✈ Hunter ✈

My steps were heavy as Amber and I walked aimlessly around the carnival. My one and only big secret was unintentionally revealed. To Amber.

Oh my God. I really wanted to jump out of the carriage earlier on. Just kidding. I would definitely be labelled as crazy or foolish if that actually happened.

Out of all of the people I could possibly divulge this secret, it had to be Amber. Personally, I would prefer to let someone close to me or I have known for years to know such an embarrassing secret. Now, I have no choice but to accept the fact that my secret was out of the bag. I was just afraid of looking down when the carriage was dangling midair, no big deal. Right?

I stopped walking and turned around to find that Amber was not following behind me. My heart started pounding at an increasingly rapid pace. My eyes were scanning the crowd, in hopes of finding Amber. However, the carnival was filled with numerous families which made it a challenge to locate Amber.

Damn it. Why hadn't she inform me before wandering off somewhere at the very least?

I just could not stand there and use only my eye power to find Amber. I squeezed through the crowd and nearly grabbed a few girls who looked like her.

The whole thing, trying to find a 20 year old grown-up, was driving me nuts. I was given a couple of weird stares for appearing like I have lost my child. Before I could faint because of the lack of oxygen, I squeezed my way out of the most crowded area in this carnival. I tried to look for Amber in a more airy place. It also meant lesser people would be here, which might make it easier for me to find her.

"Hey!" Someone tugged onto my sleeve which made me halt in my tracks.

I found Amber standing right in front of me, with a stick of cotton candy. She passed me the stick shyly, which caused the bad temper in me to be unleashed.

"Where the hell have you been?!" My tone was harsh and it was a little louder than I intended it to be.

Amber was taken aback by my reaction as she took a step back. For a moment, a look of hurt flashed across her face but disappeared just as quickly as it came out.

"To get you cotton candy."

"Who the hell eats cotton candy right before dinner?!" Both of my hands flew up to my face in total disbelief.

The moment of realisation came to me a little too late.

"Amber.." I called out to her because she was back facing me.

"Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that I was worried you might be missing."

Amber refused to look at me as she continued to show me the back of her head. My hands were on my hips as I thought of how to appease Amber. Before I could think of any solutions, Amber turned to face me.

"I'm sorry for just now too." Amber whispered as she shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.

"Well, since we've both apologised, it's fair and square now?"

Amber nodded in agreement as a small smile was tugging on her lips. I let out a breath I did not realise I was holding.

"I don't suppose you'll be hungry after.. Hey, I thought you wanted to give me that?" I pointed to the stick of cotton candy she was giving me earlier on.

"You rejected it, so I'll eat that on behalf of you then." Amber gave a shrug as if she had no choice but to eat it.

"I didn't say that."

Amber had a cheeky grin etched on her face before she replied.

"Well from your actions it's obvious that you didn't want this." Amber waved the empty stick in front of me as she threw it into the rubbish bin beside us.

"So, you'll just watch me eat then."

"Eat what?"

"Dinner of course." Once again, I walked into the crowd and headed towards the only diner at this carnival.

"There's still space in my tummy!"

"Are you sure?" I gave Amber a skeptical look as I stopped her in time from colliding with another person.

"Yes." Amber said in a very serious tone which made me laughed out loud. I was rewarded with a beat on the arm.

The diner appeared in our line of sight as I increased my pace because my stomach was grumbling rather loudly. I shot Amber a sideway glance to double check if she had heard it. Unfortunately, there was a smirk hanging on her lips.

"Sounds like someone is hungry, eh?" Amber nudged me in the elbow as I gentlemanly held the door for her.

I simply rolled my eyes at her because I could not think of a powerful comeback.

"Wait here." I instructed Amber to stay where she was and held up a finger as she turned to me with a frown. I walked to the counter as a genuine smile appeared upon my face. The guy took my order and I was making my way back to our seat in less than five minutes. My stomach was celebrating and I rubbed my hands in excitement.

Let the feasting begin.
.........

"Well thanks for walking me home." Amber stopped and turned to face me with a smile.

"It's nothing. I just live a few blocks away from here." I replied while rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

Both of Amber's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I thought you stay at Magnolia Estate?"

I could not form any words and gave Amber a sad shrug. Amber got the message that I was not comfortable explaining so she let it slide. She headed towards the lift and her lips lifted into a small smile before the lift door closed.

I slipped my hands into the pockets and exited the building. My shoulders were hunched when a gust of cool breezy wind blew past me. I quickened my steps as lightning flashed past the dark, starless night sky. The sound of thunder boomed loudly which resulted in children screaming out of fear.

Fortunately, rain began to pour down after I was in the lobby. I was pushed further into the lobby because there were other residents running in for shelter.

"Oops sorry." A teenage girl smiled sheepishly, showing off her dimples.

"It's alright." I responded with a smile of my own as I let her enter the lift first.

"Have you just moved here?"

"Yeah. I just moved in today." As soon as I completed my sentence, the lift door slide open. I gave the girl a polite nod before exiting.

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Cassandra."

"Hunter." I did not bother to turn back and continued walking towards my apartment.

As I was unlocking the door, I noticed that the lights in my new home was on. My mother was sitting on the couch and turned to look at me upon hearing the door swung open.

"How have you been, honey?" My mother hugged me tightly as if she was afraid I would disappear any second.

"I.. I'm doing great, m.. mum." I had to squeeze out an answer because I could barely breath and signalled for my mother to release me.

"Oh look at you. Didn't you eat at all?" I could the concern in my mother's eyes and tears started to well up.

I immediately wiped off the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"Mum, don't worry about me. I am eating well."

"How can you tell a mother not to worry about her child?" She went to the bathroom and washed her face before I could form a reply.

I entered the kitchen to prepare something for my mother to drink and came out to find her busy with cleaning the living room. I quietly walked over to take over the cleaning job and handed her the cup of water.

"Mum, how's everyone?" I distracted her from thinking about my messy living room.

"Your dad and brother are fine. Carter and I have been trying to persuade your stubborn as a mule father to let you come home."

My mother sent me a look which clearly says that Carter was indeed on my side. However, I was not convinced that Carter would help me at all.

"By the way, where have you been all night? I was here an hour ago and you were not here."

"I.. I was out with a friend."

"With Jenna?" My jaws were clenched at the mere mention of her name.

"We.. Um, we broke up last week."

My mother froze as she was placing the cup on the coffee table. She gave me a bewildered look before asking me.

"What happened? I thought things were going great between the two of you."

"I thought so too, mum..." I trailed off because my ego was preventing me from telling her the truth.

I focused my attention on mopping the floor and refused to look at my mother in the eye. I was not prepared to explain the fact that Jenna dumped me. The mop was taken away from me and a hand was patting my back. I grinded my teeth back and forth, as tears silently filled my eyes. But, I simply refused to let those tears stream down my face.

No words were needed between my mother and I. She continued to pat my back and hummed the familiar tune whenever I woke up screaming from a nightmare. At that moment, all I really needed was a hug.

A/N :
Thank you all for helping Quinn Meets Cadwell reach over 500 reads! ♥ I hope you guys are liking the characters so far 😊 I really appreciate all the support 😘