Choking on Diamonds

Twenty Six

It smelled of crisp spring air after a heavy snow, the scent of moist dirt filling my nose. My sneakers padded against the soft ground, my eyes trained on the glimmering shoreline of the lake. The sun bled through the leaves like rays of heaven cutting through the clouds.

I wonder if Duke has accepted the crystals of heaven or if he relished in the darkness of hell.

Birds chirped in the distance, calling after each other in the trees. The wind was nonexistent, a cool yet comfortable temperature enveloping my skin. My long brown hair flowed down my back, softly moving with my steps. It was too peaceful for the day I had just had. The stress and emotional intensity of this morning could not be further from this afternoon.

My steps slowed as we reached a clearing in the forest, opening right up to the shoreline in a secluded area. Across the lake only trees and the rock cliff in the background were visible; no signs of civilization. "How did you find this place?" I asked quietly, the sound of his black backpack hitting the dirt softly behind me barely reaching my ears. The warmth of his figure radiated onto my back as I he stood to my right, slightly behind me.

"That cliff is Devil's Den. This part of the lake is upstream from where the trails and the cliff jumpers are," Hunter replied calmly. "My Mom likes to hike to clear her head. Weston and Redding have the prettiest trails and reservoirs according to her. It's fucking breathtaking in the fall."

"I can imagine..." I murmured back. It surprised me Mrs. Khan enjoyed hiking. It wasn't exactly the type of activity that screamed class and prestige in our society. Perhaps that's why I'd never known about the heiress's hobbies. That prevention made me just as worse as everyone else in this fucking world. I hated it. I hated myself. "Why'd we come here?"

"I'd say you and I have a lot of head clearing to do. That, and if you went home you'd just figure out how to get in a fight with Kenna or get fucked up and even sadder. You don't deal with negative emotions the best way; to be honest, I don't think any of our friends do."

"Comforting."

"It's the truth, Klein." Behind me a quiet shuffling emerged, causing me to turn my attention away from the horizon to the soccer player behind me taking off his black vans. I watched Hunter carefully through my ocean eyes as he reached behind his back and pulled his shirt over his head, the sun catching the high points of his muscles.

"You coming or not?" He quipped with a raised eyebrow after removing his jeans, running a hand through his dark hair.

"I'm the freezing water? I did that last week with Will and I don't plan on doing it again."

"Oh come on, it's warm enough. If I'm voluntarily going in then you know it's fine," he reasoned while half teasing me. Hunter smirked at me, walking backwards into the shore. "Come on, Klein. Forget all your problems; relax."

I watched as he gracefully sunk into the water, not even flinching at the temperature. Deep in my chest I knew Hunt wouldn't let it go if I didn't join him so I reluctantly pulled up the bottom of my shirt, pulling it over my head and dropping it strategically to the ground on top of Hunter's already discarded clothing to avoid the dirt. He whistled mockingly as I kicked off my shoes and unbuttoned my jeans. I glared at Hunter while he held his hands up near his shoulders, out of the water. "You're single now; I'm allowed to hit on my single friends without getting in trouble."

"You're more likely to get in trouble with me than Luke," I retorted blandly, straightening up to my full height while adjusting my black bra strap on my right shoulder. The water engulfed ever centimeter of skin as I stepped in, ready to tense at the cold, but the discomfort never came. Of course Hunter was already looking at me with a cocky expression painted on his face.