Chamuel – the archangel of peaceful relationships
My life for the following months had been pure bliss. I was not exactly invisible to the people in school because Hunter was always beside me. And he was definitely not invisible—especially to the girls. I knew they still couldn’t believe that I could score a guy like Hunter. I didn’t care what they thought. As long as they kept their thoughts—especially their limbs—to themselves and leave us the hell alone.
Hunter never missed picking me up in the morning and driving me back from school every night. He was a way better guardian angel than Chaise ever was.
It took a good twenty-four hours for Denise to recover from her shock when Hunter and I showed up in their house, holding hands. We finally explained to her how we first met at CRC when Hunter was still blind and how we fell in love.
“She was the reason why I agreed for a transplant. I love her. And I wanted to be the boyfriend that she deserved. A boyfriend who would live for her, die for her, protect her until his very last breath,” Hunter said.
Denise blinked back at him and said, “You have to be freaking kidding me! Who are you?”
“Give it up, cuz. I am sweet and romantic. But only Allison can bring it out.”
“Yeah, otherwise, you’re a heartless douchebag!”
“Be careful, Denise. That’s my boyfriend you’re referring to,” I teased her.
She groaned. “How could this happen to me? My best friend and my cousin! Ewww!”
“Oh, grow up. I met her first,” Hunter quipped. “Besides, we’re not too thrilled about your relationship either.”
Her eyes widened at him. Then she turned to me. “You told him?”
I shook my head. “I would never.”
“She didn’t tell me,” Hunter was quick to say in my defense. “Just remember, Denise. Just because you think nobody’s looking, doesn’t mean no one is. You’re on my radar. Always.”
“Seriously, Hunter?”
“It’s none of my business,” he told her. “But I hope you get out of that infatuation quickly. Buckley is bad news.”
Denise glared at him and for a while I thought they were going to fight. Then Denise sat back on the couch. “You didn’t have to tell me. We’re done.”
“Oh my God, Denise. Are you okay?” I asked, sitting beside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“I’m okay. It kinda felt good that I didn’t have to hide anymore. Arthur’s no fun. He doesn’t get me.”
“What do you expect? He’s a generation older than you,” Hunter muttered.
I widened my eyes at him, warning him not to make it any worse.
“He’s only a couple of years older,” Denise argued. “But anyway, we’re through.”
“Are you okay? I mean… are you upset about it?”
She shrugged. “I’m actually surprised I wasn’t as upset as I thought I would be. I’m… okay.”
“Good. But… I’m here, if you ever want to talk.” I gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
“I know. But really, I’m okay.” She smiled back at me. “Wait, tell me more about Chaise.”
I stared back at Hunter. He sighed and then he told Denise everything that Chaise did.
“Holy crap!” Denise cursed. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“Me too,” I said.
“Would you ever forgive him?”
I shook my head. “I really don’t know.”
“The things we do for love, huh,” Denise breathed, looking thoughtfully into space.
I looked at Hunter and he smiled back at me.
“Yeah,” he said in a gentle tone. “The things we do indeed.” He gave me a wink.
“Except that I don’t think I was in love with Arthur in the first place,” Denise said thoughtfully.
“No,” I agreed. “I didn’t think you were.” I gave her an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry. You’ll find love soon enough. And it will be much more special than what you had with Arthur.”
It is true. Love happens when you least expect it to. It happens in the most wonderful ways and to the least likely people. Even when Hunter was blind, and he thought he would be a burden to the person he was with, I still fell in love with him. Even when I thought my scars made me look ugly and monstrous and no one would even like me, Hunter saw the real me and thought I was beautiful enough to like, protect and love.
Graduation was just around the corner and I was anxious to receive acceptance letters from the universities I applied to.
Soon after that, I received one of the best news of my life. I got in to MIT and also received financial aid. Meredith was quite relieved and happy. She really wanted the best for me because she thought I was brilliant and deserved good things in life, but she was afraid she could not afford to send me to a good university.
Before I got the news of my acceptance at MIT, Hunter and I were having arguments about my university options. He offered to lend me money to pay for my tuition, but I refused to let him help me financially. He was already taking care of me in many ways. But I cannot receive any financial favors from him. I made it clear to him that I wanted to be successful in life because I worked hard for it. Not because I had a rich boyfriend, who was always looking out for me.
Hunter also chose to go to MIT, while Denise chose to go to Harvard. We all planned to share a three-bedroom apartment in Cambridge. I intended to find a job to pay for my share of the rent. I knew Hunter already had some ideas in his head but there was no way I would allow him to make me live in that apartment rent-free.
Soon enough, high school was over. I exited Leighton High with flying colors. I stood in front of hundreds of Leighton High senior students with my chin up as I delivered my valedictory speech. When I finished, everybody stood up and cheered—including Chelsea Braxton and Don Winston.
Today, a week before Hunter, Denise and I set off to Cambridge, Hunter asked me to spend the weekend with him in his lake house. Meredith didn’t object. But before I went out of the house, she called, “Have fun. And be safe.”
I know what she meant. But she didn’t sound too concerned because she knew that Hunter and I were both adults now, and we were both responsible. And during our many dinners with her, Hunter always dropped hints that he intended to marry at a very young age. I also showed her my gorgeous promise ring and told her what that ring meant to Hunter and me.
I was sitting on the passenger seat of Hunter’s Escalade as we drove to his lake house. He reached out for my hand and brought it to his lips.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. He must have sensed that I was uneasy, but he didn’t say anything.
The truth is, I was nervous as hell, I was on the brink of asking him to turn back the car. True, we’ve been left alone before in the lake house, and Hunter had spent many nights on the couch of our house whenever Meredith had an overnight shift. But still, this weekend at the lake house felt different. For this trip, I didn’t know what to expect. But God knows I’m ready. And I do not want to share myself with anyone else but Hunter.
We parked in front of the beautiful white house. I could see that the lights inside were on.
“Does somebody stay here?”
Hunter rounded the car to open the door for me. “No,” he replied. “But I have help coming here to keep it tidy. Today, I asked them to prepare the house.” He pulled me for chaste kiss on the lips. “I have an important guest coming.”
I couldn’t help the butterflies in my stomach from going wild. I turned away from Hunter to take deep breaths without him noticing.
He took our bags from the backseat of his Escalade. Then he took my hand in his and pulled me towards the house. Although the house was lit, it was empty. I realized that we were completely alone.
“Your house is beautiful,” I breathed as I looked at the interior. It has changed a lot since the last time I was here. It seemed Hunter spent some time decorating it.
“Well, the last time, I didn’t get it fixed yet. I didn’t feel like fixing anything. My heart was a whack. Decorating didn’t come at the top of my priorities then.”
But now, I noticed that he had a new chandelier. There were paintings on the wall, and his couch and coffee table also looked brand new.
“Come. I’ll show you the rooms,” he said.
He took my hand in his and pulled me up towards the glass stairs. Hunter led me to the room at the end of the corridor. I remember before, Denise said she’d seen all the rooms in the house except for one—Hunter’s bedroom.
Hunter opened the door that led to a massive bedroom. The main furniture there was a king size four-poster canopy bed with white curtains around it. It has a fireplace in the center, with a white rug in front of it.
Above the fireplace was a painting of a girl. She had dark hair tied in a fishtail braid. Her face was turned sideways, showing a faint scar on her cheek. I had to blink back because the girl in the painting looked like me.
I turned back to Hunter, raising a brow at him, but my tongue felt frozen.
He smiled at me sheepishly. He pulled me to him, snaking his arm around my waist, then spinning me around so we were both facing the painting.
“I painted that after my first day at Leighton High,” he explained. “Do you like it?”
“Hunter… this is beautiful. I mean, your painting is beautiful. You have some skill.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “It’s a hobby.”
“Are you kidding me? You could make a living out of this.” I turned around to face him. “I mean… if you’re not already super rich and multi-talented.”
“Well, I’ll keep that for future reference,” he leaned forward and kissed me. I could feel a lot of emotions in that kiss. He pulled me closer to him as he deepened the kiss. My heart was beating loudly inside my ribcage.
Hunter and I have been kissing for a couple of months now but every time his lips were on mine, my mind still went blank and I felt lost without any hope of being found but I didn’t care at all. I loved being in Hunter’s arms, where I didn’t have to care where I was in the universe or in time. I felt safe… protected… loved.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you, angel,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.”
He kissed my forehead and then he pulled away. He pointed towards the left corner of the room. “The bathroom’s there, if you want to change clothes. I’ll be downstairs, preparing our dinner.”
“I’m… I’m staying here?”
He raised a brow at me, like I spoke a different language. Then he replied, “We’re staying here.”
I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Hunter took a step forward and pulled me into his arms. He studied my face for a moment. I was afraid that my cheeks were crimson red, and he could see right through me.