Waiting For You

Chapter Seven

"I'll make up for all the years I was supposed to be kissing you."

~Leo Christopher

Hunter 

"She killed herself...?" Alex repeated, looking rather pale. Slowly, he came and sat down next to me.

"She... she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was a teenager. And she used to cut herself. After Aurora was born -when I was ten- she stopped cutting, but she couldn't help it and one night when Aurora was four..." my voice cracked and I took my eyes from him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he replied and wrapped an arm around me. I shook my head, disagreeing. He needed to know.

"I was with my father in the living room playing a video game. Aurora was long asleep, but she woke up because she needed to go to the bathroom. The bathroom door was locked and so my father knocked, thinking my mother was showering. After she didn't reply to his voice, he tried to talk to her through their bond. But nothing came," I had started to shake and tears threatened my eyes. "I held Auro as my father broke the door down... I didn't let her see it. But I saw it. I saw her in the bathtub, motionless, lying in her own blood".

A tear ran down my cheek and Alex pulled me to him. I had long ago stopped crying about that night with sobs. Silent tears now fell, making me feel numb inside. Alex was whispering something to me, but I couldn't hear it.

"I was never angry with her. I guess that's the sad part. I was angry with myself. I was angry for not being able to help her," I continued, my voice a murmur.

"Hunt, you were barely a teenager. No one should deal with suicide at the age of fourteen. Let alone blame themselves for it," Alex said.

"I get that now," I muttered to his chest. After a few moments of silence, I pulled back and wiped away the tears that had streaked down my face. "Damn, that set the mood," I joked and laughed. Alex gave me a half-smile, sadness still in his expression. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't tell you this so you could pity me. I told you... I told you because you are important to me. And so was my mother".

The sadness disappeared and he kicked his shoes off. I watched him with one eyebrow raised, as he climbed on my bed and lay down on his side. His eyes were still on me and he patted the space next to him. I blinked surprised -was this the same guy that minutes ago was a mumbling mess before my father? - but I didn't disagree, and l lay down opposite of him. His eyes drifted from me to behind me.

"You know, you look like her," he said with a lazy smile.

"Yeah, I happen to share her DNA," I replied playfully.

"Oh, don't be a smartass," he scolded me. We were so close to each other that our noses almost touched. Silence fell and both our eyes drifted to each other's lips.

"Hold up. Don't move. Close your eyes," I exclaimed making his eyebrows fly up. He smiled but he closed his eyes without a second word. I sat up and reached behind me on my desk. I picked out a pencil and started sketching Alex's face right above my short, headboard.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Don't move!" I yelled. "I'm almost done". Reaching over my desk again I pulled out a permanent marker and drew over the lines I had already sketched. I gave one more look at Alex and my portrait and I smiled to myself. "Okay, open your eyes". Almost as if afraid, he opened his eyes and looked up to me. Immediately his eyes bugged, and he sat up opposite me.

"Wait a second, you just did that? Hunter!" he cried out. I pressed my back against my desk and smiled at him. His own smile faded away and he leaned closer to me.