Invisible

Chapter 42 Still Going

"Oh my..."

Hunter stands beneath my window with a huge smile on his face and he waves. "Can I come up?" He calls as I pull the window open.

Tiffany presses against me to see and smiles and waves at Hunter who seems shocked to see her. "What are you waiting for? Go let him in."

"I... Um... It's just..."

"Oh for Pete's sake!.. Hunter come to the front door!"

He nods and disappears from sight.

"But it's so late and what could he want?"

Tiffany smiles, "goodnight Leah, tell Hunter I said hi and tell him he did an amazing job tonight." She waltzes out of the room and leaves me fumbling for my bathrobe and slippers, I race down the stairs and yank the door open.

"Hi!" I say breathlessly, he was just about to knock.

"Hey."

"W-what are you doing here?"

"I thought texting you or calling you would be enough.... I tried calling twice, no use." He looks down and shrugs.

"Well come in." I open the door wider as the chill from the night reached through my clothes.

He steps in and I close the door when I turn we do an awkward little dance where he ends up kissing me on the cheek and giving me a short hug. When he pulls away I wrap my bathrobe around me tighter. I am aware of the echo that this big house gives off late at night and how well sound carries.

"Want to sit down?"

When Hunter nods I grab his hand and turn off the lights in the entry way, leading him by memory to the steps and then talking him up them in a hushed tone. He trips only twice and laughs it off each time. He stops dead still at my doorway and I drop his hand and clear a place for him at the little table I have set up for 2 in the corner. I have a hot plate for tea and a toaster but that's basically it and a small fridge where my late night cravings and special foods hide from the rest of the house.

"In some ways it's just like I always imagined." Hunter's words make me look around my room and I see it as he would for the first time.

The only lights on right now are the twinkle lights I repurposed from Sam and Tiff's wedding to give myself a calm and soft environment when I am getting ready to sleep and they look beautiful over the soft blue walls. The carpet is white and plush and I keep an old flat screen in the corner that I had in my apartment. I put it in the corner with the slopping roof and my bookshelf also adorns that wall, it was just tall enough to fit.

"Do you want tea or..." I can't offer him coffee, I don't have that set up in here.

"I'm fine, really." He pulls his coat off as he finally steps in and then he removes his shoes and places both by the door, still seeming mesmerized by this little space.

"It's not much." I sit on the bed to remove my slippers.

"It doesn't have to be much, as long as it feels like home."

I smile at his statement.

"Listen, Leah," Hunter sits next to me on my bed and leans down a bit, turned to look at me, "before... When I... When we...."

My swallow is impulsive, he must be regretting it. I knew this was too good to be true. I feel my eyes start to fill.

"Leah, why are you crying?"

I bite my lip to hold back bursting into tears. "Didn't we pass the point of no return? Can we even still be friends after this?"

"What? Leah, we are friends... I thought we were more... Leah, please don't cry." He takes my hand in his while wrapping his other arm around my shaking body.

"So you're not taking it back?" I manage to say in little more than a whisper.

"Never."

This time when he kisses me its more thought out and the emotion he gives through his lips and his touch conveys a wanting and urgency. He holds me tighter as I shiver from his touch which makes me shake more.

As he moves his mouth away I lay my head on his shoulder and he rests his head on mine. My eyes remain closed as I try to savor the moment. "Hunter, what is this?" I need an answer and now seems like the best time to get one, although, I suspect I'm already in too deep.

"This is the start of a new part of our friendship. Moving on I would say I'm probably going to think of you as my girlfriend."

"Oh. I... I uh..."

He kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes to try and calm my racing heart. "Unless you want to tell me not to you don't have to say anything."

In spite of the nervousness I'm feeling being held by Hunter I'm starting to drift off. Slowly losing my grip on reality and entering dreams and darkness.

'I'm running away, stuck on the roof of my house, hearing the shots as my parent's lives end. "You're next sweetheart." I turn and see Mitch stand there holding his gun at chest level.

"No, you're dead. You were shot, This Isn't How It Happened!"

"Think again." He fires.'

I sit up shrieking and crying, lashing out with my hands and connecting with soft flesh.

"Leah! Hey! You're safe, it's okay!... Leah!"

I stop fighting and start to sob uncontrollably, my surroundings make sense again, it's dark and I'm in bed... and I feel Hunter's arms close tight around me. "Still... don't believe... I'm... broken?" I gasp out, realizing what he's just experienced and that he's never seen this part of my life, the late night struggle for sanity.

"Not broken, never broken... Just a little bruised right now."

I feel so vulnerable, it's dark and I'm shaking and crying without the ability to stop. I hate Hunter seeing me like this, in my weakest moment. "If you want to walk out right now I wouldn't blame you."

"I'm not leaving you. I've worked too hard to get where I am now and there's no way I'm going anywhere." He gently pulls me back down onto my pillow and I feel his warm body press against mine as he holds me, just lets me lay in his arms without being possessive but is caring enough to show me he's here for me.

"I still don't know how you put up with me." I say as I lay facing him with my head on the pillow.

"It's a work in progress." I can hear the grin on his face and I reach up and touch his chin, his jaw, his cheek. "Get some sleep now, okay? I'm right here."

Soon his soft snores drift up to the ceiling and I lay there listening, trying to calm myself down. The solidity of Hunter seems to have a calming effect on me, I drift off to sleep without too much resistance.

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A/n:  thank you for the 3k reads. The fact that you're reading this right now simply astounds me and I just wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you for making the dream of sharing my words become a reality.