~The Hunter~

The chill in the air was growing stronger as it got further into autumn. The rush of wind caused a shiver to run down Grayson’s back. He knew it would only be a few weeks before his breath would be visible. He sighed, recalling that winter was Beth’s favorite season. The thought of her missing their annual trip to Rockefeller center to see the lighting of the tree or go ice skating with him made his insides squeeze. All of those things were touristy, real New Yorkers hardly did them but it had been their thing and it was at risk of being taken away from them. 

Grayson had tried to go to class. He even made it out of the house and onto the street. His progress stopped there. He ended up sitting on a bench a few blocks away from the train station he was supposed to be waiting in. The effort wasn’t worth it. If Beth wasn’t there swiping her metrocard in the stall beside him, it would break him all over again. He hadn’t yet cried and with every thing he noticed that highlighted her disappearance he felt the load in his chest get heavier. If he cried now, he didn’t know if he would be able to stop. Crying felt like the first step to accepting her fate and that wasn’t an option for him. 

He had come close to breaking down the night before when he and Mrs.Rodriguez had trailed the police officers to Ryan Daniels alleged whereabouts. The cops were led to a clearing in the woods absent of any person. However, the scene was troubling enough to bring Beth’s mother to hysterics. 

Rope was loosely wrapped around a tree with fresh blood coating it’s bark and the soil around it. It was as if Mrs.Rodriguez knew it belonged to her daughter, like somehow she could see the traces of DNA and family history mixed into the dense liquid. She had been right. They had called him this morning to tell him the blood was a match. 

He couldn’t even hear the police officers scolding when they realized they had been followed by the two. All he could hear was the howl of the wind or what he had chalked up to be the howling of the wind when Mrs.Rodriguez drove them down the desolate road a few feet away from the cop cars. It could have been a scream. It could have been Beth screaming. 

It was enough to keep him up all night. What was she doing in the clearing? How did she get hurt? Why was Ryan Daniels involved? 

The detective found a phone and flamethrower in the clearing. Both had belonged to Ryan Daniels. They were suspecting that the Beast and Ryan Daniels had been toying with the officers on purpose. Perhaps Beth was a tool in order to give them more attention and media coverage. Was being the biggest criminal in New York City not enough for the Beast? 

The amount of blood found on the scene was insufficient but even if there had been gallons coating the forest floor, he couldn't accept her death. Beth wasn’t dead and would not die. Grayson would find a way to bring her back home safe and sound. That was the end of it. He had protected Beth from other dangers in her life - sure this one was significantly bigger but still, this wouldn't be an exception.

A woman passed by holding a box of donuts. The scent of the fried treats circled his nose and brought him back to a time where the threats of life seemed more manageable. 

“Hold it! Hold it!” Jamie’s mom had turned down the music playing from the stereo, getting a groan out of the tweens in the room. The kids had moved out her way considering the violent swishing of her hips was a safety hazard. She was scowling, her ‘cool mom’ charade from early in the evening had evaporated completely as she got closer to his friend. 

Grayson leaped over the coffee table and ran over to her side. 

“Open your purse.” 

She was towering over Beth, arms crossed against her chest. All eyes were on them. 

“What? Why?” The young girl blinked, her cheeks flushing red. 

“And empty your pockets! Now, young lady!” Jamie was smiling ear to ear at the other side of the room, sharing her enthusiasm with the girls around her. 

Even though he had only known Beth for a few weeks, he felt the impulse to look out for her. She had come to the party alone and he was pretty certain the bulge in her bag was the outline of a book. If she was so uneasy that she had to bring a book to a birthday party, he figured she was having a hard time fitting in. Besides, he didn’t see anyone else stepping in to break up the invasion of privacy and public humiliation that was ensuing. 

“What’s going on here?” he asked, aware that now the eyes were on him too. 

“Stay out of this! She may look sweet but she sure isn’t innocent!” Mrs.Parker practically pushed him aside and dragged Beth to the center of the living room. “This is the last time I will ask you, put your belongings on the table!” 

Her eyes watered and her lips quivered. “Why are you doing this?” 

“Because you have drugs on you!” Jamie accused, a little too eager. “Just like your mother.” 

People laughed and catcalled as her mother ripped the purse out of Beth’s grasp, dumping its contents onto the table. She was full on crying as she stood there watching, mouth agape. 

To add some salt to the wound, Jamie's mother added, “If you want to ruin your life and be like your dead beat mom, so be it! But there are no drugs in my house!” 

He couldn’t contain himself any longer. He went over to Mrs.Parker and snatched Beth’s purse from her manicured fingers. 

“You got some nerve.” He scooped her belongings back into the bag and zipped it up. “What do you think you’re doing accusing her like this? You should be ashamed of yourself. He handed Beth her purse and led her out of the party. He had taken her to his favorite frozen yogurt place and assured her that the whole thing would blow over. And if not, it didn’t matter because he would be there for her. 

It would be the two of them against the world from then on. It was a promise he had made whether he realized it that moment or not. 

The familiar buff figure brought him back to reality. Carter, his buddy for some years, had placed himself on the bench beside him, slinging an arm behind the seat and spreading his legs comfortably. “Taking your spot as best quarterback is going to be real easy if you spend all of practice bird watching.” 

“Not even then could you ever make a good quarterback.” He shot the reply back without a thought. He wished all of his interactions could be like this; mindless and numb. This way he could keep functioning despite his circumstances. 

“You’re probably right. The offensive line is where it's at for me.” He yawned and then brought his backpack to his chest. “I took the most detailed notes in my life in biology for you. I better break out my good pen again today considering you’re late for your first class.” 

“Thanks.” Grayson had no clue what to say. He was starting to let people down, he knew it. Missing practice affected the whole team and missing classes affected his parents bank account. Even knowing that, he remained planted on the bench. 

“Listen dude, I know things are hard right now. I know she meant a lot to you and these things don’t happen often. There isn’t a guide book on how to deal.” 

“She means a lot to me. Present tense. She isn’t dead, Carter.” 

He sighed, playing with the zipper of his bag. “How do you know that?” 

He turned to face his friend. “What are you trying to say?” His voice had gotten louder than he intended. 

“I’m saying that this situation is out of your control. You have to let the police do their job and continue living your life.” He shrugged, punctuating the fact he thought it was that simple. “I’ve seen the way you drive yourself crazy over her - while she was still here! Don’t throw everything away for a girl.” 

He flinched. His jaw tightened and it took everything in him to keep his voice level. “She isn’t just a girl.” 

“I know.” 

Carter left a moment later with the promise of texting him the notes from biology class again. 

Still feeling nostalgic, Grayson fell into another one of his early memories with Beth. 

He remembered exactly what she was wearing down to the scent of her perfume - which was cherry blossom. Beth never dressed in anything too revealing or risky but she had still put in the effort to look as conservative as possible. She wore a jean skirt that went down to her knees paired with a modest navy blouse. Her hair was in a neat ponytail secured with a blue ribbon and her shoes were the same mary janes esque shoes his grandmother wore - who would be delighted to see since she was hosting. 

“My palms are sweaty,” she whispered as she hung her jacket on the rack and left her shoes at the door. 

“You don’t have to be so nervous. Grandma Li will love you.” This wasn’t her first time meeting his parents considering how often she was over. What made this visit different was that his grandmother had taken the evening off from working her Taiwanese restaurant to meet the infamous Beth. “I bet she’s even more nervous than you. She’s had me in the kitchen helping prep for dinner all day.” 

She punched his arm. “You’re so full of it. I still can’t believe you can cook.” He had made plenty of meals for her over the course of the year he had known her. Still, she acted like it was the first time everytime, with her exaggerated mms and yums!

“Well keep a look out for the sticky rice dumplings. That was all me.” 

On cue, Grandma Li had strided in, arms behind her back and face blank. “Grayson, introduce me to your friend.” 

“Grandma, this is Beth Rodriguiz, Beth this is my grandmother.” 

They exchanged head bows. “It is nice to finally meet you. You look like a respectable young woman.” 

“Likewise. I mean, likewise - it’s nice to meet you. I already respect you . . . um . . .” Beth hid her face behind her hand. “Sorry.” 

It was very unlike her to be tongue tied. Something about her desperateness to impress his grandmother made his stomach do a backflip. Soon his own cheeks were reddening. 

Grandma Li squinted at the girl for a long moment, her mouth set in a straight line. Then she bursts out laughing. “I see Grayson has told you many legends regarding how I run my restaurant. Do not worry, I am not as mean in the entry way as I am in the kitchen.” Her smile left her wrinkled face as quick as it had come. “Now, sit at the table before the food gets cold!” 

They sat down with his brothers and parents, chatting about school and recent news stories. 

“The Beast took down a whole gang!” His little brother was practically bouncing out of his chair, earning a look from his mother. At this time, the Beast wasn’t as established. He was just starting to be known to the public and no one knew what to make of him yet. 

His brother Kyle rolled his eyes. “Four guys running a small business dealing coke is hardly a gang.” 

Grandma Li wrinkled her nose. “Coca Cola causes obesity.” 

Beth chuckled quietly, growing more relaxed at his side. She had formed a system where she kicked his shin whenever a risky topic came up as if to check whether it was safe for her to interject on the topic. 

“Now Jason, the Beast isn't a superhero. He is also a bad guy that needs to go to jail.” His mother pointed the knife she had been using to cut her meat at his father. “You need to stop watching the news in front of him. Put on Batman instead.” 

“But Batman is just like the Beast!” 

“Uh, oh,” Grayson whispered to Beth. “Kyle is a DC fan. Here it comes . . .” 

“No, he is not!” 

“Is to!” 

“Isn’t Kyle a bit old to argue about comics?” He shrugged back at her. 

“It may say he’s older on his birth certificate but he’s -” 

“Excuse me!” Grandma Li slammed her chopsticks onto the table. “Care to share what you two are whispering about?” 

Beth kicked his shin hard. 

He smiled, basking in the perfectness of the moment. “We were just discussing how delicious your cooking was.” 

That was the first night of many where Beth came over for dinner with his family. She always felt bad she couldn’t invite any of them over in return but they never gave her a hard time for it. In fact, Grayson started to suspect the family would adopt her in a minute had she ever asked. 

He had to stop himself from thinking about the night any longer. It had brought tears to his eyes that he hastily blinked away. When his family found out about what happened to Beth they had taken it hard. Jason had buried his chubby face in his mother’s belly, his father had gotten eerily quiet, his mother swatted at her teary eyes, Kyle called to say he was driving back into the city from his campus upstate immediately and Grandma Li had locked herself in her bedroom. Even in the midst of all the emotion, Grayson could only sit frozen as a statue. 

The morning after, Grandma Li was making tea, mumbling about how it was her hope he would end up marrying Beth after college. He was surprised she had picked up on any romantic tension between them considering they hadn’t ever come very close to anything romantic - except for one time. 

Beth was sobbing on the grass of the football field. Practice was cancelled because of the expected flash flood rain but she hadn’t known that. She had showed up hoping to catch him for a second in between breaks. When he came up behind her in his regular clothes, bag over his shoulder she jumped. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I just didn’t know where else to go.” 

“Hey.” He dropped his stuff and kneeled down next to her. “What’s wrong?” 

She sniffled, rubbing her face with the back of her hand. “I can’t do this anymore! I can’t live with her and take care of her and act like everything is okay! I can’t excuse everything she does because she has an addiction! When is enough enough?” 

He rubbed circles into her back. “What did she do this time?” 

She buried her face in her hands. Her voice was smaller and more defeated than he had ever heard it. “She sold all my jewelry! I came home and it was all gone! I don’t even care about most of it but the bracelet my father got me for my birthday was in the box she gave away!” 

Grayson winced. “She sold a gift from your father?” 

“No! She probably threw it out because it was plastic and cheap and worth nothing! But she didn’t take a moment to consider what any of it meant to me! She was only thinking about her next high!” She sobbed again, this one shaking her whole body. “What else is she going to sell for drugs? Should I be worried she might send me a way for the right price?” 

“Don’t say that.” 

“Am I that far off? I’m worth nothing to her! If I’m worth nothing to my own mother then how am I supposed to feel about myself?” 

He brought her into his arms and held her tightly against him. “You’re supposed to feel worth every single penny in the world and more. Worth dying for! You’re incredible, Beth. Even if your mother’s too deep in her mess to treat you like it.” 

“I wish I could leave - leave her behind and this whole city with her!" She wrapped her arms around him. “Except for you. You’re the only good thing here.” 

His heartbeat quickened. “Not even Times Square? Or the froyo spot near your house?” 

“No. Only you.” 

She had pulled away, probably to compose herself but something made her pause only an inch away from his face. He didn’t think when he leaned in to kiss her. She probably didn’t think when she kissed him back. 

When they pulled away, they were both confused. A question came up in both their minds. 

What did the kiss mean for them? 

But he supposed they both ignored it, not quite ready to start anything or face the feelings that may have been bubbling up beneath the surface. Instead of figuring it out, they got up and walked to his house to eat Grandma Li’s beef noodle soup. They never discussed it. It was a moment in time completely disattached from the rest of their friendship. Sometimes he wondered if Bethany even remembered it. 

He decided to go home. If his parents asked about why he wasn’t at school he’d say he felt sick. It wasn’t too far from the truth. All these memories of Beth had proven to him one thing, he remembered it all too well. He remembered her all too well to go about his life like nothing had happened. He remembered it all too well to leave her fate in the police’s hands. 

He collapsed onto his bed, the mattress tempting him to give in to sleep. He didn’t dare close his eyes though, in fear that she would linger in his head and haunt him even in his dreams. 

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