It's been three days since we got here. Hunter's in the living room of our cabin. Again. He practically lives here. He stays in our cabin more than he stays in his cabin. He said he likes it here because there's always food being served before him. I just rolled my eyes. I could just cut off his hands.
"Lunch is ready!" I shouted so that they'd hear me. Lory is in her room face timing her mom. Hunter immediately came running towards the dining table. He looks like he's being starved. Though I doubt that. He's too rich to be starved. Lory emerged from her room and walked towards us. She took a seat beside me while Hunter is sitting in front of us.
"Hmm. Smells good. You're the best Nics." She took a plate and served herself with food. Hunter and I did the same. We prayed first before we ate. Just to thank God for the blessings in front of us.
We started eating and talked about random things. Suddenly, Hunter said something that made me choke on my food.
"Hey, remember my cabin mate? Ranier? I met him earlier and we had a talk. Turns out he's also from our high school. But he transferred exactly at the same time I transferred out." Hunter said it exactly at the same time I put a spoonful of food in my mouth. I choked on my food and started coughing. Hunter got showered by the food coming out of my mouth. He immediately shielded his face but not before a few touched a part of his face.
"Nicole what the?!" He started panicking when my cough wouldn't subside. He ran to get water in the refrigerator and Lory was massaging my back. Hunter handed me a glass of water and I drank it. I felt better. I thanked Lory and looked at Hunter. I was about to say thank you when I noticed some rice sticking on his forehead. Oh my, those came from my mouth. Instead of thanking Hunter, I ended up laughing at him. Lory saw what I was laughing about and started laughing with me. Hunter looked so confused.
"Sorry. I know I shouldn't be laughing." I laughed again. "But you have rice all over your face." I started laughing again. He looked funny. Hunter understood my point and checked his reflection in his phone's camera. He gave me a glare first before walking towards the sink to wash his face.
He was still glaring at me. "That was disgusting Nics." He waited for our laugh to stop but he was still glaring at us. I was already holding my chest forcing myself to stop laughing because I can't breathe anymore. When our laugh subsided. I faced Hunter and he was still glaring.
"Thank you for the water and I am sorry about the shower of rice on your face. For laughing too." I gave him a cute smile.
"Fine. What happened?" Oh. I almost forgot about what he just said about his cabin mate. Then I remembered again. I looked at Lory. She gave me an encouraging smile. It was just a smile but the message was clear. 'Hunter is our friend too. He deserves to know.' I faced Hunter.
"I...there's something you need to know." I didn't know how to start. I don't even know why I hid this from Hunter like it was a secret. This isn't a secret though.
He raised his eyebrows and waited for me to continue with what I was supposed to say. But it didn't came. Lory held my hand. I looked at her and she gave me a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I'll tell him if you can't." I nodded my head and gave her a small smile.
She faced Hunter. "What's your cabin mate's surname?" Hunter looked confused.
"I don't know. I didn't ask. I didn't know it was necessary."
"That's okay. What does he look like?" Lory asked.
"Well, he looked fine." Hunter said. Lory looked at him blankly. "Describe him!" Lory snapped at Hunter.
He chuckled. "Okay, okay. What's with the serious atmosphere. Anyways, he looked fine. He has fine features. His jawline is very present. He looks a bit foreign. He also has an accent when he talks. He's tall too. Maybe as tall as me?" Hunter described. I closed my eyes. Lory's grip on my hand tightened.
"He's my ex." I blurted out. Hunter looked at me. He wasn't sure what to make of what I just said. When the information finally sank in, his eyes widened. But he immediately regained his composure.
"Oh. I didn't know you had an ex." He said emotionless.
"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner Hunter. If you feel betrayed because I didn't tell you sooner, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. Really. But I just wasn't ready yet. I wanted to forget about everything first before I tell you. I didn't know you'd be coming home early." I shook my head.
"Yes. I feel betrayed. But not because you didn't tell me." He said. I looked at him. I couldn't read his expression. He's looking at me intently as though he is boring a hole in my body. I opened my mouth to say something but I didn't know what to say. I decided to just look away. I felt Lory's hand on my shoulder. I looked at her but she is looking at Hunter.
"Hunter, they are over now." She said meaningfully. She said it as if she was sending him a message I couldn't read. She was still looking at Hunter. I looked at him too. He shook his head then faced me. He gave me a pained smile. Did I hurt him that bad?
"It's fine. You okay now?" He asked with concern but I can feel that he's pretending to be okay. But he doesn't like it when people point that out. I'm the only one who can see through him. I met him first before I met Lory. We've been friends longer. I know he's not okay but he doesn't want it shown.
I remember from when we were 8 years old, I almost got hit by a car when he saved me. He pulled me to the side of the road and embraced me. I didn't get hurt, but he did. His knee got scraped and he had a small cut on his forehead. I knew it hurt so bad, but he smiled at me like it didn't. "I will always protect you, Nics. Always. Keep that in mind." Then he smiled at me widely.
I wonder if he can still remember it, because I never forgot about it. It was the first time that I really felt my heart flutter because of a boy. I gave Hunter a small smile. "I don't know. It's only been a few months. But I want to forget about him. I really do."
He smiled at me. "It's okay. We'll help you move on. I'll help you." He walked towards me and hugged me. I let myself be embraced by Hunter. I smiled and began to think of so many 'what ifs'. I hugged him back.