Finding Forgiveness(62)

Roman’s eyes began to fill with tears and Hunter knew in that instant that he hadn’t yet heard the worst of it. “I overheard the cops saying afterwards how most women do it with pills or by cutting their wrists in the bathtub. One of them actually said he was glad she hung herself instead of slicing up her wrists because it was easier to clean up. Then he…then he said he hoped she’d broken her neck when she did it because otherwise it would have been a slow, painful way to go.”

Hunter swallowed hard as he felt nausea sweep through his system. He ached to reach out to Roman but he could see that Roman needed to finish it.

“She didn’t break her neck,” Roman announced as tears began to flow unchecked down his face.

Since Hunter suspected what he was going to say, he whispered, “How do you know?”

“Because I fucking saw it!” he yelled. “I was bringing her some soup and I opened the door and saw her standing on this chair in the middle of the room. I didn’t know what she was doing at first. Then I saw the cord she had wrapped around her neck. I froze…I just fucking froze,” Roman cried. “And then I called her name and she saw me and this look came into her eyes – this empty look – and she told me she was sorry and that she loved me. Then she told me to close my eyes just before she kicked the chair over.”

Roman began to sob as he sank to the floor. Hunter dropped to the floor next to him and pulled Roman against him. Roman’s hot tears scalded his neck as Roman wrapped his arms around his waist. “I couldn’t get the fucking chair back underneath her!”

Hunter couldn’t find any words as Roman continued to cling to him so he just held on as tight as he could as tormented sobs ripped through his lover. Hunter began rocking them back and forth as he dropped his head so he could place kisses against Roman’s brow. He kept whispering “I love you” against Roman’s ear and every time he did, Roman’s fingers bit into his body. Hunter had no idea how much time passed before Roman finally calmed but even as the tears slowed, he didn’t release Roman. At some point he heard the door behind them snick closed but he didn’t look to see if they were alone or if Gray had stayed behind. All he did was hold on to Roman and even after Roman’s grip on him finally started to ease, Hunter refused to let him go.



***

“How much longer?” Roman asked as he tightened his hold on Hunter’s waist.

“An hour I think,” Hunter responded as he played with Roman’s hair.

They were lying on the bed at the back of his jet. Roman didn’t remember everything that happened after his meltdown in his childhood bedroom but he’d pieced together that Gray and Luke had likely helped Hunter get him out of there and arranged for them to fly back home.

“Gray and Luke?”

“Up front.”

That surprised Roman. He would have guessed Gray would have stayed behind to be with his mother. “Not exactly the vacation I promised you, was it?” Roman said tiredly.

“I don’t know,” Hunter said softly. “The beginning…well, I don’t even have any words to describe how perfect and beautiful you made it.”

Roman glanced up and felt a shimmer of pleasure at the sight of color flooding Hunter’s cheeks.

“And the way Gray laid into Victoria at the end there, that was definitely my second favorite part.”

“What did he do?”

“He called her a few choice names, told her to go fuck herself and then announced to everyone that he had to go because his brother needed him. Victoria looked like she was going to have a stroke.”

Roman chuckled. “How’d I get so lucky?” he asked.

Hunter laced their fingers together. “Luck had nothing to do with it, Roman. We found each other because you refused to give up on me. You have your brother back because you were strong enough to give him a second chance. That’s all you.”

Hunter leaned down to kiss him and Roman met him halfway. He guessed there would be a time when he would need to deal with the volcano of emotions that his father’s death had brought back to the surface, including the truth about his mother’s suicide, but for now he had what he needed and that was enough.





Chapter Eleven



Hunter struggled to focus on his computer but the sound of Roman working on his own laptop was driving him crazy. Not because the sound of the clicking mouse was bothering him but because he’d called an embargo on any fooling around until he finished his English Lit paper. It would have made more sense to stay at his dorm to finish but he hadn’t managed to spend more than a handful of hours outside of Roman’s company since they’d returned to Missoula and Roman had announced that he wouldn’t be traveling for work that week. They’d gotten back late Tuesday night and Hunter had managed to make it to his second therapy session the next morning but only because Roman had insisted that he go.