Wingless And Beautiful
?EPISODE 11 ?
I kept coming back to the center every day for more than
a month.
It seemed that since my meteor shower date with Hunter, I had a permanent smile on my face. I felt lighter inside.
I also found it easier to sleep at night. My nightmares
were somehow replaced with dreams of the magnificent boy
I met at the most unlikely place.
Every day, Hunter would wait for me at the front steps
and we’d go to our garden together. He would always have
his guitar case slung on his back.
I would always play the
song, ‘Angel’ for him. It was like we had our own world, and
no one could touch us… hurt us or haunt us here in our
garden.
Hunter was devilishly handsome… and heavenly sweet.
He would give me flowers almost every day.
He would serenade me with his beautiful voice. He would kss my scars every day before I went home and he would tell me
that he would chase my nightmares away.
He was teaching me how to play ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’.
It was a difficult piece, even for me. When my hands would
get too stiff or tired, he would take the guitar from me and he would play the piece as fast as humanly possible, just to tease me.
“Someday, I would get that piece by heart, and you
would be so proud of me,” I vowed.
He leaned forward and kissed me. “I have no doubt you
will. And you are right. I would be so dmn proud.”
One afternoon, as the sun prepared to set, we were
sitting under a tree in our garden. I was sitting between
Hunter’s thighs, resting my back against his chest, with his
arms wrapped around me.
I played ‘Angel’ on the guitar. I sang the words with my heart, and he listened to me
intently.
He leaned his cheek against mine… close to where my
scar was. I would feel him occasionally kss my temple, then my scars. His soft, lingering ksses were speaking to my soul, pulling at my heartstrings.
When I strummed the last chord, I turned my head to look at his face. He leaned forward and kssed me softly on
the lips.
“I would always remember you when I hear that song,”
he said, smiling gently. Then the expression on his face
turned sober.
“You are my angel, Allison. With you in my arms… I find hope… courage… comfort…” He took a deep breath and added, “Love.”
I raised my hand and cupped his cheek. He turned sideways and kssed my palm. He took a deep breath and then he smiled.
“When I came to this place, I felt it was a curse. It was
my death sentence. I went here to punish my father… to
punish myself. I lost the will to live, the will to fight.
This was my he..ll.” He shook his head very gently. “I never thought I would find heaven here. It never occurred to me that I would meet an angel amidst all the anger and misery that I felt.”
“You’re too young to waste your life in anger and misery, Hunter,” I said. “Like me… life goes on.
Our mothers
left us… but the only way we could really make them live in
our memories… is if we start living our lives again. Forgive.
And move on.”
“When I came here, I had no sense of purpose anymore.
I had no will to let go of that tragic day.
I lived that day over and over in my head for the past three hundred and sixty- five days.
I didn’t want to see again, because I thought
nothing in the world was good and beautiful anymore.” He
took a deep breath.
“But I would give everything just to see your face right now.”
I smiled and then I leaned forward to kss him.
I put the guitar aside and shifted my body so I could face him properly. I took his hands in mine and then I brought them to my face.
He touched every inch of it, as if he was memorizing my features, imagining in his mind what I looked like.
He gave me a crooked smile. “You’ve been lying to me.”
“What?” I asked.
“You’re not horrendous,” he said. “Not even close.”
I laughed. “Well, I’m no beauty queen either.”
He shook his head. “You’re beautiful… wonderful.” Then
slowly he leaned forward and kissed my left eye… then my
right… then the tip of my nose… my right cheek… my left
cheek. “And, angel… I think…” He took a deep breath. “I’m
falling for you.”
My eyes widened and I think I dropped my heart to my
toes. My breathing completely stopped.
And before I could
react or say something… before I could even breathe again,
Hunter closed the gap between us and kssed me on the
lips… numbing me and electrocuting me at the same time…
then completely wiping out my senses.
************
“You’re happy,” Meredith said to me after dinner that
night. We were sitting on the couch, drinking hot chocolate.
I just smiled at her. She fell silent for a while, not really
knowing what to say next.
Well, this is awkward.
I really did feel for Meredith. She looked so unsure, so
uncomfortable, but also so determined. So I decided to help her out. “I am,” I said.
“He’s… beyond great!”
“Who would have thought you would meet somebody in
the center, right?”
I nodded. “He made life worth living for again. No
offense to you. You know I love you, Mer.”
“What’s his name again?”
“Hunter. Hunter Vaughn.”
Meredith took her laptop and typed something. After a
while, I saw her eyes widen.
“What?”
“Your boyfriend is… really hot!”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” To be honest, I don’t know if he
was. We never talked about it… about us.
He said he was falling for me. But we never really told each other that wewere going steady… that I’m his girlfriend now.
Maybe it was too early. What mattered most was that… we’re happy.
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