Page 42 of Hunter
My mouth was a breath away from hers when she closed her eyes. She gave me the consent I needed to burn down the bad in her world. I’d go to hell for her if it meant she got to live her best life. And I was ready to give it all to her.
I pressed our lips together, and it started to storm again. Lightning struck me in the same place as it did this morning when she kissed me, sending a bolt of electricity straight to my heart. The thunder was so loud in my head that it cracked the shell that hides my soul.
I tried to be as gentle as I could as I eased her sweet little mouth open before I tasted her tongue. She was sweet and salty - my all-time favorite combo. It was so, Ed.
She’s equal parts selfless and stubborn, and a hundred percent everything I didn’t know I wanted.
I tried like hell to convince myself that the feelings she was uncovering would be better off buried under a pile of resentment and hatred. So I forced myself to stay away. I blew her off and ended up blowing shit up anyway. And now all I wanna do is pick up the shattered pieces and rebuild.
She used to scare the shit outta me, and I did what I needed to do to make the fear go away. I tried to ignore her. I tried to hide how I felt. I tried not to care. And I failed miserably.
I almost lost her for good, along with my one chance to make it right, for both of us. And now here I was, feeling everything that I never thought I would feel for a girl that I didn’t deserve, but wanted to be a better man for. I’m not scared anymore. I’m not angry about it. I’m all in.
I twisted my tongue around hers, the intensity ramping up as she kissed me back. Fuck, I was bricked up. Every red blood cell pumping through my veins had her name on it. I’d never felt like this from a kiss alone, or from one girl. It’s why I always pick two. I don’t usually get this “excited.” But then again, I’ve never wanted someone in all the ways that I want her.
And fucking hell, do I want her. I was white knuckling the shelf above her head as I kissed her, painfully aware that I might spook her if I put my hands on her. It only made me hungrier. For the first time in my life, I was starving. Ravenous. Fuckingrabid. And not just for her pretty little body, but for her closed-off heart. I wanted it. I wanted her to feel for me what I felt for her.
All I wanted to do was make her mine in every way that I could. Here I was, with no relationship experience, no dating history, and a no-commitment policy, ready to take on the fucking big bad world to make her my girl. Everything had unexpectedly changed, and I wanted nothing to stay the same. I wanted this more than anything I’ve ever wanted before.
Surrounded by books full of human history and discovery, I kissed her in the stacks and reinvented myself right then and there. I time-stamped our beginning, and together, it felt like we started to write our own story the longer our kiss went on. She had me deep in my feelings, and I was starting to think this crazy girl could maybe be my happy ending.
When she pulled away from me, her cheeks were a pretty shade of pink, and her lips were stained red. I smiled down at her and ignored the footsteps that approached. It could have been the NHL Commissioner, and I wouldn’t have looked away from her. But she did.
She looked away, and at first, I thought I had just lost her attention to the noise that was getting closer and closer. But it was so much more than that.
This girl, who I’d seen around campus but didn’t know, wandered through the top of our aisle, gasped like the floor had turned to lava, and dropped the book she was carrying when she was five feet away from us.
But to Ed, this girl might as well have dropped a nuclear bomb. And it exploded in her face when she deadass looked at Edison Santos and called her Valentine Garcia.
VEINTIDOS
Corre,Edison, corre. Corre tan rápido como puedas. Run, Run, Run. Run as fast as you can. I keep myself calm by talking to myself, and right now, I’m screaming so loud in my head my ears are ringing.Corre, corre, corre.
Don’t stop. Don’t stop.But I have to, I can’t hold on any longer. I know I’m not far enough. I know I barely made it off of campus, but the weight of my bag and the heaviness of my past are too much for me to bear. Both are going to crush me, I just know it.
I’m starting to hyperventilate with every passing thought.No entiendo. I don’t understand.How is Payton Pierce here at Havenwood? Why? Of all the schools, of all the libraries, and of all the moments for her to find me. ¿Por qué, por qué, por qué?
My brain is too shocked to think straight, and I can’t make any sense out of my thoughts.What happened to Gabe? Did he get out? Who else? Do they know? Is he still with her? Why is she here?
I have so many questions and can’t find out the answers the hard way. I need to get to my computer. I need to find out as much as I can about her.
I’m out of breath, and outta time. My body can’t take any more, and I slow down while clutching my side.Oh, diosas, qué duele.Oh my goddesses, this hurts.
My muscles are tensing up, and my shins are burning. I can’t stand upright for another second, and feel my legs turn to jelly right before I collapse on the sidewalk of that street where all the athletes live.
I cover my head before my whole body crashes to the pavement. I slump over to my side, unhook my arms from the straps of my bag, and curl into myself.Ay, eso duele.Everything hurts, but I’m too numb to move. My arms and legs feel heavy, like they're full of cement.
I need to get up, but my body won’t work. It’s like my brain is so traumatized trying to process seeing Payton again and what this all means that it shuts the rest of me down. I feel trapped inside my head and try to scream, but nothing comes out.
No one can hear me, but I can hear them. Their voices are loud as the OG’s repeat one of their conduct codes,“They can’t snitch if they can’t talk.”If they thought you were a rat, they’d kill you. No questions asked, no judgment, just a bullet to the head.
Maybe it’s already happened, and I just don’t realize it yet. Maybe they already found me and killed me. Maybe I’m already dead and my spirit is trapped.Diosas, ayúdenme. Goddesses, help me.
The questions in my head are spinning around, and I feel physically seasick lying here on the ground.
“Wow, there, what happened? You okay?” A voice says from somewhere close by, and then I see that red-headed new kid come into focus. “I’m gonna get ya up now, hold on a second, darlin’,” he says. My whole body tenses when he grabs my shoulders to move me, and it breaks whatever catatonic state I was just in.
“I’m not gonna hurt ya, I just need you to sit up so I can make sure you’re not bleedin’ anywhere, you hit your head or anything? Did ya faint or trip?”
