentrated on the shackles binding his hands together and if I hadn't been watching him so intently, I wouldn't have seen the drops of tears falling onto the table.

"Hunter. Please." I whispered so softly I doubted he heard me.

"I was hoping to keep him locked away forever." I strained to hear his voice too, "I hoped that I never had to tell you about him. But I knew I would have to eventually. I could tell that the wheels in your head started turning as soon as you heard me on the phone with him, even if you didn't know who I was speaking to. I should have told you or at least tried to. I nearly forgot him until he called me. He has a knack for entering my life unexpectedly and when it's looking up." He was silent again, "You have to believe me when I say I didn't do it, Em. Please. I never helped him."

Screw the guards, I though and I reached out and took his hands in mine. I was glad they hadn't made him take off Jaimie's ring. I was glad that he hadn't taken it off either.

"I never once for a second thought you were responsible. I might have been extremely annoyed with you and confused but there was never a doubt in my mind that you are innocent."

These words made him look up and I saw a broken and lost boy. A boy who must have faced so many hardships, without a father who was still alive but had left him. I wondered what else had gone so wrong that we were sitting in an interrogation room, his hands cuffed and a guard waiting.

"I need to know everything, Hunt. Please?" It was still a question because like he gave me time with Jaimie, I would give him time with his father.

His nod was slow and he spoke to the table instead of looking at me. I saw his adam apple bob before he spoke, "My mom divorced my dad when he hit her the one evening when he was drunk. She refused to hear him out the next morning and left with me a day later. Which lead to my dad having some..." he struggled to find the word, "Mental disabilities?"

He looked up at me, almost to ask if he had used the correct term so I nodded.

"He had forced himself onto women that looked like my mom and eventually one of them filed a sexual assault charge against him. I was too young to know this but my mother told me. He had spent, I think, three years in prison when he was found guilt and when he came out he met with me. Nothing seemed wrong with him at the time but then again that's because I must have been about eleven and he was my dad so how could I not love him? Then all of a sudden he disappeared for years. I'm assuming this was when he... took... Jaimie. He would then randomly call me or visit me at school and each time he told me to keep our interaction a secret. I never questioned it until he came to me after my high school graduation and asked me for money. I wanted to know why and then he called her and she stepped out of a car that was parked a few feet away. She was bruised all over and my dad told me the money would be used to send her far away from the people who hurt her. But there was this terrible pull at my gut and in that moment I knew it was my dad who did this to her."

"Was it," I swallowed the lump in my throats and pushed back my tears, "Was it Jaimie? The girl?"

"No!" Hunter grabbed my hands, "I never met your sister until..." he trailed off, "It was the other girl. Whose body you had to identify. I recognized her name in the newspaper. She had told me what it was before she got into the car with my dad and drove off."

"And the money?" I whispered, clutching onto his hands just as tightly as he was holding onto mine.

"I lied. I told him I had no money but I had actually been saving for college. John had set up an account in my name and he would sometimes deposit money in there for me and any money I had earned, I would put into there as well."

"So where does he come into all of this?" I tried changing the topic to something lighter while I processed all the information about his real dad.

"John? He and my mom got married when I was fourteen." There was a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

It disappeared as soon as I asked my next question, "How come Jude and Catherine are so young then?"

"That was another problem. My mom had many miscarriages and she only fell pregnant with Jude when I was seventeen. Cath was born a couple of months ago only. She was really a miracle baby," this time he did smile and I could tell it was genuine, "My mom had been hoping for another child but she couldn't set her expectations too high all things considering. And then I'm the midst of pain, after John's mother had passed away, my mom found out she was pregnant."

This time it was my turn to stare at the table. I was crying and when I tried to pull my hands out of Hunter's he held tighter, "I promise you that I'll get out of here before you leave for Juilliard."

My head snapped up, "You know?"

I had sent a letter back explaining my situation but that I would still like to accept their offer a week after I had returned from the hospital.

"Your mom told me. I'm not upset, Em. I understand. If I had a chance to leave I would also take it. I know how much I look like my dad - "

"You know it's not your fault, right? It's just that home and writing remind me too much of her." I managed to remove one hand from Hunter's to wipe my tears.

"You're going to knock them dead, princess." Hunter managed to smirk. "Emilia Anderson will be the brightest name in all of New York City."

I returned a smile, "We're all working on getting you out here."

"I know."

•

So you guys got an explanation! A little bit happier...? I hope so :) Anyway, I realized I only had a couple of weeks left till the deadline I gave myself to finish the book so here I am typing away. Maybe I'll try get another one out next year. Ha! Sorry 😂 Happy New Year everyone! 💃🏻

I just wanted to thank you all for voting and commenting and just sticking with Hunter and Emilia this far. I can't tell you how happy I was to see that I got 5K reads before the end of 2017! Such an amazing way to end this year.

Keep voting, commenting, sharing and being amazing! xxx