Holding On

Chapter 19 - We Match

Courtney's POV

It got quiet in the house when John and Alex left. I looked around, bringing my hands up to rub my arms. I didn't really know what else to do while I was alone since I had cleaned down here and my room was clean. Even though I hadn't heard anything from upstairs, I knew Hunter was still up there, and I wondered what he was thinking.

Going to the stairs, I placed my hand on the rail, gripping it for a moment as I looked up. I still couldn't hear anything. I decided to go check on him and make sure everything was alright. I tried to keep my footsteps light as I walked up the stairs, soon coming to stand in front of his door.

I paused for a moment as I stood there. The door was shut, but I didn't even hear any muffled noise from inside the room. It was almost as if he wasn't even home. Hoping I wasn't about to wake him up from sleeping, I pushed some loose strands of hair behind my ear and lifted my hand. I knocked gently on the wood twice before speaking. "Hunter?" I shifted my weight, bit my bottom lip, and my hands clasped together nervously in front of my stomach. "May I come in?"

A few minutes passed of more silence and I began to think that he was ignoring me and that I should leave him alone. But before I could turn to leave, I heard the shuffle of footsteps behind the door. They came closer and then the door opened up. Now I stood looking up at the man I had fought to stay with. "Hey," he murmured softly as he looked down at me.

I gave a small smile as I took in his appearance. His forest green eyes were darker than normal, and his gaze seemed to be wounded. It made my heart ache a bit to see any form of hurt in his gaze. "Hey," I said softly. "Are you okay?" I had to agree with Alex and John here. I didn't want to give him up. I wanted to be with him, stay here, but only if he would still have me.

His expression didn't change, nor did his gaze. Not even the smirk that I had grown used to seeing appeared. "I think I should be asking you that, not the other way around," he murmured. He shifted to the side and motioned for me to come in.

I gingerly stepped through the doorway and he went over to the edge of the bed. Sitting down, he let out a soft sigh. "I was just planning to, uh, remove my stitches," he said, though his gaze was no longer on me. I nodded, though I knew that he didn't see it, and I went over to the bed, sitting down next to him.

Silence took over for a moment as we both sat side by side, but he was the one who broke the silence first. "You can go you know," he said softly, almost in a whisper. "I mean, back home. You can get on with a new life. I won't stop you." He paused for a moment before adding, "You deserve a new start after all this crazy crap."

Hearing these words, I could only shake my head for a moment. No, you don't get it. I sighed softly and then looked over at him, though he still wasn't looking at me. "Hunter, I would have left at the mall if I didn't want to stay," I said gently as I looked down at my folded hand in my lap. "I would've been gone by now if I really wanted a new life out there."

I paused and my bangs fell into my face, but I didn't bother to move them away. Why should I when he wasn't even looking at me? "Today, I saw the way Daniel really was when he was angry, and I was reminded of many things about him. However, I also saw you and how ready you were to jump at it all for my sake." I bit my lip slightly, but decided it was probably best if he knew now what I had been told. "I also know how much you were willing to risk by being the only one to go to jail."

At this, his head snapped up and his gaze was on me now. "How did you..." He paused as the realization seemed to hit him. He let out a rough sigh and grabbed the bridge of his nose. "Alex," he moaned, shaking his head. "The little weasel needs to learn to keep his freaking mouth shut." He seemed to be saying this to no one in particular.