AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without another word or so much as a glance back, he turns and walks toward the door, only briefly stopping with his hand on the handle.
“Fine! Walk away,” I scream.
12
My heavy eyelids finally open.
The moment they do, I have a moment of panic. Where am I?
Then everything comes flooding back in short bursts, switching from one to the next in rapid fire.
Hunter.
My father.
Being kidnapped.
My grandmother.
My pending death.
It’s all too much.
My chest aches from the turmoil. I’m not sure I’ll survive this world—a world I know nothing about. A small part of me wants to give up and run away. I’m not strong enough for this life—for Hunter’s life.
A new pain settles in my stomach. Hunter’s words from last night replay in my mind. “I’m the son of someone who wants to cause you and your family harm. I’m a killer. I’m only here because you were promised to me.”
I thought I could have actually meant something to him. Who am I kidding? I hardly know the man. How foolish was I to expect someone like him to have any kind of honest feelings for me?
Rolling onto my side, I face the glass door Hunter pushed me against last night. I bring my hand up, wiping my face and clearing that thought from my mind. Hunter is nothing to me, and I am nothing to him.
The sunlight shines into my room, and the clear blue sky and the tops of green trees are visible in the distance.
Where exactly am I?
Picking up my phone, I see six missed calls from the diner. I groan. This can’t be happening. For someone who seems to be so on top of everything, I wonder why Hunter didn’t call and tell them I’ve quit.
I slide from between my blankets and settle the cover over my legs. After a deep breath, I dial the diner’s number and wait. Jenny, the diner manager and chef, answers.
“Hey, Jenny, it’s Aelina.”
I hear a sigh. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry, I should have called.”
“It’s okay. I understand you had an emergency.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I question hesitantly as I climb out of bed.
“Aelina, we received a phone call before closing last night saying that you weren’t coming back, that you’d quit.”
“What? And you believed them?”
“What am I supposed to think? He said he was a family member and that you had an emergency you had to leave for.”
Hunter.
“Sorry, Jenny.”
