Chasing Embers | 1

16 | E m b e r

—

"What's wrong?"
    
I could tell by the way Hunter was slouched up against the wall running his hands through his hair that there was something bugging him. I'd only known him for a little more than a week, but he was an easy person to read.
    
Hunter lifted his eyes to where I was standing. "Nothing's wrong. What makes you think that?"
    
I shrugged. "You seem a bit tense, that's all."
    
He stood and laced his fingers between mine, taking me by surprise. I kept my hand locked with his anyway. I wasn't sure what to call our relationship. I had only known him for two days before he kissed me, and for some reason, I had kissed him back. It felt cheesy and a bit odd given the circumstances we had been through. I felt like I was falling for someone I wasn't sure I knew.
    
"Can we take a walk?" Hunter asked, surprising me again.

"Sure," I answered slowly, wondering what he wanted to talk about.

I slid my backpack over my shoulders, adjusting the weight. He smiled at me and led us away from my new friends. We walked in silence for a while along the paved road, passing by the gloomy fountain.
    
"So, what's up?" I asked him again.
    
The side of his mouth twitched as if whatever he was thinking about repulsed him. "He won't stop looking at you."
    
Wait, what? Where did this come from? "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
    
Hunter squeezed my hand tighter. "Wren. He's always staring at you."
    
The more time I spent with Hunter, the more I realized how over-dramatic he could be.
    
I stopped walking. "He's been here for a day, Hunter."
    
"So? Every time I see him, he only seems to care about Adara. This is the first time he's acknowledged the presence of another girl." The space between his eyebrows crinkled.
    
I rolled my eyes and grabbed his chin. "I think you think that because you're into me." I winked and proceeded to walk, releasing my hold on his face.
    
Hunter chuckled and caught up to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I let out a small squeal of shock as the familiar cold rush ran up my arms. The sound made me blush with embarrassment, which only made Hunter laugh more.

The conversation died after that, and we silently walked along the streets of Ardeina. I began to think about why he was focused on another boy being "interested" in me. Surely Hunter wasn't that head over heels for me. Falling in love, or should I say lust, with someone so fast was just silly. There was no denying he was handsome and charismatic, but it seemed illogical to fall at his feet and swoon over him. Yes, we had kissed. It was definitely rushed and unexpected. I liked the kiss we shared, but I wanted to get to know him better.
    
I reached up and touched Hunter's shoulder. He met my eyes with his bright honey-colored ones, curiosity written all over his face. "I feel like I don't know you."
    
Hunter scrunched his brow, curiosity turning to confusion. "What do you mean?"
    
"It feels like you're holding back on who you are. You've been distant the last couple of days." I sighed, wondering how I got myself into this.
    
We stopped walking again. He placed his hand over mine, running his thumb over my knuckles. "You're right, Ember. I have been distant. I just ... I felt like I took things too fast. I wanted to slow down. And maybe I overcorrected, but I never meant any harm. I still don't." Hunter cupped my cheek with his free hand as he said the last part.
    
I searched his eyes, looking for cracks in his armor. "I don't understand you."
    
His gaze wavered, not following my words. "I ..."
    
"Ever since I met you, it's like you refuse to let the world near me as if I was yours to begin with. But then you act as if I'm not even there. You kiss me, and then ignore me. I don't understand, Hunter," I asserted.
    
His hand fell from my face. "I'm sorry I kissed you," he mumbled, looking ashamed.
    
My voice came out small and soft. "Why is that?"
   
"I knew I shouldn't have done it. We had just met. I didn't want to force anything on you, but I did it anyway."
    
I leaned my head on his shoulder, breaking eye contact. "You didn't force anything on me. I chose to kiss you back."
    
He wrapped his arms around me, and I felt his chin on the top of my head. We stayed this way for a while, staring at the quiet city around us. There was no one out, being quite early in the morning. The sun had just begun to rise, casting an orange glow on the otherwise gloomy buildings around us. Hunter had once told me that Auchterton was a prospering and beautiful place, but I hadn't seen much of that here. The sky was always grey, matching the somber buildings. Windows were shattered or covered with planks of wood. There were never any people around in the area Ragan lived in. The only signs of life were the occasional shouts and the sound of things breaking. I preferred the other side of the city, where the roads buzzed with people and activities and where the walls on buildings had color.
    
"Do you regret it?" Hunter whispered.
    
I had almost forgotten what we were talking about. "No, I don't," I responded, just as quietly as he had.
    
I heard him breathe out a sigh of relief. "That's good."
    
We began to walk again. This time, with smiles on our faces and hands interlocked. Our arms swung to the rhythm of our beating hearts.
    
"Will you tell me more about you?"
    
Hunter scratched his jaw. "What would you like to know?"

I smiled up at him. "What's something about you that no one else would know?"

His steps faltered a bit, but he covered it with a light laugh. "That's a tough one. Alright, promise not to tell anyone?"
    
I nodded. "Promise."
    
He snickered. "I, uh, I have an obsession with books. Whenever I'm not working or recruiting on Earth, I'm in the library reading. No one knows about this, well, except the librarian. Is that weird?"
    
"That you love reading? Absolutely not. I'm a book fanatic myself. Well, okay I'm weird, so maybe that wasn't the best comparison ..."
    
We both laughed. The tension between us had dissipated by that point. It was like nothing had ever gone wrong. Hunter was back to his usual flirting self, and I seemed as though I was still the city girl from Earth.
    
Hunter and I turned around to start heading back to the warehouse. It was still early in the morning. No one was outside. The city was so quiet that it felt like Hunter and I were the only people living.
    
The quiet was nice but almost too quiet to the point where it was eerie. I wanted to enjoy the silence around us, knowing that Hunter and I were finally alone in this giant world. Then again, the still air around me felt wrong. When I looked at Hunter, he didn't seem to have noticed. Maybe it was just my imagination trying to make a wimp out of me, make me ruin the moment with Hunter.
    
His voice shook me from my thoughts. "You have this look of pure concentration on your face the way a toddler would if it needed to take a crap."
    
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. Hunter laughed and squeezed my hand. Well, there goes the moment.
    
"Don't worry. I thought it was cute," he winked.
    
I rolled my eyes. "Is 'cute' your favorite word or something?"
    
"Only when it pertains to you."
    
The comment was meant to be flirtatious, but I let out a laugh instead of a blush. Hunter soon joined in, and we continued to laugh while strolling down the street. Unfortunately, that laughter was short-lived. It died in my throat when I saw Ragan, Adara, and Wren walking toward us like they were on a mission. Well, Ragan just looked annoyed. Wren crossed his arms, eyes directed on Hunter.
    
Well, this would be interesting.