(Ryder's POV)
I woke up from "sleeping" about 25 minutes later. After yawning and rubbing my eyes, I looked up at Hunter. His eyes met mine.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey, I replied back.
We kept our eyes glued on each other. I looked at his lips.
They look so kissable!
Before I knew it, I noticed I was leaning in slightly. I quickly stopped myself.
I can't do that. It would just cause more problems.
As I moved my head back, I looked at Hunter again. He was moving his head back too. At that moment, I realized that I wasn't the only one that leaned in. There was an awkward silence. Hunter opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door before he could say anything.
"Come on in," Hunter allowed, turning his head toward the door.
The door opened to reveal Leo.
"Dinners ready," he announced.
"Okay, we'll be out in a second," Hunter replied.
Leo nodded and walked out to the dinning room.
"Ryder," Hunter said.
"Yeah?"
"You're gonna have to get up in order for me to get up." he chuckled.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." I sat up and let Hunter get up.
"It's alright. There's no reason to be sorry," he reassured.
Hunter walked over to me, put his left arm around me and helped me up. He supported me as we walked out of the room, down the hallway and to the dinning room table. He let go as soon as I sat down. I looked at Hunter and mouthed "thank you". He mouthed "you're welcome" and sat down in his chair, which was next to mine.
He's such a gentleman!
Lynette came over to the table with a pot, and set it down. She looked at me and Hunter.
"Gumbo."
I'd had gumbo once before. Dad had gotten sick once and Mom had to take him to the hospital. Well, no one in my family could watch me, so I was going to go with my Mom and Dad. But, this nice family from Louisiana, who had just lost one of their family members to cancer, offered to look after me. My mom accepted and I stayed with them. When Mom came to pick me up, they gave her a bowl of homemade gumbo for my Dad. My Dad had an allergy to seafood, so he let me eat it. It was pretty good, I must say.
Lynette sat down in her chair across from me, and Leo sat down next to her, across from Hunter. The Hayes folded there hands. I followed, surprised. Not many families in Sacramento actually went to Church or prayed. Leo said the blessing and we did the sign of the Cross after he finished.
Lynette grabbed a ladle off the table and put it in the pot.
"May I have your bowl so I can get you some Ryder?" she asked.
I nodded my head and handed her the bowl. She fulled it with gumbo from the pot and handed it back. I wanted to be polite and say "thank you", but I was scared. I thought about how nice they've been to me.
They've been so nice to be. I should return the favor.
"Thank you."
Lynette smiled. "You're welcome."
I looked over at Leo and Hunter to see them smiling as well. I didn't feel scared. I felt comfortable. I felt like I had finally found a place to fit in. I felt confident for the first time since moving to Louisiana. I decided to start conversation.
"So," I started, "how long have you guys lived here?"
"Since the year before Hunter was born," Leo answered.
"Wow, my family usually lived in a house for a couple of years, and then something would happen and we'd have to move," I said.
"So, Ryder, can you tell us a little more about yourself. We've heard quite a bit from Hunter, but I'd like to know a little more about you, if you don't mind," Lynette asked.
"Well, I was born in Sacramento, California, and lived there until a couple months ago. My birthday is September 28th. Um... I'm an only child. And...uh... my favorite thing to do is play music," I kept going on and on until I finished with all the basic facts about me.
**********11:00 P.M.**********
After talking about where I was going to sleep and all that stuff, I said goodnight to Leo and Lynette and Hunter helped me over to the couch. I laid down and Hunter placed a red blanket over me. He sat down next to the couch.
"Thank you....again," I thanked.
"You're welcome."
"So, I'll see you in the morning."
"Yep. Goodnight, Ryder."
"Goodnight Hunter."
We hugged and Hunter got up. He walked over to the light switch and switched it. The lights went off. I turned over onto my side and started to think about today.
Man, why can't I just stay here in Breaux Bridge and live with Hunter and his parents? I wouldn't be planing to kill myself. But no, instead I'm moving in with my good for nothing aunt who probably doesn't want anything to do with me, just like she wanted nothing to do with the rest of the family.
After thinking for a about 10 minutes, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
**********3:37 A.M.**********
I shot awake from my dream. My breathing was extremely quick and my eyes were extremely wide. After about 5 minutes of trying to calm myself down, I was finally calm enough to lay back down. I shut my eyes and tried to sleep, but I just couldn't. I was worried about Hunter. I knew he was okay, but I just wanted to make sure. I pulled the blanket off of me, and sat up.
Now, how the hell am I supposed to do this?!
Finally, I got an idea. I got down on all fours and crawled my way to the hallway. Just as I got to the hallway, I ran into the corner of a wall.
"Ouch," I whispered, trying not to wake anyone.
I shook it off and crawled to Hunter's door. Luckily, it was open a crack. I used the wall to stand myself up. Once I opened the door a bit more, I slid myself in, and used the wall for support while closing the door. I turned around, and hopped over to his bed.
"Hunter," I said while gently shaking him with one hand, and keeping myself standing with the other. "Hunter, wake up."
I heard a groan, and saw his eyes flicker open in the faint moonlight. He sat up and turned on the lamp next to his bed.
"Ryder? What are you doing awake at this hour?" he said quietly.
"I had a nightmare, and I couldn't get back to sleep," I admitted.
"Do you want to sleep in here with me?"
"Um... sure."
Hunter scooted over and pulled up the blankets so I could get underneath them. Once I was under the covers, he turned the light off and laid back down. We both turned over to where we were facing one another.
"So, how'd you get back here? You're leg's broken and you can't walk without help," he questioned.
I giggled a little. "I crawled and hopped."
Hunter chuckled.
"So, what was your dream about?"
I hesitated before telling him.
"You and I were talking a walk, and we were crossing the street when a car speeded down the road, hitting you and I. I crawled over to you, and you were unconscious. I tried to wake you up, but you didn't wake up. Then, I listened to hear a heartbeat, and there wasn't one. You were dead."
By the time I finished, I was teary eyed and struggling not to cry.
"Shh, you're okay, and so am I," he comforted
Hunter put his arms around me and held me close. I buried my head in his chest and closed my eyes. I was asleep in seconds.
A/N: Hello! Sorry about not updating for a while. My Grandpa's in the hospital and he's not doing too good. Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter. The story about the first time Ryder had gumbo actually happened to me, and I thought I'd put in in there. Please, tell me what you think and give me ideas for upcoming chapters. Bye!
-Kat
P.S. Please check out the new story description and tell me what you think.