✈ Hunter ✈

“Hunter, tell me if you need anything. Oh and please make yourself at home, alright.” Mrs Macbeth said as she changed a new set of bed sheets for me.

“Okay, thanks Mrs Macbeth.” A small grin found it's way to my face.

“Tyler will be home by dinner time. He's at a group mate's house for a project.” Mrs Macbeth picked up the bed sheets for washing and exited the room.

I unpacked my bag and saw the roll of money that my mum mentioned. Clutching the money tightly, I sat down on the bed. After causing trouble again and again, my mum was always on my side. She would defend me whenever my dad started lecturing me. As for my brother, he kept quiet and did nothing.

There was a time when my brother and I were close like every other siblings. But, because of an incident, he betrayed my trust in him. Nobody knew what exactly happened between us. Yes, not even my parents.

Carter's two years older than me, and he inherited the smart genes from my parents. He's always top in class and was the president of student council. He excelled in both academics and did the baseball team proud as their captain.

On the contrary, during my elementary school days I was the first in class if you read it from the back. My brother did not have to study much and was able to score straight As. While there's me studying my ass off and barely made it to college.

Appeasing my dad would not be an easy job.  Especially when he was super pissed off about what had happened.

I heaved a sigh as my fingers tapped out the phone number of my girlfriend.

The dialling tone went on and on, when I was about to hang up the call, Jenna finally answered the call.

“Yeah?”

“Jenna, I was wondering if you would like to meet up for lunch later?”

I was greeted with silence after my question.

“Sorry, I'm meeting my dad later. Got to go, bye.” Jenna hung up the call before I could say anything else.

I looked at the black screen in disbelief. There was something odd about Jenna's tone today. How should I describe it as?

Monotonous? Well, that's not exactly true.

Uninterested? Getting close.

Cold? Yes, that's the word!

Weird. Jenna never spoke to me with that kind of tone before. I suppose she was having a rough day? I sighed for the umpteenth time today.

So far my day had been a roller coaster ride and I just wanted to talk to someone. Jenna was the first one who came up in my mind. My close friends were either in the same trouble as me or doing a school project. I scrolled through my contact list till the last name. In the end, I had no one else to call.

Surprisingly, I felt my phone vibrated and I grabbed it from the study table. I answered the call without checking who's the caller. Perhaps, my greeting was a little too excited.

“Hello!”

“Hey, Quinn. I heard you're in deep shit now. But, you actually sounded happy. Are you still mentally sound?” Luke snickered as if I just crack a joke.

“Not funny.”

“Oh man, you sounded serious. Is everything okay?”

My fingers ran through my hair in frustration.

“Luke! What the hell do you want from me?! Decide if you want me to be happy or sad then call me back.” I pressed on the end call button in anger.

In the end, Luke did not call back. If he called to make fun of me then he might as well don't call. I turned my body around to lay on my stomach. While doing so, I felt something poked on my right thigh. My hands went over to my pocket and pulled out a bracelet.

Oh.

I totally forgotten about this.

“Urgh, what the hell was I thinking? Why would I even care if that girl lose this forever if I didn't bring it back?” I muttered as my thumb trailed along the silver bracelet.

I wondered if the owner knew that she lost her bracelet or she did not even care. I probably have to bring this with me wherever I go. In case, I really bump into her.
............

“Hey, mum. Is Hunter here?” I heard Tyler's voice boom through the house even before he appeared.

“Yeah, he's in the living room!” Mrs Macbeth yelled from the kitchen.

I moved from my comfortable position to get the television remote control and lower down the volume.

“Hey, Tyler.” I stood up from the couch to give Tyler a bro hug.

“Have you spoken to your family?”

“I've told my mum about staying here for the time being.”

“Is your father serious this time? He always threatened about chasing you out of the house. But, that never happen until now.”

I nodded my head and settled myself on the couch. I turned up the volume while Tyler plopped himself on the opposite couch.

“Honestly, I was really shock that my father kicked me out without batting an eye. It was like he had waited for that moment. You know what's weird too? Jenna gave me the impression that she did want to talk to me. Like I've done something wrong or something. It was actually pretty disappointing especially when I wanted to find someone to talk to.”

Tyler kept very quiet and listened to me attentively. He had those eyes which screamed I totally understand how you feel. Well, that was probably the reason why I simply carried on talking.

“Well, Jenna might be busy, don't worry about it. At least you've found someone to talk to, right?” Tyler finally spoke out after a few minutes of silence, except sounds from the television.

I chuckled, feeling more relaxed after spilling out whatever I wanted to say.

“Yeah, you're right. Thanks for lending me your ears and for everything you've done for me today. I really appreciate it, bro.”

Tyler that irritating but lovable friend made an action which clearly indicated that I was being a sissy. The end result was the both of us letting out peals of laughter. After the both of us calmed down, I opened my mouth to speak.

“Oh, and Ty?”

“Yeah?”

“How are things between you and your girlfriend?” My innocent question made Tyler snapped up his head with a surprised look.

Tyler chuckled nervously, before he answered me.

“We're not in that kind of relationship.”

“Huh? I thought you like her?”

“Well, my friend. Liking someone doesn't mean we are automatically in a relationship.”

“That means you have a crush on her. Also, you haven't confess, yet.” I said slowly as my brain tried to understand those words that just came out of my mouth.

Tyler scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Holy shiz, Tyler Macbeth! You have a crush on someone! Wow!” I exclaimed rather loudly and jumped out of the couch to do a lame dance.

“Hunter Quinn! Shut up!” Tyler's legs were long enough to kick me while I was in the middle of my dance.

“Hey! Can't you see that I am genuinely happy for you?” I asked in exasperation.

Tyler's mum came into the living room right after my question. I did not have the chance to ask Tyler, who was the lucky girl. Also, I was still in the awkward and stupid dance pose which made a laughing Tyler rolled on the floor.

“Hunter, what is there to be happy for Tyler?” Mrs Macbeth's question effectively put an end to Tyler's laughing fit.

My gaze travelled between Tyler and his mum. Tyler gave me a pleading look, while his mum had a quizzical look.

“Um, Tyler just told me about winning the recent basketball match. However, he wasn't satisfied with his performance though. He thought my reaction previously was mocking him. So, I tried to emphasize that I am genuinely happy for his win.” I absolutely did not expect myself to give such a long and detailed answer.

Well, neither did Tyler nor his mum.

“Oh, I see. Tyler, I agree with Hunter. Stop beating yourself up for something that you can't change. Both of you go and take a shower, dinner is almost ready.”

“Yes, ma'am!” Tyler and I saluted, which earned us an eye roll from Mrs Macbeth.

A/N :
Yooo thank you all so much for the 116 reads!! I literally shrieked out when I saw the big 100 hahaha! 😄 I really appreciate it! ❤ Last chapter, you get to know more about Amber. This time, it's Hunter! I hope you're liking these characters so far! 😊 Don't be shy to tap on the vote, comment or share button right below here 👇