Waiting For You

Chapter Twenty-two

"Love someone who is kinder to you than you are to yourself".

~Nikita Gill

Alex

My eyes drifted to Hunter who was sitting in the front seat. I agreed to this for him. For him. I told to myself, trying to ease my own nerves. Aurora next to me was currently trying not to fall asleep but we had been on the road for the past two hours. I was beginning to feel sleepy.

"We do this every year. And as gruesome as it sounds, I promise you it's not. If anything it helps," Hunter said, once again to me. I nodded agreeing.

It did sound gruesome. But it also sounded healing. From what Hunter had told me, they needed that. They all needed to heal. His father was wearing his usual frown, only now he seemed more skeptical. I couldn't –and didn't want to- imagine what he was going through right now. Even the thought of it, I shivered.

We were currently driving up to Aaron's hometown. To Aaron's and Estelle's, Hunter's mother, hometown.

Hunter had told me all about their love story. Aaron and Estelle were neighbors since before they were born. Their houses were almost attached, Aaron's and Estelle's bedroom windows were three feet away from each other.

They had grown up best friends and when they both reached puberty their bond was formed. Around the same time, Estelle was diagnosed with manic depression. They moved here when they both turned twenty-three and Hunter was born when they were twenty-five. Which meant she had killed herself when she and Aaron were thirty-nine.

Today... today would have been the day she turned forty-two. Aaron's and Estelle's family had this tradition of gathering twice a year. On Estelle's and Aaron's brother's birthday in memory of the two members who had killed themselves. When Hunter had mentioned the "tradition" I had promised I would come along.

I only realized it after it was too late though. I was going to meet his family. All of his family. Even great-grandparents. From what Hunt had told me, all of his family was accepting and supporting, but I couldn't help but be nervous. What if they didn't like me?

I had spent around two hours just watching myself in the mirror, worrying about the way I looked. I had finally settled on wearing a pair of jeans and a maroon, button-up shirt. And while I was happy with my choice of clothing –Hunter's whistle was more than reassuring- I was nervous.

And on top of that the marks that Hunter had left on me at our three month anniversary were still visible. God, I would never forget the looks I had gotten that Monday after getting them. Everyone at school had been staring at me as if I had grown another head. And none of my friends would let it die anytime soon. That first day I was pretty sure I was going to pop a blood vessel from all the blushing I had been doing. Not to mention how my parents had reacted. They almost bit my head off.

So here I was, fourteen days later, with halfway faded hickeys, dressed on point, heading towards the birthday party of a dead person... and meeting the extended family of my soulmate. Fun.

The two houses were in a suburban area with big front gardens and picket fences. As soon as we got out of the car, Hunter came and took ahold of my hand, winking at me while doing so. We walked up to the door and a few moments after knocking, an elderly woman opened the door.

She had a softly wrinkled face, silver hair and wore glasses. But her clothing showed class I rarely saw. My mother's parents were kinda classy, always in tailored suits and skirt suits. My father's parents also had the same style –Grandpa Clifford preferring vests, though-. But this woman took class to a whole new level. She wore a dress that seemed of royal caliber, long satin in the color of the deep sea, which made me rethink my clothes.