I was done with Hunter and done with Vail.

It was a mistake to come to Vail, but not nearly as grave of a mistake as getting mixed up in the lives of others. I knew it was in my best interest to keep Alice at bay and I regretted ever agreeing to go to Hunter’s place. He really had turned out to be the immature person I thought he was when we first met. He wasn’t a serious individual with priorities. At his core, he was still a reckless adolescent who giggled when his best friend acted even more immature than him. I was at work and it was my last day before going back to North Carolina. I was tired of running from my problems.

“Something happened,” Alice said quietly.

This time, she wasn’t trying to pry just for the sake of gossip. I sighed and decided to give in for the last time. After all, it hadn’t been Alice who let me down. She didn’t deserve to be shut out completely just because Hunter turned out so horrible.

“It did,” I finally admitted.

“And now you hate him again,” Alice commented.

“I never hated him, Alice. But, yes, I’m back to disliking him. If it’s possible, it’s even worse than when I first met him.”

“Cass, what happened?”

I tensed up. I curled my hands into fists. I wanted to tell her not to call me “Cass,” but that was only because of what happened with Hunter.

“I was stupid and I let myself get carried away. I was blinded.”

“What?”

“For a moment, I thought maybe he was different. I thought maybe there was more to him than stupid jokes and laziness. He turned out not to be a slacker living off daddy’s money and the more we talked… I just thought…” My eyes looked to the ground as I drew in a breath.

“Oh, Cassie, you really started to fall for him, huh?”

I sighed and looked at Alice as I tried to stop a tear spilling out from the corner of my eye. I didn’t want to answer the question, not with words anyway. I didn’t want to admit out loud that I was stupid enough to fall for someone like him. And now I was paying the consequences for it.

“He may not be living off daddy’s money, but he certainly isn’t mature. He doesn’t take anything seriously. He isn’t all that different from what I thought.”

“Cass, your impression of him is all wrong. You have no idea.”

“No idea about what?”

Alice looked around to make sure no one else was listening and then leaned in to talk quietly, “I’m pretty sure someone who is a self-made millionaire and owns his own company has to take some things seriously. Someone without discipline, someone who is all about the fun, they won’t get things done. Being a self-made person like that isn’t some stroke of luck. It’s serious stuff to build and run and keep your own company. That’s responsibility. He has priorities he just… He doesn’t live his entire life based on them.”

I knew what she said made sense. I knew he had to have some sense of responsibility to be the self-made person he was, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I had from his general demeanor. It was like he never knew how to be serious.

“Even if that’s the case, he’s still immature. Everything is a big joke to him. And, I swear, it’s like Cal can get away with murder where Hunter is concerned.”

“It’s not like that, Cassie.”

“Oh? Then what is it like?”

“Cal is Hunter’s best friend, but it’s deeper than that. In Hunter’s eyes, Cal saved him. He owes Cal.”

“I know,” I said, looking to the ground.

“Hunter’s parents basically disowned him when he was a young teenager. It was bad. When Cal found out Hunter didn’t have a place to stay, he opened up the doors of his home. So now that Hunter had this billion-dollar idea, he feels like it’s his turn to take care of Cal. Has he told you anything about his past?”

“Yea, a little. How do you know all this?”

Alice shook her head, “Cal has a big mouth when he’s drunk. So, if you ever want something to remain a secret, he’s not the person to confide in.” I drew in a deep breath and let it out with a heavy sigh before Alice went on. “You have to do what you have to do Cassie. And if he’s not right for you, that’s okay. I would just hate for you to end it because you had the wrong idea of him.”

To some degree, I knew she was right. All I did was think the worst of him. Time after time he would do something sweet and nice to me, but I’d sweep it under the rug and focus on the immature qualities of him. I gulped and looked down at my shoes, feeling guilty. I didn’t want to focus on the feeling that I had messed everything up.

“It’s too late now anyway,” I said, more to myself than to Alice. “I, uh, I already have my train ticket to Denver to catch a plane back to North Carolina.”

Alice looked hurt. I knew she thought it wasn’t too late. It didn’t matter if the tickets were purchased, I could always go back and talk to Hunter. But I had already made my decision.

Alice didn’t say anything to encourage me to stay.

Instead, she just admitted, “I’ll miss you, Cass. I hope you come back to Vail to visit.”

“I will definitely keep in touch,” I smiled and looked around the coffee shop one last time.