•The picture used is not mine. Credits to Laurie Shanholtzer via We Heart It.

******

Hunter fingers were clinging to my wrist as he pulled me slowly towards the doors of the reception area. The doors he was about to pull me through would lead outside into the snow, so I stopped him.

"Wait, let me get my jacket and tell my dad bye." I told him. He nodded to me and followed me over to the table I had been sitting at. I grabbed my usual jean jacket with the cotton sleeves and walked to the dance floor. My dad was in the middle, twirling Amanda around as some crazy songs played. I squeezed through all the people there and fought my way to my dad.

"Dad!" I called and his head snapped over to me. He grinned at me but it faltered when he noticed I had my coat on.

"Hey, where are you going?" I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He hugged me back tightly and I kissed his cheek.

"I'm going to go out with Hunter for a little while. I'll be back at the house before twelve, I promise. Have a great time on your honey moon! I love you both!" I kissed my dad's cheek and then I kissed Amanda's before disappearing, not giving my dad enough time to say no.

He didn't yell after me so I figured it didn't matter.

Hunter now had a his suit jacket on and was tapping his foot impatiently while he leaning against the wall by the door.

I smiled and ran up to him. His eyes darted to my face and a look I couldn't comprehend flashed through his eyes.

He took my hand in his and pulled me out the door. Snow was falling gently from the sky. My toes were freezing from smashing through the snow in open-toed heels. The outside lights were on that lead all the way up the sidewalk towards the entrance of another door that I didn't know what it lead to.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we finally stopped running through the snow. He put his hand on the door handle and pulled it open without any trouble.

"I don't know," He said breathlessly and pulled me into the dark room. The smell of chlorine filled my nose. Once the doors were shut behind us and there wasn't any light - even from the full moon outside - I squeezed Hunter's hand in fear he'd let go and leave me to try and find my way around a dark room. He squeezed back and I felt him stretch away from me.

"I'm searching for the light switch.." Hunter mumbled to himself more than telling me. I followed him where he rubbed the wall with his hands to find a switch. Finally, his hand hit something along the wall and I heard a switch.

The whole room lit up with a blinding bright light. I squinted my eyes until finally they adjusted and I opened them all the way. The first thing that caught my eyes was the pool. It glistened when the light above it touched it. I looked at all the porcelain tiling and the tables that were sat to my right beside the pool. Hunter slipped out of my grip and walked over to the side of the pool.

Smiling, I walked beside of him and stood by the water with him. The rest of the room was completely silent. Hunter suddenly looked at me with a mischievous smile on his face. He pulled his hands from his pockets and striped his jacket off, tossing it back onto the floor. I stared at him in shock.

"Wanna go for a swim?" He asked me as he began unbuttoning his shirt. He took his bow tie off and tossed it along with his shirt into his jacket. Next came his shoes... socks... Then he started to unbutton his pants. I blushed and turned my head. I heard him chuckle.

Clearly uncomfortable with the situation, I crossed my arms over my chest tightly and sighed. I felt body warmth radiating onto my back, even through the jean of my jacket.

"C'mon," Hunter turned me around gently. He was still in his pants now. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Before I could react, he jumped sideways and splashed into the pool. Water dropped onto my dress and on my bare legs. It was surprisingly warm.

I watched Hunter flop back and forth in the water as I took at seat in one of the chair by a table. It was sort of hot in the room, so I took my jacket off and slipped my heels off, placing them on the table.

"Why don't you just jump in? The water's great." Hunter floated on his back and spit water out of his mouth like a fountain.

"You're crazy! It'll be freezing when you get out." I told him. It was true; I didn't want to get sick.

"There's towels over there to dry off with." He reasoned, standing at the side of the pool with his arms folded on the top and his chin resting on them. "Please?" His bottom lip jutted out.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I'll freeze."

"I'll keep you warm." He said with a cute crooked grin on his face. I blushed and looked away while gnawing on my bottom lip.

"Nope, I'm glued to this seat." I stated stubbornly. I did want to swim with him, but I didn't want to seem desperate by saying yes and jumping right in.

"I can fix that." I stared at him with wide eyes as he pulled himself up out the water. His arms were toned ridiculously and I had a hard time looking away. His pants were hung low on his waist from being soaked with water.

Before I even realized what was happening, Hunter pulled me up into his arms bridal-style and carried my towards the edge of the pool. I screamed and smacked his shoulder in attempt to get him to put me down. It didn't work.

Soon, both our bodies were surrounded by water. My eyes popped open while we were still under and I stared at Hunter in front of me. His eyes were also open. My cheeks puffed out with air and I tried to smile at him but failed miserably. He grinned at me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to the surface of the water. My dress was flowing around us everywhere in the water and I suddenly felt guilty for doing this the dress Amanda bought me. I set those feelings aside for the time being.

I looked at Hunter as he moved my wet hair out of my eyes and smiled devilishly at him. Before he could do anything about it, I put both hands on top of his head and pushed him under the water. It didn't take long for him to react, though. He put his arms around my legs and pulled me under with him.

When I came back up, I was gasping for air and laughing at the same time so it probably sounded like I was wheezing. Hunter guffawed like a maniac in the mean time.

"I've gotta get this off." I whined as I tugged at my dress. Hunter walked around me and unzipped the zipper. I felt self conscious then and held the dress right to my chest.

"What?" He asked me, looking at me with big eyes filled with concern. I looked down and wondered if he'd ever done anything with a girl. Sure, he never had any girlfriends, but that doesn't mean he didn't have girls all over him. I don't doubt that he did.

He finally got the hint that I was being self conscious.

"Jasey, it's okay. It'll be just like a bikini. Ever worn one of those?" He said lightheartedly. He placed his hands on either side of my face and moved the wet hair that stuck to my skin. I smiled a little at him and took the dress off, tossing the soaked material blob onto the pool side. I was now in my bra and underwear. He was right, it was just like a bikini.

*****

The air was cool when we got out of the pool. Hunter grabbed me a towel off the metal rack that sat against the wall. He tossed it to me and I wrapped it around my half-naked body. With my hair being wet, It'll freeze tot skull in an instant if I walked outside in the cold night air. Hunter wrapped a giant beach towel around his shoulders so it would cover up his shirtless self in the night air. We gathered up our stuff and walked with our feet splashing in little puddles of water to the exit door.

"I'm going to get sick." I cringed at the thought of puking and having a fever.

"Here," Hunter handed me his dry suit jacket and wrapped around my shoulders. He buttoned it all the way up and them hung the towel around me again, over the coat. I gave him a small smile as a thanks since my teeth were already trying to chatter.

"Okay, let's run to my car. I know where it's at and we can get there quick." Hunter said this like it was our game plan, which, in a way it was. I buckled my dreadfully uncomfortable heels onto my feet once more and Hunter put his shoes on. His soaked pants were still buttoned around his waist, slung low.

Before he opened the door, he flipped the lights off. I felt his warm hand in my cold one and then the doors squeaked open, hitting us full on with freezing cold air.

Hunter pulled me with him around the building in the opposite way of the reception that was still going strong.

We reached his car as quickly as he said we would and hopped in. It was almost colder than it was outside of the car, but after Hunter turned on his seat warmers and the heat up on high, we were good.

He began to drive through the snow slowly and very carefully. I watched as he focused on the road.

"So, I wanted to ask you a favor." He broke the comfortable silence a few moments later. I picked my head up off my hand I had leaning on the window. Leaning my head back on the seat, I stared at him with wide, curious eyes.

"What is it?" I was anxious now while watching him contemplate if he was doing the right thing.

"Well... never mind." He asked me quietly, almost in a whisper. I could tell this was a touchy topic for him. I reached over and held his arm with my hands.

"It's okay, you can ask me." I told him gently. He glanced at me and back at the road.

"I will, when I'm not driving."

*****

When we reached my house, I held the jacket around my tighter and made a mental note to bring it back to Hunter tomorrow. I stood by the opened door for a few moments and looked at Hunter. He had a crease on his forehead indicating he was frustrated.

"Hunter? Will you come in for a little while?" I asked since he wasn't moving. He glanced at me and heaved a sigh before shrugging his shoulders and getting out. We walked up to my front door in the dark as I dug around for the key in it's hiding spot. Once I got the door open, I told Hunter to follow me upstairs so I could get him some of Reese's clothes.

I handed him some gray jogging pants and an old wrestling t-shirt from when Reese wrestled his junior year.

While he changed in the bathroom, I ran to my room and got into a pair of cotton shorts and one of Grant's old army t-shirts he gave me. I brushed out my knotted and frozen hair and pulled up into a messy bun. When I was done, I grabbed several blankets and two pillows up in my arms and went to the living room. Hunter must've still been in the bathroom because I didn't see any sign of him.

His wet clothes were sitting in a sloppy pile outside the closed bathroom door, somI grabbed them and tossed them in the drier for him to take home later.

Yearning for some warmth in my hands and toes, I piled the blankets I had on the couch along with my pillows. I flipped the TV on and grabbed the remote, ready to watch anything that was on.

Hunter made an appearance after I was snuggled up under my blankets.

He sat down beside me and I immediately covered him up with some blankets. He didn't object to me covering him up like a mother would their child at bedtime.

With the TV only illuminating his face, I saw the crease still in his forehead.

"You gonna tell me now?" I asked him. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest before sighing in defeat.

"Right. Remember when I told you I had a sister named Jamie back home?" He turned to me now, looking me straight in the eye. I furrowed my eyebrows and started back.

"Yeah." I replied.

He contemplated something in his head for a moment before continuing.

"I'll ask you the favor first and then tell you the details." He breathed. I just waited quietly and patiently for him to continue.

"My mom wants to see me in the next few days. But she's in prison. I wanted you to come with me." He said everything slowly like he was drugged up on something, which he clearly wasn't. I looked at him as I bit my lip. He was looking at the TV now, staring into oblivion. I felt a pang of pure pain for him. He never mentioned his mother was in prison. Was he lying about his sister and dad too?

"Yeah, sure, I'll come." I told him and rested my head on his shoulder. He laid his head on top of mine. I figured it'd be easier for him to tell me when I wasn't looked straight at him, pressuring him.

"My little sister," He began, "was about ten years old four years ago. I was fourteen. One, day, when I came home from school, I heard her screaming and crying. She was yelling for my mom and then she was yelling for me. I went into our living room at the time to find my mom passed out on the couch. She had been doing drugs, something she always did and if she could get away with it in prison, she still would.

"I shook her like crazy to try to get her up and see what was wrong with Jamie, but she didn't budge. I finally just gave up and ran to the room that Jamie's screams were coming from. I kicked the door so many times that I made a small hole in it. It was locked, and on the other side of the door, I heard my dad's voice and Jamie's.

"When I finally got the door unlocked with a coat hanger, I witnessed something so horrible and disgusting that I'm glad that man died. He raped my baby sister. She was only ten years old. That night, I helped her get ready for bed in every way I possibly could. She begged me not to leave her side, so even laid down with her and slept."

I had tears forming in the corners of my eyes. When I looked up at Hunter, his face was hard and swept clean of emotion. I wanted to do something to comfort him, but this seemed like the only to do that; sit and listen.

"A few days later, Dad had to take Jamie to one of her dance recitals. I didn't want to let him take her, but I had no choice. He'd punched me in the gut already that morning for fighting him on it. Anyway, they got into a car accident. Both of them... passed away." He took a deep breath and didn't say anything else for the time being.

I turned my body so I was facing him and I he reluctantly looked at my shock-stricken face. Instead of apologizing for whatever happened, I hugged him so tight I thought my arms would fall off. He hugged me right back and we stayed like that for the longest time. I finally got comfortable on the couch beside him, always touching his arm in some way.

I felt Hunter's arm fall lazily over my shoulders and down to the small of my back. He was still lightly breathing, barely awake. I should've mentioned by now that I get irritable when I'm tired, so when I went to lay my head on Hunter's lap, I was ready to snap at him to leave me be.

Slowly, I rested my head on his lap and curled my legs up on the couch under my warm blankets. My arms curled up around myself as I began to fall asleep. I faintly felt Hunter's fingers run through my hair before my last bit of consciousness ran out.

*****

My eyes fluttered open to see that the TV was off and there was sun shining through the living room window on me. I groaned and covered my eyes with my blanket to keep the sun blocked.

"Wake up, sleepy head." Grant was sitting on the coffee table in front of me. He had his military uniform on and that immediately caught my attention. I sat up and stared at him with squinted eyes as they adjusted to the light in the room.

"Why are you dressed like that?" I almost demanded. I rubbed my eyes to help them adjust.

"I told you last week; I gotta go back over seas." He told me. I felt my heart drop and all I wanted to do was cry. With my head hung low and my bottom lip quivering, I turned to Grant to see his face. He look very handsome in his uniform.

After listening to Hunter's story last night about his little sister, I suddenly felt as if I would lose my brother.

Without a second thought, I threw my arms around him and held on as tight as I could.

"I'm gonna miss you, bubby." I used the name Reese and I used to call him when we could pronounce his name. Grant held me just as tight and I decided that I was glad we were alone to have this big brother-little sister moment.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Jay. Be good for me, okay? I'll be back before you know it. Love you." He kissed my forehead and stood up to grab his things at the door. Before he did, the front door burst open and Jasmine came in. She jumped on Grant, wrapping her long legs around his waist and hugging him so tight I thought his head would pop off.

"We'll miss you." She cried into his shoulder. I couldn't stop thinking about how this burst inside my home was so random.

Grant put Jasmine on her feet gently and stared at her in awe.

"We?" He asked in shock. I saw this whole thing come together. How Grant's face was of pure happiness and shock mixed into one and how Jasmine's was a mix of happiness and also sadness.

"I'm pregnant," she said aloud, "the doctor just called me and told me I was and I know we already said our goodbyes last night but I j-just can-can't..." Jasmine blubbered on before Grant finally stopped her with a kiss as he spun her in a circle.

"I love you so much." He told her. Then I came on the scene.

"You're pregnant?!" I yelled. Jasmine cringed at my sudden outburst, like she didn't expect me to be there. Then she smiled, tears still falling down her face.

"Yeah." She sighed and held her arms out for a hug.

I learned that Jasmine was planning on telling us all soon but she had to tell Grant first. She was sad that he was going to be gone for most of the pregnancy, but we all had to hope and pray he'd be back before she had this little angel inside her. I completely agreed with her, and now we just had to wait.

But I had other agenda on my schedule.

________________

I'm sorry that the end is kind of rushed :/. I wanted this chapter to be posted soon but I've been extremely busy! Thank you for being patient, too!! I love you guys <3

Question of the Chapter: Do you think Hunter likes Jasey? Or is all temporary?

Extra! ::: Shiloh! He'll make an appearance in the next chapter!

The picture at the top could be Hunter and his little sister, Jamie, or it could be Jasey and Grant! Big-brother-little-sister relationships are my favorite ♥︎

Bye, can't wait to hear what you have to say about this chapter!