Holding On

Chapter 10 - The Call

Courtney's POV

Two days have passed since the day Hunter said I would be talking to Daniel. They couldn't have gone any slower in my opinion. It was almost like the thought was taunting me, causing me to dwell on it more and more. During those two days, Hunter has starting acting...weird to say the least. He seems to be watching himself closely when I'm around, his jokes are often drowned down, and he doesn't seem to want to look at my eyes, or me in general, when he talks to me.

Something has definitely changed with him and I can only guess that it has something with this calling business. However, now I sat near the window in my room, weighing the options I now had once again. Truthfully, I couldn't really say I had options but I was letting myself think as if I did. I still had no idea if staying was even on the playing field yet.

I also allowed myself to compare the two men in question. Alright, let's start with Daniel again. High school sweetheart, supportive, caring, always gone, only talk now and then when he gets the time, quiet nights when he comes home cause he is tired, left alone in the house more often then not... I frowned slightly as I realized what I was listing wasn't exactly the happiest things any more.

Alright, so let's go to Hunter now. Kidnapper... I couldn't help but laugh at this now. It seemed so strange to me to refer to him as my kidnapper, as well as realize that I feel no fear towards that man any more. Instead, I saw him as a friend, maybe even more now.

I shook my head slightly and quickly went back to my list, needing to focus. Alright, um, kidnapper, gang leader, protective, 'tough outside, soft inside', doesn't leave very often, always having fun, always a mystery around every corner... I smiled as my mind flew with a dozen more things to add to Hunter's list, taking everything from my first arrival to now.

In my life before, I had everything I could ever ask for. However, Daniel was, is, always away and I'm home alone unless the girls invite me out. I wasn't happy, even with access to any money thanks to Daniel.  But here, I have nothing to claim as my own, and I have no access to anything of my own right now, but I have people around me, I'm hardly alone, and there is always a good time when Alex and John come around. I feel happy here, happier than I have in a long time.

I laid my head against the windowsill, frowning at the thought of leaving. The answer seemed to be perfectly clear to me, and yet something felt strange. Wait; am I nervous...about Daniel? Since when have I ever been nervous about Daniel?

To be completely honest, I was nervous just by the thought of talking to Daniel. I didn't know what he would say, how he would react, or just what would play out. I had no idea how anything would play out right now and that for sure made me nervous.

I would've dwelled on this longer, no doubt, but a knock on my door tore me from my thoughts. "Courtney, are you awake in there?" I smiled slightly as I heard Alex's voice and stepped away from the windowsill. I would definitely miss this young man who was always full of energy, but also helpful and willing to listen.

"Yeah, it's unlocked," I called, letting him know he could come in. Right now, my mind set is to just assume staying is out of the question. I had nothing else to go by really. Nothing had been suggested of me staying, and right now Hunter sure didn't seem to want me around with his strange behavior.

Alex opened the door and peaked in, looking over at me. "Hey, sorry if I'm invading your privacy, but I was sent to check and see if you were ready to talk to Daniel." He gave a crooked smile, letting out a slightly nervous laugh.

I smiled back at him. "You're not invading," I said as I came over to him. "And yeah, I guess I am. It would be smart to do this as soon as possible." It was the only thing I could do right now really.