Like Real People Do - Jill Roord

Don't Be Seen

TW: PTSD

Hunter's POV

"What do you think about this?" Ona asked me, parading around in her outfit for the night; it was a dark green suit that suited her perfectly.

I laughed at her little fashion show, "You look great Ons."

"Thanks," She chuckled, "Well I'm going to grab some snacks for after dinner. You still down for a team movie night?"

"Of course!" It was in fact the perfect idea in my mind at the moment, "As long as we watch The Notebook because Aitana has never watched it."

"No! Really?" She was just as shocked as I'd been. 

I just nodded.

"Well we better fix that," Ona giggled and tapped the tip of my nose like she had a habit of doing lately.

"Shoo!" I pushed her away, laughing at the brunette who started singing a merry little song to herself. A lot of people didn't appreciate how sunny Ona was , she may have looked terrifying on the pitch but she was one of the biggest softies I knew.

"Sweet or salted popcorn?"

"Salted!" I quickly told her. 

Ona's head whipped around, her face contorted into the most judgmental of looks, "You disgust me."

"Okay," I chuckled, "I'm going to shower," I grabbed my towel, walking into the bathroom.

"Good, you smell," Ona giggled to herself from outside the room. 

"Only cause I've been with you all day!" I shouted back.

"Ouch!"

 I just laughed under my breath, locking the door and turning the water onto the hottest setting; I'd already gone through far too much coldness today.

"I'll see you at dinner!" Ona called a minute or so later, the door slamming behind her. 

I climbed in the shower, knowing I had a while before dinner began. The entire Spanish team were going out for dinner tonight, of course Alexia had been the one to book the restaraunt and make sure everyone knew the time. It would be fun to hang out outside of camp, away the stern eyes of Vilda.
Yes, we'd have fun during training but too much laughter would be seen as us not taking national duties seriously. When Vilda was busy with other managerial duties, we had a lot more fun but when he was around, everyone's spirits instantly dropped.
Being around Vilda felt like the air around you had suddenly turned polluted, choking you and you couldn't escape it, there was no way to properly breathe. 

I suddenly realized I was scratching my scalp raw, zoning out into the darker parts of my mind which a loud slam pulled me out of. I froze, my face dropping and arms falling limply to my side. 

I gulped, "It's just Ona. It's just Ona," I whispered, trying to assure myself of the fact. "Ona?" I called out praying for a reply. 
She'd probably just forgotten her money or wanted a hair tie; that definitely sounded like Ona. 

But the warm voice of my roommate never followed; Ona always called when she came in, she knew if she didn't, it would scare me. 

Instantly I was convinced that it was someone else, I tried to consider the possibility that it wasn't but once the idea gripped my mind, I couldn't shake it. I felt the panic climbing up my throat as I tried to remind myself how to breathe, the world begun to spin as I felt this burning hole in my stomach. 

There was only one person who'd be here and soon as his face flashed across my mind, I was so certain that he was back. 

"Estás ahí mi amor? He vuelto. (Are you in there my love? I've come back.)" There was my conformation. The two sentences I remembered hearing a thousand times before and they always meant the most terrible things.