Page 47 of Hunted
My mind races for what feels like hours, wondering about what life will look like now, if everything will look different in my hometown, if I’ll have a hard time eating rich food and cold drinks forever.
Gingerly, I roll onto my good side, facing Reece’s direction, as I try to get comfortable. I dig my fingers into the firm mattress and realize I’m missing Steve.Oh no!He got left back on the island. My handtrembles, realizing I’ll never see him again. But I can’t be ungrateful that the guys got me here as fast as possible. I’m sure their quick actions saved my life.
It doesn’t mean I don’t feel the loss, though. My mind wanders to everything else I won’t see again. Kevin, my least favorite palm tree, Bob the seagull, even if he was an ass. All the stuff I’d made over the years. McStabby and… I gasp, my hands flying up to cover my mouth, so I don’t wake anyone.
Mo-Mo.
Have could I have forgotten about Mo-Mo? I didn’t even get to say goodbye. He’ll be so worried. I’m unable to stop the tears this time, as a pained whimper leaves my lips. I bury my face in my pillow, trying to muffle my sounds as I think about my little buddy.
Something touches my head, and I flinch back, my eyes meeting Reece’s deep brown ones, filled with concern. He strokes my hair back from my face as he whispers, “What’s wrong, darling? Are you in pain?”
“Mo-Mo,” I whisper through my shuddering breath. His eyes turn understanding as he strokes his hand down the back of my head.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“H-he’s gonna be s-so worried,” I stutter out as I sniffle.
He manages to grab a tissue from somewhere and helps me blow my nose. “Can you move back a bit? I need to hold you right now.”
I don’t even question it as I slowly move backwards, making room for him. When we were younger, he would always hold me when I was upset. He quickly climbs in the bed in front of me and wraps his arms around me, careful to avoid my side. One hand holds my head against his chest as I continue to sniffle, thoughts of Mo-Mo plaguing me.
“He’ll be okay, darling. He’s the smartest animal I’ve ever met. He was probably even watching the whole time and saw you leave.”
Of course, there’s no way to know if that’s true, but I want to believe him. Ineedto believe him. I squeeze my eyes shut tight as I try to think about anything else, but it doesn’t work.
Soon I realize Reece is whispering something, so I tune into what he’s saying.
“...with french fries and ketchup. For breakfast there're pancakes. I know they were always your favorite. But you also have eggs, waffles, french toast, crepes… hmm what else? I know, the internet! I bet you’ve missed that. There will be a lot of viral videos you’ll want to catch up on. I bet you’ll love all the lovey dovey shows on Netflix now, too. You used to love stuff like that. We’ll have to get you a new onesie. Your last one was a unicorn. Do you want the same one again, or something new this time? Hmm… that gives me an idea.”
He moves, and I hear him clicking away on his phone as he continues talking about random things I can do now I’m off the island. Eventually, the soft murmuring of his voice lulls me to sleep.
Chapter fourteen
Darla
“This is it,” Reece says as we pull up to a large modern home. But with the beautiful wood accents and surrounding trees, it reminds me more of a treehouse. Like my hut on steroids.
“This is where we’re staying?” I ask in awe. “Who else lives here?”
He chuckles, parking the van and spinning to face me. “It’s just us, Darla.”
“Sweet baby houses!” My wide eyes turn back to the beautiful home as the others start to climb out. Bower undoes my seatbelt, as I’m still staring, then gently lifts me out and carries me to the front door, Reece and Kingsley leading the way.
The car ride here had been a little stressful. Luckily, Madagascar was not a busy place, but it makes me nervous to think about being in a car on the busy streets of San Francisco again.
Reece unlocks the door by pressing a series of buttons on the handle, then pushes it wide open. He steps to the side as Kingsley walks in next, moving to the other side, giving me a full view of our home for the next two weeks.
I expect to see walls and a closed off space, but I inhale sharply when my direct line of sight is, “The ocean!” I exclaim in surprise.
Bower keeps walking us towards the back of the home, which is almost entirely made up of floor-to-ceiling windows, giving us an unobstructed view of the vast blue water.
Reece moves ahead of us, sliding open what I had thought was just another window, but turns out to be a large patio door. Bower steps out onto a large wooden deck with a clear material used as railings, so you can see everything. The deck stretches along the entire back of the house and has a variety of chairs and tables. It looks like we can even eat out here.
Beyond the deck is a thick line of trees, looking very similar to my jungle. There’s a wide cleared path that moves through them from the house to the beach. As the sound of the waves crashing against the shore reaches my ears, I close my eyes and inhale deeply, letting the sound and smell of the ocean relax me.
“Do you like it?” Bower asks nervously. I open my eyes and see the other three standing close, watching me with varying degrees of worry on their faces.
Wanting to ease their minds, I give them a huge smile. “It’s perfect.”
