Hunters

Chapter 10.1.

Light shone through the window and brushed Rachel's face. She moaned and opened one eye. The unfamiliar room caused her to flinch. Then she remembered where and why she was there. 

In Daniel's room. After kissing for what seemed like hours, he'd pulled her into bed and she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

She backed up, expecting to hit his warm body. Feeling nothing, she turned around, only to find the bed empty. She pushed herself up to her elbows, listening for sounds of running water, but none came from the bathroom. Maybe he was downstairs getting breakfast for her.

Invigorated by the thought, she hopped out of bed, shower on her mind. Then she'd pick something nice to wear. It'd been a long time since she felt this giddy. She could almost see herself randomly bursting into song. Rachel was in love!

The door banged open before she was halfway to the bathroom.

"Are you up yet, lazy?" Daniel came in, half a croissant in his hand. He took another bite of it. "You overslept. The buffet is closed."

Rachel stared at him dumbfounded. Was he waving the last bit of food in her face? His slightly unfocused eyes caught her attention as did the dark rings under them. "Daniel, have you been...drinking?" She'd wanted to say sleeping, but a whiff of alcohol reached her nose.

"Who, me?" He shook his head, but flinched as if it hurt.

Rachel's eyes widened. A big, jagged crack spread across her heart. She recognized the signs too well. She'd seen him like this for eight whole months. "Yes, you have." She pointed an accusing finger at him.

Daniel wolfed down the rest of the croissant and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, maybe I did have one drink."

"You promised you wouldn't. And this early in the morning." She stomped toward him, but stopped halfway there. The look on his face said it all. "Not this morning. You got drunk last night." Against her will, her hands shook so she clenched them into fists. The crack on her heart deepened, threatening to turn into a crater. "Why did you do that?" She knew the answer before the question was out. "Tell me you didn't do it because we—" The rest of the words wouldn't come out.

Daniel sighed. "Look, I don't think there's any point—"

The hurt slowly morphed into anger. She'd been so sure he'd meant it when he'd kissed her. It felt as if he meant it. "You got drunk because of what happened last night." Her voice quivered.

He rubbed the stubble on his cheek. "It might've had something to do with it. But, Rach, it's not—"

Rachel let out a cry of rage and threw herself on the bed. The pulse drummed in her temples, all reason flying out the window. She reached out and pulled Daniel's suitcase from under the bed. Her fingers tightened around the handle of his gun. She pulled it out and pointed it.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?" He backed away, his hands raised. "Calm down."

"You complete asshole, Daniel Paxton!" she screamed, the gun shaking in her hand. "I thought...you wouldn't..." She couldn't even form a coherent sentence. All she wanted was to hurt him as much as he'd hurt her.

"Put the gun down, Rachel." Daniel took a step forward. "You could hurt someone."

"Hurt someone? Hurt?" She tossed the pistol at his head.

He dodged. It hit the wall. The clip fell out, and both clattered to the floor.. Rachel whipped around and stalked to the bathroom, slamming the door in her wake. She leaned her back against it and slid to the floor, her head in her hands. Don't cry, he's not worth it. Don't cry. But hot tears flooded down her cheeks. The crack tore her heart to pieces.