Hunter: Cursed

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Home.

Nothing had changed, I don't know why I had expected it to. Clearly not having the same uneasy feelings at returning, Alfie shot forward and the door banged closed behind him. I could Mum and Dad talking from the kitchen, their voices a soft echo down the corridor, which changed as Alfie barged on in. With a sigh, I opened the door for Annipe and the pair of us went in too.

Dad's hands were wet and bubbles stuck to his wrists, before he quickly wiped them on the tea towel. Mum was hugging Alfie and Annipe moved to angle between them, pushing her way in.

"Elise, you're back?" Dad asked hesitantly.

"I am." Abandoning the snakes, Mum practically tackled me in a hug. "Hello to you too."

"I've been so worried!" She sobbed.

"You have?"

She stepped back and left her hands on my shoulders, looking me over from head to toe. "Something is different, but I can't tell what it is."

"It's been a few days since you saw me, that's all." I smiled, hoping it didn't look creepy.

"No, that's not it." She let me go and glanced over at Dad who simply shrugged. "Where's Logan?"

I stopped smiling. "He's ah, well, we, he's gone."

"Gone? You mean he's-"

"No. No Mum. He's fine, alive and well. We just won't be seeing him around here anymore."

"You broke up?" She asked, like it was really that hard to understand.

"It's better this way. He wasn't who I thought he was and this, trip, showed me that."

Dad came over and pulled me in for another hug. "We're not stupid Elise. We know something else is going on and when you're ready, you can tell us all about it. We're just glad to have you home safe. Cup of tea?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak just yet.

"Hungry love?" Mum asked, moving to the fridge. I nodded again and she pulled out a plate of leftover pizza. "Jordan missed dinner tonight. His loss is your gain."

Sitting at the dining table, I let them fuss. As it got later, Alfie and Anni took off to the river just as Jordan and Chris came home and all I got was a wave, a quick hello and my hair ruffled by Jordan as he passed. The pair settled in front of the TV and as our parents went to bed, I joined the guys; climbing into the middle of the sofa.

"You seem, different." Chris pointed out a few minutes later.

"Yeah. And you're being rather quiet." Jordan agreed, poking my arm. "Logan okay?"

"He's fine. We broke up."

"Oh." They say in unison.

"It's fine."

We watched the TV in a comfortable silence, occasionally pointing out the ridiculousness of the badly choreographed fight scenes, and the low point of eighties fashion until one by one we fell asleep. Unfortunately it didn't last and leaving them alone, I got up and went outside. It was cold; a light frost covered the grass and glancing up the sky, the stars had vanished. Dawn wasn't too far away, so with the intention of finding Alfie and Annipe, I started to walk in the direction of the river, and then just kept going. The sun was starting to appear on the horizon when I finally stopped at a road. Acres of forest and academy lands were behind me and going to the middle of the road, I started to run. There were no cars; most people wouldn't be up at this hour and the chances of someone coming along here was highly unlikely. Each step was a realization, and the tears I'd been avoiding finally took hold.