Hunter looked into my eyes for a moment and then he gave me a crooked smile. “That,” he said. “That smile. I went through hell and back just to see that smile.”
Tears welled up in my eyes again and I let out a small laugh. Tears of joy ran down my cheeks and Hunter reached forward and wiped them with his fingers.
“I didn’t tell you how I really feel about you yet, although you already know it,” he said in a voice enveloped with so many affections I couldn’t even begin to name. “Now, I can say those words to you and see your face, your reaction.”
I bit my lip and waited for him to say what I longed to hear since the day he left for his operation.
“I love you, Allison Harley,” he said. “Before you came, I never even believed that love like this could exist. Love that could change you, make you do things… make you hope for a miracle, risk everything… make you forget who you are… make you believe that in spite of all the pains you have been through and everything you lost, life is still worth living for, still worth smiling about, still worth fighting for. When I thought I was thrown to hell… you made me hold on to a little piece of heaven… and gave me a reason to stand up… breathe again, live again… and be happy again.”
I was smiling and crying at the same time as I took in the words he said to me. I wanted to freeze that moment for eternity. I wanted to memorize each word, each line and repeat them before I slept every night.
I struggled to find my voice. I took a deep breath and then I said, “My life seemed like… a series of tragedies… a full season of horror series and scary movies. Apart from Meredith, my parents left me with nightmares that made me scream at nights… avoid sleep whenever I could. I was smiling through all the gossips and looks of sympathy. I was trying to stay calm, grounded and sane… I was trying to look okay, to appear strong in front of people who say they understood but really didn’t.
“Then you came… you didn’t try to make me feel okay. You didn’t tell me to be strong and tough. Instead, you made me feel that it was okay to be weak. Because I wasn’t alone… I wasn’t the only one in pain. I wasn’t the only one struggling to live one day at a time.
“When I met you, I felt what it was like to be myself again. And because of that, I found a way to mend my broken soul… I found a way to accept what happened to me and then live my life again.”
I looked up into Hunter’s eyes. I smiled at him gently. “You were the only one who chased my nightmares away. Even when you couldn’t see… I felt that you were the only one who really saw me… the me that I keep beneath the tough shell and fake smiles. When I thought I was stuck in that little corner in hell, you pulled me out, rescued me and made me believe that angels walk the earth… wingless and beautiful in their human form.” I took a deep breath. I could hear my heart pounding loudly inside my ribcage. “I love you too, Hunter Vaughn. I will thank God every day for giving you to me… my guardian angel.”
Hunter’s eyes were teary too. He reached forward and wiped my tears again. And then he cupped my face between his palms and gently pulled me to him. He leaned forward and slowly closed the distance between us. Before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “I love you, angel.” And then he kissed me… with all the words he couldn’t say and with all the love he felt in his heart. I kissed him back, with all the love I could give him in return.
After the kiss, he pulled me into his arms and enclosed me in a tight embrace.
“I love you,” he whispered again.
I giggled in spite of my tears, “I love you, too.”
Hunter bent down and lifted me off my feet. He took a few steps towards the bench and sat on it with me on his lap. I rested my head against his shoulder. I felt him inhale through my hair, like the way he did before he left.
We stayed there for a while, watching the fireflies illuminate the garden around us, basking in that perfect moment when we finally found our way back to each other’s arms, knowing this time, nothing could keep us apart and our love was stronger than it was before.
“Hunter…”
“Yes, angel?”
“When you were blind, you touched my face often so you could imagine what I looked like. When you finally saw me… saw my scars… what were your first thoughts of me?”
He tightened his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I realized that my imagination wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it was. Because you were far more beautiful than I ever imagined you would be. No wonder Anderson did whatever he could to steal you away from me.” He reached forward and touched my scar again. “They weren’t as bad as you made me imagine they were,” he whispered. “You lied when you said you looked horrendous. You are nothing short of beautiful, angel. I’m glad I decided to go through my procedure. This face is worth seeing, worth looking at…” He leaned forward and kissed my lips gently. “Worth remembering.”
I sighed contentedly as I leaned my head against his shoulder again. “All throughout this time, I thought you were abhorred by the fact that you fell in love with me when you couldn’t see what I really looked like. I thought you hated me.”
“I hated the fact that it wasn’t me walking beside you, making you smile, hearing you laugh… protecting you and taking care of you. And I wanted to cripple Anderson.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “Because if he didn’t steal a kiss from you, then I would have been the only guy who got to kiss you.”
I giggled. “Chaise stole a kiss from me. I didn’t give it away willingly. There’s a difference. So let’s just say, you’re still the only guy I ever allowed to kiss me.”
When I looked up at Hunter, he had a gleam in his eyes and a smug grin on his face. “Good. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” He leaned forward and kissed me again… lovingly… thoroughly.
After the kiss, I leaned against his shoulder, caressing his hand with my fingers. I could feel his knuckles. They were rough, like they were covered with cuts and scratches.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“This is nothing,” he replied.
I gently pulled away from him, looking at him sternly. “Hunter.”
He sighed. He took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.
“Let’s just say, I gave somebody, some well-deserved lesson.”
I raised a brow at him. I remembered that Chaise’s face looked pretty badly beaten up. I connected the dots. “You mean to say, you beat the hell out of Chaise for what he did to us?”
He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder. “Don’t be mad,” he whispered.
“Well, I can’t say he didn’t deserve that.”
“He was gonna board the plane, leaving the diary here for you to find, not even tell you what he did.”
“You made him tell me in person.”
“You deserved nothing less.”
“Thank you.”
Hunter leaned forward and kissed me gently. Suddenly, my phone rang, interrupting our moment. It was Denise.
“Hey!” she greeted. “Did you hear? Chaise went back to Germany. And it sounded like he will finish school there. He’s not coming back.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”
There was a pause on the other line. “You’re okay?”
“Yes. We talked. He confessed something. I don’t know if I could ever forgive him.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you everything later. Right now, I’m just enjoying my date.”
“Date? What date? And with whom?”
I saw Hunter’s lips curve into a smile.
Shit!
Denise was another person I needed to come clean to. I would do that soon.
“My ex-boyfriend,” I replied.
There was silence on the other line. Hunter raised a brow at me, clearly saying that he wasn’t happy about the title I just gave him.
“I mean… well… I think he is my boyfriend again,” I said, correcting myself.
Hunter finally grinned again. He leaned forward and I felt his lips on my scars, leaving a trail of kisses down to my neck and I fought for breath as I felt all my nerves come back to life.
“H?” Denise asked.
“Yes,” I replied weakly when I felt Hunter’s nose at the base of neck.
“He’s back in town?”
“Yes. For a while now.” I struggled to push Hunter away. With the things he was doing to me, I found it quite hard to breathe, let alone think straight.
“So what took him so long to go after you?” There was accusation in her voice.
I sighed. “Chaise.”
“Oh. You mean, he thought you and Chaise were more than friendly so he kept his distance?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Oh, well. I hope I get to meet him soon. I’m dying to meet the guy who made the great Allison Harley fall head over heels in love, she could not open up her heart to another guy, even if it was somebody as hot as Chaise.”
I saw Hunter grin at that. Denise’s voice was so loud Hunter could hear her every word. I couldn’t help the blush on my face and I was quite thankful that it was dark in our garden.
“Actually, Denise… you already met him,” I said.
“What?” She sounded really confused. “Met him? Where?”
I took a deep breath and asked, “How many guys do you know whose names begin with an H?”
There was silence on the other line and it seemed like she was thinking. Then she said, “Actually, I can’t think of a guy I know whose name starts with an H, that you could have…” She paused and then she wailed, “Nooo!!!”
With that, Hunter took the phone from me and said, “Stop interrupting my date, cuz. Tell your mom I would be home late. Talk to you later.” And he hung up on her.
I groaned. “She is so going to kill me!”
He laughed. “She’s been trying to do that to me for the last seventeen years but so far she hasn’t succeeded yet. Don’t worry. She’s not very good with assassination plots.”
I laughed and then I rested my head on his shoulder again. After a minute, my phone beeped.
It was Denise: Seriously, Alice? Hunter?
I smiled. Hunter took my phone from me and typed a message: Seriously, Cuz. Me. – H
Denise: You two have some serious explaining to do. I wanna kill both of you!
Hunter chuckled.
“You’re not going to reply for me?”
He shook his head. “You’re on your own now.” He winked.
I pinched him on the side and he let out a yelp. Then he tightened his arms around me and kissed my cheek.
I typed something on my phone for Denise: Okay, I will explain everything later. Don’t call on a hit just yet. – Alice
I stared up at Hunter. He leaned down to kiss my lips.
“Hunter, you had a fight with Don Winston once. You just punched him. Why?”
His face turned sober. Then he took a deep breath and kissed my forehead. “I was not in a good mood. You were looking cozy with Anderson. I sat with Winston and his friends because they asked me to. I overheard them talking about you and how Winston poured ketchup all over you, which made you lose your job. He bragged about saying something… scandalous to you, that’s why you lost your calm and slapped him on the face. But he was able to turn that against you and you got the wrong end of the deal instead. I couldn’t help it. He deserved more than one punch if you ask me.”
“You… did that for me?”
“No one could hurt you and get away with it,” he said. “Not under my watch.”
I was touched with his revelation. I didn’t know, that even when he thought I was with somebody else, he still protected me and defended me from those who wanted to hurt me.
“I’m a magnet for trouble, Hunter,” I said wearily. “You can’t get into a fight every time because of me.”
“What’s the point of having a boyfriend, if he can’t protect you? Avenge your honor?” he asked with a grin.
“But having a helpless girlfriend is toxic for you. You can’t always take that risk for me.”
“Why not?” he asked evenly. “And you’re not helpless. I bet your power slap left an impression on Winston’s cheek.”
“But that’s not enough. I hope I could do something more.”
“Okay. If you really want to learn to kick some ass, I can teach you.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said. “I have to learn how to defend myself. At the end of the day, words and pranks are nothing. Sticks and stones won’t break me. But losing you would. So slow down on always risking your head for me.”
He smiled at me and kissed my forehead again. “I’m not as fragile as you think I am, angel.”
“I know.” I shook my head. “But please… stop tempting fate just because of me. You can pick me up and drive me home every day, but please… no more fights. Now that you could see again… let’s not push your luck, okay?”
He looked at me for a moment and then reluctantly, he nodded. I smiled and then I reached up to kiss his lips. Then I leaned my head on his shoulder and we both watched the fireflies dancing around us.
“Hunter, what’s the deal with Tania?” I asked. “I saw you fighting that night of the concert.”
“Tania is not our problem anymore. That night, I told her frankly to stop hoping there will ever be a future for us. I told her about you.”
“She must be pissed, huh.”
“Yeah, she was. She left town and went straight to my father.”
My eyes widened as I stared back at him, in panic. The last thing I wanted was to cause problems between Hunter and his father.
Hunter gave me a reassuring smile. He reached forward and pinched my nose lightly. “Don’t worry about that. My father and I are starting to mend our broken relationship. And he felt indebted to you.”
“To me?”
He nodded. “Because of you, I found the will to go through with the transplant. My father was thankful for that.”
I smiled back at him. “That’s why you should take it easy okay?”
“I’ll try,” he promised.
“Try really hard,” I said. “If not for you, then for me.”
He nodded then he pulled me towards him, placing a kiss on my forehead again.
“Okay. For you.”
“Did you hear me at the concert?” I asked.
His arms tightened around me. “Of course, I did,” he replied. “I was so proud. You played that song really well.”
“I played for you, you know. I was tired of getting ignored by you. I thought when you heard me, you would remember me from a time in your past.”
He inhaled through my hair again. I felt him heave a sigh. “I never forgot. I punched a tree after I left the concert grounds.”
“Why?”
“Anderson. It should have been me walking beside you. It should have been me giving you a rose on that stage. I should have been there beside you.”
“I don’t know if I could ever forgive him,” I whispered.
“I don’t think I ever will,” he muttered. “Not for endangering you like that.”
I leaned back against Hunter’s chest. The more I savored the feeling of my body molding against his in a comfortable cuddle, the angrier I got with Chaise, thinking, Hunter and I could have been doing this all along.