Free Enlightened (Red Flags) by C.C. Brown Page A

atmosphere was about to get serious.
    "Cara, you had an emotionally up and down relationship with Jason so it's normal to feel these feelings.  Love is not something you can turn on and off.  You love him. There is nothing wrong with that."
    I bit the inside of my cheek, really taking in everything he was saying.  "So you don't think I'm crazy for missing him?"
    "No."  He laughed. "In fact, I would think you were crazy if you didn't."
    I shoved a piece of donut into my mouth as he continued talking.
    "Why don't you return his call so you can clear your mind?"
    I shook my head vehemently.  "I can't do that. Talking to him will open the flood gates of all of our memories--the good and the bad."
    "Well, it seems to me that you're already being bombarded with those memories."
    I stopped chewing and laughed a haunted laugh.  He was right, the memories of Jason were there and I wasn't dealing with them very well.  I had been avoiding any sort of social media because pictures and posts of us, and about us, were littering the sites.
    I couldn't stand to look at us back when we were happy.  I'd heard Slither playing on the classic rock station one night and I immediately turned the radio off.  It wasn't even our song, but listening to Dustin McCreed's voice brought back the memories of our first night together, and my fabulous birthday party that he had worked tirelessly to surprise me with.  I wasn't handling things very well, and Hunter--the silent, observant one--could tell.
    "What do you think of all this?"  I asked him eagerly.
    "I think it's your decision and yours alone.  You can't worry about what Jason thinks, or what Chelsea thinks--this has to be your decision."
    "I know.  I just feel like the biggest fool in the world for not seeing all the signs, or rather, ignoring them."
    "Love is blind sometimes, Cara.  You aren't the first person to follow her heart and forget her mind.  Before I met Chelsea I was in a no good relationship--" he stopped.  He'd just shared a little tid-bit of information about himself that I had previously not known.  "Look, if you want to know what I think about Jason and everything that went down, I will tell you this--he loves you.  He loves you dearly, and I don't believe shit that Stacey or Jacob said.  I was still there that night when you and Chelsea left, remember?"
    My breath caught.  Hunter was not usually so talkative and forthcoming.  I peered at him through glossy eyes as he continued speaking.
    "He broke down the night you left.  He cried for a long time, after he tried to break his brother's damn neck again."  He paused and smirked.  "His mom found us at the guest house and knew something was terribly wrong.  He told his mom he no longer wanted anything to do with the family and that he wouldn't go back because being with his family was worse than being alone."
    I let a couple of tears that were hanging onto my lashes fall down my face.
    "Mrs. Bradley broke into tears and pleaded with Jason to take it back.  She said they could work it out, get into the family therapy that they'd put off for a long time, but he didn't want to hear any of it."
    "His dad came out and Jason told him that he only had one son…that he was done with him and everyone else."
    "What did Mr. Bradley say?"  I asked through sniffles.
    "He didn't say anything, but the look on his face was showed shock and hurt.  Jason and I didn't even stay at the guesthouse. We got a hotel room."
    I looked at Hunter and realized just how awful that night had been for everyone involved.  Hunter's tale tugged at my heart strings.  I hadn't even given much thought to how Jason felt that night, or what he had been put through after my dramatic exit because I was so consumed with my own hurt and embarrassment. 
    "I'm not trying to coax you back into his arms, Cara, because Lord knows there were times when I wondered what the hell was up with him.  What I do know is that he loves you, deeply.  He's a