The Hunted

Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, gang! I love hearing what you thought. 

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"You've got a GED, huh?" Edward asked as we began our drive down to Washington.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, casting a glance at him and reflecting on what Alice had told me about the Cullen "kids" going to school. I was willing to bet Edward had more than one diploma and probably a few Bachelor's degrees as well.

"Nope, I just assumed school wasn't your thing."

I let out a snort. He had no idea how right he was. "I hated going to school mainly because we never stayed anywhere long enough for me to make friends. Well, that and I was crap at it. Alice, on the other hand, thrived no matter what school we were in. She made friends so easily, but then she'd have a hard time letting them go."

"Why did you move so much?"

I shot a glance his way and found him staring at me. He seemed genuinely interested. I rarely talked about my childhood with anyone except Alice because very few people would be able to relate. That and a majority of people didn't know that vampires existed. I would just lie and tell people my dad was a construction worker when asked what he did for a living and why we moved around so much.

"As I'm sure you recall, my mother was murdered by the Volturi. Dad changed after that. His father and grandfather had been hunters, but they'd both tried to keep Dad out of the life. After Mom died, Dad demanded answers and began hunting. Sometimes, Alice and I would stay with relatives or friends of Dad's, but most of the time, we went with him. We lived in cheap motels, mainly ate take out, and attended school occasionally."

Edward reached over and gave my thigh a gentle squeeze. "Sounds rough."

"Yeah, it was at times, but it was my life. I got used to it. Hell, it got to the point that I'd grow antsy if we stayed in one place too long. Alice hated it. She hated the constant moving and starting over. So when she graduated from high school, she applied to college, despite Dad's protests. He wanted her to join the family business, but Alice—she wasn't made for hunting vamps," I told him. "She and Dad had a huge fight, and she walked out. She went to college, and I took up hunting with and without Dad. At nineteen, Dad gave me my first solo hunt. It was easy enough and proved to him I could do the job."

"You sound almost bitter," he commented quietly.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm tired of hunting all the time, but what else am I going to do? Work at a fast food joint? I don't have a college degree, I've got no real skills, and hunting is the only thing I know. So, it's what I do. Maybe I'll take a break after we get Victoria."

"And what will you do on this break?"

"Drink? Hell, I don't know," I said with a weary sigh. "The last break I took was after Alice's change, and I spent a week at Jensen's place, drinking and trying to be normal. By the way, I don't do normal really well."

"Normal's boring," Edward said with a grin. He might be right.