Page 92 of Mine To Hunt

There is something steady in the way he says it, something that lingers even after he stops speaking. I nod once, then turn and walk toward the car.

The passenger door clicks open, and I slide into the seat. The interior smells faintly like cologne and leather, familiar but somehow sharper tonight. I pull the door shut and buckle my seatbelt, my movements slower than usual, aware of Dr. Nathaniel still standing outside.

As the car begins to move, I glance back through the window. He is still there. Standing exactly where we left him. Watching.

He doesn’t wave. He doesn’t move. He just stands there, his gaze fixed on the car as it pulls away, his face unreadable in the dim light outside the clinic.

A strange tightness curls in my stomach. I can’t tell why. There’s no obvious reason for it. Still, I keep looking until the building disappears behind us and he is out of sight.

Al starts talking almost immediately, like he’s been waiting for silence to break.

"I’ve been out of your life for a bit, huh?" He says, glancing at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road. "Uni’s been insane lately."

His tone is light, casual, but I can hear a hint of apology buried under it.

I shift slightly in my seat. "Yeah… you kind of disappeared." I say, not accusing, just stating it.

He lets out a small breath that sounds halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "I know. I wasn’t too worried though. Maddie’s always around to keep you company."

I nod faintly. "She tries."

He taps his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, hesitating, like he’s debating whether to say what’s on his mind. His jaw tightens slightly before he speaks again.

"Though… she’s kind of stuck at home right now."

My head turns toward him immediately. "What do you mean stuck at home?"

He glances at me, then back at the road. "It’s because of what happened at the station."

My stomach sinks. "What?"

"The commissioner mentioned it." Al says. "Just… casually. He brought it up in front of her father during a conversation. Said something like,‘Your daughter has quite a temper. She caused a scene at the station the other day.’"

A cold feeling spreads slowly through my chest.

I swallow. "What did her dad do?"

Al lets out a slow breath. "He lost it. Told her if she kept getting involved in things like that, he’d take everything away. Her flat. Her car. Even her theatre studies. Said he’d pull her out and make her come back home for good."

My chest tightens painfully. "He wouldn’t actually do that…"

"You know how her dad is." Al says gently. "When he decides something, he doesn’t bluff."

Silence fills the car. The streetlights slide across the window one by one, streaks of light and shadow passing over my hands in my lap.

"That happened because of me." I whisper.

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. They feel heavy, like they’ve been sitting in my chest all along, waiting for a chance to come out.

"It didn’t." Al says firmly.

I shake my head slowly, my eyes fixed on my hands resting in my lap. "It did." I insist, softer this time. "She went there because of me."

"She went because she wanted to." He replies, his voice gentler now. "You know Maddie. You couldn’t have stopped her even if you tried."

I don’t answer right away. I know he’s right. Maddie has always been stubborn, always fiercely loyal, always the kind of person who runs toward trouble if someone she cares about is standing in it. But knowing that doesn’t make the guilt go away. It just makes it sit deeper.

My throat tightens. I pull out my phone.