Bad Behavior by Jennifer Lane

to respond to his friend later. Eyeing Grant and Sophie suspiciously, he commented, “Looks like you two had some make-up sex. Am I right?”
    Both adults narrowed their eyes at the teen, and Sophie told him, “That’s none of your business, punk.”

7. Contrition
    Evidently they’d not heard him approach from down the hallway. Hunter stood still for a moment at the entrance to the waiting room, observing the curiously detached fit of Sophie’s body against Grant’s torso. Though his arm around her appeared to be a loving gesture, something was off. Perhaps it was the stiffness of Sophie’s back, the whiteness of Grant’s fingertips curled around her shoulder, or way their eyes avoided each other, but this display of affection definitely conveyed more tension than togetherness.
    Filing away his observations, Hunter breezily announced, “Good to see you, Grant and Sophie.”
    They looked up at Hunter, who was instantly drawn to the icy blue of Grant’s tired gaze. The man looked utterly exhausted, yet he didn’t hesitate to spring to his feet and guide Sophie to a standing position as well. When Grant took her hand, Hunter caught an irritated tightness, which she quickly masked with a plastic smile.
    “We’re ready, Hunter,” she said.
    Hunter paused a second at her forced tone, then nodded, pointing toward his office.
    Once the couple had seated themselves on the sofa, with a sizeable distance between, Hunter told Grant, “I’m glad you came back.”
    Did I have a choice? Grant wished he could say. But instead he replied, “Thank you for not telling Officer Stone I left early last time, sir.”
    Hunter appeared surprised—he’d not even considered reporting Grant’s early departure to the parole officer. “It was only ten minutes or so. And I think I understand why you ran out of here—a bombshell had just been dropped on you.”
    Grant and Sophie both looked miserable at that comment.
    Chewing on his lip, Hunter inquired, “So, um, how have you two been doing since last week’s session?”
    “We made up,” Sophie offered.
    Hunter scrunched his forehead. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say, given their aloof body language. “Really?” Neither spoke, so he added, “How?”
    “Grant’s nephew, Ben, came to live with us—” Sophie began.
    “Sophie’s been really great with him,” Grant interjected.
    She smiled. “—which was a good distraction, I guess.”
    Hunter looked perplexed. “Grant’s nephew—that’s Logan’s son? He’s living with you now?”
    Grant nodded. “His mother’s had it up to here with him. I think it’s just for a little while.”
    Hunter took that in and said, “We’ll get to that later.” Turning to Sophie, he asked, “You mentioned that Ben was a distraction? A distraction from what, exactly?”
    Sophie’s smile faded. “Um, well, the night Ashley brought Ben over—it was kind of a tough night. But it’s better now.”
    “How was it a tough night?”
    Sophie paused and Grant squirmed.
    “I made Sophie cry,” he finally said.
    “You were upset?” Hunter asked Sophie. “What made you cry?”
    She seemed to have difficulty finding words. “I—I wasn’t feeling very good about myself.”
    “How were you feeling?”
    “It’s over now, Hunter, no need to rehash—”
    “Sophie, it’s a simple question: How were you feeling?” He appeared irritated by her evasiveness.
    Sophie took a deep breath, stealing a glance at Grant, who had turned away from her, seemingly lost in his own self-hatred. Meeting Hunter’s compassionate eyes, she thought back to that night and confessed, “Used. I felt used. And scared.”
    She was surprised by the words coming out of her mouth.
    Hunter tilted his head, wondering what had happened between them. “Used and scared? That sounds rather serious. Grant, do you have any idea why Sophie felt used and scared?”
    Grant closed his eyes, feeling a wave of remorse crash over him. He’d desperately