I'll Reach For You, page 24
"Hunti?"
"Hmm?" She mumbles.
"Are you tired?" She nods on my forehead. I guess all the struggling to walk has made her exhausted, we had to stop many times and sit down to take a break. She was wiped out when she sat down on the plane and her forehead was wet with sweat, poor girl.
"My legs hurt." She whispers so weakly I can barely hear. It’s not often she tells me something hurts, so she must really be in pain. I kiss her on the forehead and push up the armrest. Then I lean down on my back, drag Hunt onto me and she buries her face in my chest.
"You smell good." She mumbles. I chuckle and kiss the top of her head.
"It's your sweater." She snorts.
"I know, but you’re the one wearing it." I smile at the sound of her whispering voice. Hunt's clothes are always so warm and comfortable. I love wearing them, especially when it’s winter.
"Is it too late to tell you I have to go to the bathroom?" She asks, and I grab a hold of her black sweater with both hands.
"Calm down, I was kidding." She chuckles.
"Not funny," I say as I loosen my grip.
"You stiffen every time." She yawns and turns her head to the other side on my chest. I move my hand to the back of her neck and brush her soft warm skin.
"That feels nice." She whispers as I move my hand into her hair.
"You’re going to fall asleep soon, aren't you?" I ask, still moving my hand in her hair. She nods.
"Tell me something before you fall asleep?" I whisper. She moves her head slightly and her stomach moves in the same rhythm with her soft breathing.
The sound and her movement make me close my eyes and yawn. Every time she lays on me, she makes me sleepy as well, but I continue to stroke her hair. I open my eyes slightly and see a woman walk past our seats, then my eyes drift down to Hunt who’s probably fallen asleep. I yawn again and close my eyes to the sound of Hunt's breathing and her soft motion. When I’m just about to fall asleep, I hear Hunt's whispering voice.
"Will you marry me?" My eyes shoot wide open and my body feels paralyzed, I can't move or breathe. The only thing ‘am feeling is my beating heart and the shivers moving through my whole body. I open my mouth, but nothing.
After a little while, I give myself a mental punch. I shake my head and look down at Hunter. My heart is beating way too fast right now. I can tell Hunt’s sleeping now and I’m not sure if she’ll even remember she asked me. The girl who took weeks before she could tell me she loved me, is now asking me to marry her. Those are the last words I’d have thought she’d ever say. I swallow hard and feel the happy tears falling from my eyes.
"God, how hard did you hit your head?" I ask and wipe the tears away from my eyes. Hunter moves and apparently, she’s still awake. She looks at me with her half-open eyes appearing confused.
"Is that a yes?"
"Oh, my God," I say, and wrap my arms around her neck, feeling the tears stream down my cheeks like a waterfall.
"I guess I must have hit my head pretty hard since you’re strangling me and not answering." She says out of breath. I loosen my hold and lean back. Hunts smile turns into worry and then I feel her trembling hands on my cheeks, taking away my tears.
"I really know how to make you cry, don't I?" She says and bites her inner cheeks, her eyes full of agony. I kiss her on the forehead.
"Happy tears, honey." I cry. She leans up and kisses my tears away. Can I possibly love her even more?
"I-I am too young to get married," I tell her with my trembling voice. She bites her lower lip and looks thoughtful, then she grins.
"I’m going to ask you one more time," She points her finger at me and looks deadly serious.
"And it is the last time I am ever going to ask you," She takes a deep breath.
"Will you marry me?" She asks with her blue puppy eyes. The tingling feeling in my heart soars again and tears burst from my eyes, she takes them away. God, how can those four words make me such a complete mess? I look into those patient blue eyes and my heart can't seem to ever tire of them. I start to nod.
"Yes," I take the tears away from my cheeks.
"O-of course, I will." She puts her lips on mine and kisses me just like the evening at the hospital, so gentle and soft. She pulls back and brushes the tears from my cheek with her thumb. I lean down to kiss her on the forehead.
"I love you," I mumble on her skin.
"I love you too." She whispers.
chapter 69
I can always hear You
"Idon't know how to do it," I tell Hunt ashamed and irritated. I look down at my two-year-old cousin, Caleb, who has almost the same hair color as Hunt. He’s staring at me with his big brown eyes. Mom wanted to celebrate New Year's with her younger sister, Jenny and her family. My eyes drift back up to Hunter, who’s laughing. She moves over to us and watches me grinning.
"You have never changed a diaper?" She chuckles. I shake my head and sigh.
"No, I haven't."
"You have tons of cousins and you haven't changed even one?" She laughs, but her eyes tell me she is surprised. I put my hand over my eyes to avoid this awkward conversation.
"Your cousin Skylar is a little weird," Hunt says and I hear Caleb giggle. I move my hand from my face and see Hunt tickling him. She steps towards me and takes my hand.
"Come on, I'll show you." I follow her and Caleb, hand in hand into the bathroom.
"Take a towel and lay in on the floor." I do as she says while Hunt sits down on her knees and looks at Caleb.
"This is going to be fun." She grins as Caleb puts his hand on her face. I roll my eyes and shake my head.
"Can you lay him down?" Hunt asks, she hasn't gotten all her strength back and I’ve noticed it’s not easy for her. I lay Caleb on the towel. She turns to watch me with narrowed eyes, then she looks down at Caleb. Her eyes drift back to me.
"What is it with this family and big brown eyes?" She asks confused. I snort and kiss her cheek. Hunt starts changing him.
"Your cousin may be weird sometimes, Caleb..." I hit her on the arm as she starts to take off the diaper. They both chuckle.
"But," She looks at me for a moment, then she looks down at Caleb again.
"She can be really cute." She smiles as she puts on the new diaper and pulls his pants on.
"Help him up." She says, and I pick him up in my arms, while Hunt throws away the diaper and washes her hands. I put Caleb on the ground and he runs out the door. I turn to look at Hunt.
"I’m never going to change a diaper," I tell her. She narrows her eyes and itches her forehead. I realize what I’ve just said and closed the distance between us. I wrap my arms around her neck.
"I'm sorry." I lean back and kiss her on the cheek.
"Why are you sorry?" She asks confused. It makes her look so adorable that I just have to kiss her cheek again.
"It sounded like I didn’t want to have kids," I tell her a little embarrassed. Her eyes widen.
"Oh, I thought you weren't going to change Caleb next time." I burst out in laughter, no wonder she looked so confused. She smiles with red cheeks.
"And by the way, if we’re not going to have kids, I’m going to leave you." She jokes, and I nod with a grin.
"I know." I chuckle and kiss her softly.
✽ ✽ ✽
Hunter and I sat down on the couch an hour ago and it took only ten minutes before she fell asleep in my lap. Ever since she woke in the hospital, she’s been falling asleep for hours throughout the day. At night, she’s so restless she hit me in the nose once. I’m not sure if she even sleeps at night or if she just twists and turns accidentally hitting me.
I asked if there was something wrong, but she told me everything was fine. She’s not great at telling me if there’s something bothering her. I know Amber told me that she could be easily exhausted. It’s fine she sleeps during the day, but I’m not sure how much she sleeps at night.
My aunt Jenny comes in the door with Caleb from the snow and I hear mom washing the dishes in the kitchen.
"It's freezing outside." My aunt says. She undresses Caleb first and he runs towards Hunt and me.
"Hey, buddy," I say as he climbs onto the couch.
"No, no, no," I whisper as he lies on Hunt's back. I put my hand over my face and sigh. My aunt starts to laugh. Either Hunt is dead, or she’s fallen back into a coma. I don’t understand how she can still be sleeping. He starts to play with her hair.
"Hi, she's my girlfriend." I frown. Jenny sits down on the other couch, chuckling.
"I think you have some competition, after the fun they had today, he must love her by now." I roll my eyes.
"They all do." I grin and mess up Caleb's hair. Hunt takes a deep breath and then I hear her yawn. She opens her fist and stiffens, then looks at me confused.
"What’s on my back?" She asks afraid. I laugh and move my hand into her hair and start to stroke.
"It's Caleb," I answer. She calms down and closes her eyes, but then she moves her arm behind her and starts tickling him. He laughs and tries to turn away from her hand. We all start to chuckle as he falls between the couch and Hunt.
"I think it’s time for him to go to bed," Jenny says and steps off the couch picking up Caleb. Hunt and I say Goodnight to Caleb. I look down at Hunt who has her eyes closed. She takes my hand and puts it back into her hair, I snort and roll my eyes. Still, I do as she wants and start stroking her hair again. It earns me a smile on that pretty face of hers. After a few minutes, she drifts back to sleep. Then the door opens at full speed. I turn around.
"Hello!" Kristen comes bursting in the door with Dad and Jenny's husband, Kevin behind her. I look down at Hunt with widened eyes, she’s still sleeping. My eyes shift back up to Kristen.
"What?" She asks, and I put my finger over my mouth. She walks around the couch and makes a big ‘O’ with her mouth.
"Sorry." She whispers and messes up my hair. I hear Kevin walk up the stairs, probably going to help Jenny with Caleb. Dad steps into the kitchen.
"Did you really need to do that?" I ask irritated and fix my hair.
"Yes." She grins. I roll my eyes and look down at Hunt. How can she still be sleeping after my crazy aunt came in the door? She really knows how to make an entrance. Kristen sits down on the other couch.
"How are you?" She asks enthusiastically. I laugh off her big brown eyes staring at me, now I know what Hunt meant.
"Never been better."
"How’s Hunter?" She points at her and my eyes drift down to the beautiful girl with brown-red hair.
"You know after the accident?" I look up to my aunt and meet worried eyes.
"Fine, I guess. Still a little weak." I try not to sound worried since Hunt can be surprisingly awake sometimes, but it seems like I failed by the look in Kristen's eyes. She shakes it off and smiles again.
"How’s football?" My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open. I totally forgot I got kicked out. I’ve been so busy thinking about Hunt since going to the hospital it hasn't even crossed my mind.
"I-I got... the coach kicked me out." I tremble. Hunt sits up and looks at me with wide eyes.
"You got kicked out?" She almost yells. The girl who was so calm and peaceful just seconds ago has a fire in her eyes that’s burning my skin.
"Oh, boy." I hear Kristen sigh. I open my mouth, but there’s nothing coming out. I think Hunt just had an outburst, Amber warned me about a bad temper.
"You can hear everything I say, but you can't hear when someone comes bursting in the door?" I ask irritated. Hunt bites her inner cheek, her eyes full of fury.
"I can always hear you."
"Aww." I turn to Kristen and give her the death glare. She throws her hands up.
"I’m going to go say hello to your mother." She says and sprints into the kitchen.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks sounding hurt.
"I forgot. I'm sorry." I apologize.
"How can you forget something like that?" She bites her inner cheeks again. I cup her face and look her deep in the eyes.
"Well, when your girlfriend ends up in a coma and struggles to walk or lift anything, you kind of do. I didn't mean to..."
"Didn't mean to forget or get kicked out?" She snorts angrily. I move my hands away from her face slowly and look down. I take a deep breath to try to calm down, but the tears want to fall. So, I pull the sweater up and bury my face in it, just like Hunt did in the car.
"I'm sorry." I cry and feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. Then I feel Hunt pull me into her warm embrace and her soft fingers lightly touch my hair. I grab the shirt on Hunt's shoulder and bury my face in the other.
"I'm sorry." She says and kisses my temple.
"I didn't mean to be angry." I move back and wipe the tears away before looking at Hunt. She’s watching me with weary eyes and I’m sure there’s a headache hiding in there.
"Hunt?"
"Yeah?" She says and takes the tears from my cheeks.
"Do you sleep at night?" I ask worriedly. She nods.
"Of course, I do." I shake my head.
"You're lying." She must have noticed the pain in my voice since she looks down and swallows hard. Then she opens her mouth struggling to find something to say.
"Okay, um..." She looks up at me with her blue puppy eyes.
"My sleeping cycle has been weird. Sometimes I sleep and sometimes I don't." She shrugs.
"It's very annoying when I can't sleep at night. It's nice to lay next to you but lying awake and knowing that I’ll walk around more tired than I usually am is hard because I want to spend the day with you."
"Aww." I turn around and find Kristen leaning on the doorframe watching at us. I take a deep breath, but it can't stop me from jumping over the couch and running after her.
"I’m going to kill you!" I yell and chase her into the dining room. She runs around the table laughing. Every step I take she just moves further away.
"It's not my fault your girlfriend’s so cute." She laughs and pulls some of her brown-blond hair away from her face.
"Yeah, well she’s mine," I say out of breath and sit down in a chair. She grins and moves to sit next to me.
"Skylar?" I turn around to that amazing voice of Hunter's.
"Yeah?" I answer, she smiles.
"I’m going up to take a shower."
"Okay." I nod, and she walks out the door. My eyes shift down to my youngest aunt.
"So," She grins, and I roll my eyes.
"What are you going to give Hunter for her birthday?" She asks. I bite my lip and itch my temple. Hunter was born on January 8. I shake my head and shrug.
"I have no idea," I answer and play with the necklace Hunt gave me a few months ago.
"Well, maybe I can help." She offers. I raise my eyebrow and she rolls her eyes.
"Did you ask her?"
"Yes." Kristen looks at me irritated.
"What did she say?" She asks annoyed. I snort.
"Have you met Hunter?" I ask and bite my lip. Hunt doesn’t want anything, she keeps telling me she has everything.
"I rarely see you, the only thing I know about her is she’s quiet, cute and... that she loves you." She looks at me with a warm smile and lays her hand on my arm. My eyes shoot wide open with a thought.
"What?" Kristen asks and moves back a little scared. I smile and feel my cheeks on fire.
"Well, on the airplane she asked me..." God, my cheeks must be so red right now and I can't look my aunt in the eye.
"What?" She asks eagerly.
"Hunt, s-she asked..." Goddammit, I’m stuttering.
"S-SPIT IT OUT!" She yells impatient and it makes me jump.
"Sorry." She says calmer. My hands are shaking, and my heart is beating way too fast.
"Hunt asked me... to... m-marry h-her." I finally manage to say. Kristen’s smile slowly fades away and her eyes widen. She sits there with her mouth open and her big brown eyes staring.
"Hello?" I wave my hand in front of her face. She doesn’t respond, so I tap her lightly on the cheek.
"You mean that shy girl, with the blue eyes?" She asks with the same facial expression. I look around confused.
"Yeah?" I answer and itch my neck.
"You mean that small, slim girl with brown-red hair, right?"
"Yeah," I answer annoyed.
"The cute gir..."
"YES!" I yell but laugh at the same time.
"I'm sorry, I was just making sure it was the right girl." I roll my eyes and bite my inner cheeks.
"She wasn't drugged, or anything was she?" I kick her in the foot.
"NO!" I laugh.
"Dammit, Kristen."
"I'm sorry. I’m going to behave, okay?" She breathes out and I nod.
"She asked you? Sky, you’re not even old enough." She chuckles.
"I know, we talked about that. She wanted to know if I would want to marry her one day. So, she asked me on the plane to make sure I would, and I want to." I grin and see the cute, confused expression Hunt made when she asked me if that was a yes. Kristen shakes her head in confusion.
"Okay, fine," She laughs.
"But, what has it to do with her birthday present?" Her eyes widen as if a thought just hit her and she rolls her eyes.
"You want to buy her a ring?"
"One for her and one for me." I smile and feel the heart in my chest beating way too fast. I’m getting nervous already.
Chapter 70
Honey
*Sexual content*
New Year's Eve was so amazing, and the fireworks were so colorful. Hunt and I stood and watched as Dad, Kevin, and my crazy aunt Kristen fired them off. It was so cold even Hunt's big black hoodie wasn’t enough under my jacket. Of course, Hunt notices and takes me into one of her warm embraces.
It didn’t take long before Hunt got exhausted, she’s barely slept, and her weak muscles allowed her to almost fall. She doesn’t tell me when she’s tired or if it hurts because she doesn’t want to disappoint me. I keep telling her she’s never disappointed me, and she never will.
"Hunti?" I ask, after waking up to her twisting and turning in bed.
"Yeah?" She answers, and I roll around finding her looking up at the ceiling. I lay my arm over her stomach and lean in to kiss her shoulder.
