Heart of Ice

Chapter Eighteen

Song: Tsunami- Ricky Manning

Three years earlier

"What's wrong, Alaska?" I glanced behind me to see dad standing in the doorway, his eyebrows scrunched together in worry. I sighed as I rested my chin back on my knees, the wind gently rocking the swing I sat on. Dad was quiet for a few seconds before he sat beside me, leaning forward so that I could see his side profile. I was 16 at the time, and dad was spending more and more time with Hunter, shaping him into the perfect protector. The nightmares had become more frequent, and although dad spent as much time as he could training me on my own powers, he started to see it as more necessary to train Hunter harder in case my powers weren't enough against whatever was haunting me. "Did something happen with Hunter?"

"We just had a fight over something stupid. And even after I apologized, he's still not talking to me."

The fight was still fresh in my mind. Hunter had brought a girl over that he had met in a club with one of his friends. He had brought her over a few times, but they never came out of his room, so all I knew about her was that her name was Blair, and when she was around, I really didn't exist. I kept my distance when she was around too. I didn't want Hunter to have another opportunity to tell someone he was "babysitting" me. This time when she came over though, I didn't know she was there, and I decided to go to Hunter's room to take a nap. I knew he would be playing video games around that time, so I could easily sleep without any nightmares since he would be there beside me. But when I opened the door, Hunter hovered over Blair on his bed, and they were making out.

When they heard the door open, Hunter glanced up at me, lipstick smeared under the bottom of his lip and his shirt half undone, and I stared at him wide-eyed before slamming the door shut and running to my room. Just as I stepped inside, Hunter grabbed my arm and pushed me against my door, his eyes narrowing. "Why the hell did you open the door!?"

I tried to pull away from him, but his grasp around my wrists was too strong. "I wanted to take a nap. I didn't know you'd be schmoozing your stupid girlfriend."

"I can do what I want in my room, and she's not my girlfriend. You shouldn't have barged in," His glare softened. "Why are you crying?"

I hadn't even realized that tears had escaped my eyes, but what did I expect? It had only been a year since we had kissed, only a year since I felt something for him-- only a year since he broke my heart. Contrary to what people believe, time doesn't heal that fast.

I jerked in his grip and looked away. "Let me go!"

"Tell me why you're crying and I will."

"I hate you!"

"Don't play with me, Alaska."

"Stop it, dammit," I held back more tears as he pulled my hands toward his chest. I glanced up at him and noticed the seriousness on his face.

"I won't stop, not until you tell me the truth. You can say you hate me all you want, but you and I both know that's far from the truth. Stop lying to yourself."

"I don't care about you!" The bitter lie flew from my lips as I desperately tried to pull away from him. Hurt filled his eyes for a brief second before his face became stone cold. His grip around my wrists released, and he stepped away from me.

Hunter shook his head, staring through me as if he could see every part of my soul. "Such a damn liar."

He walked past me and out the door, slamming it shut behind him. I stood there, my chest aching as I wiped away the tears that had fallen. The rest of the week, he ignored me, and even when I slept beside him at night, he had his back turned away from me. When we were training one morning, I apologized for opening his door, but he just continued to ignore me, and I finally gave up. I knew it wouldn't last forever, but it still hurt when it happened.