Hunt

Chapter 19: Seaside

It took longer than I wanted to get myself cleaned up. But in my defense I had been through a rough couple of days. It took a good amount of scrubbing to get the dirt under my fingernails to come loose, and before I knew it I was on my way to pick Reyna. Spending the entire drive over frantically trying to pick a restaurant we'd both enjoy. Trying to remember what was there when I was on the waterfront last. I finally decide on one as Reyna hops in the car, a rather nice place right on the pier. From what I recall it had good views of the water and wouldn't financially ruin me.

Reyna was wearing a simple but beautiful black sundress, perfect for the clear and warm weather we'd been having. It paled in comparison to my jeans and flannel, the only thing I could come up with on short notice that wasn't recently used on a hunt or for school other than my tuxedo I used during freshman year. Now that I think about it I should probably burn that thing next chance I get...

"You look amazing," I say as we get out on the main road, breaking the silence.

"T-thanks," Reyna stammer. She quickly turns her head to look out the window, but it didn't hide the blush that had blossomed across her face. "Y-you too."

We fall once again into an awkward silence. Myself focused on the road while she watched the other cars pass on by. Only when I catch her stifling a yawn do I break the silence again. "You alright?"

I can hear the yawn halt halfway out of Reyna's mouth, "Yeah I'm alright, guess I didn't sleep very well last night. Still getting used to the new house." She says clearing her throat.

"Gotcha, I guess we're in the same boat then." I say with a small chuckle, "I had some crazy dreams last night, couldn't seem to get comfortable afterwards." I catch her looking back my way, a small smile on her lips behind searching eyes.

Seattle was a mess, but I had long since anticipated that. Being a weekend I knew the traffic through to the waterfront was going to be horrific. But with a stroke of wild luck we manage to find some paid parking that both wasn't too far from the restaurant and wasn't a complete scam. Reyna offers to pay for the parking but I decline, reassuring her that I was paying for tonight as per our deal on the mountain.

"You sure I can't pay for the parking? You already made it clear that you'd cover dinner." Reyna asks again as we walk along the waterfront.

"Don't worry about it!" I say reassuringly. A seagull calls from above, drawing my eye for but a moment. "Besides, I owe you a lot more than dinner for helping with my other incidents this week."

Reyna sighs and links arms with me, "Very well. You drive a hard bargain Mr. Parker." She sticks her tongue out at me jokingly before looking to all the other people crowding the boardwalk. "Is it always this busy down here?"

"Yeah unfortunately, weekends are worse than other days, even more so since the weather's been so nice." I had gone rigid when Reyna locked arms with me, but was slowly beginning to relax again. "The waterfront here is a major tourist attraction, everyone wants to be down here when they can." Reyna replies only with a small nod, watching the crowd around us.

"How's your leg holding up? You don't seem to be limping nearly as bad as yesterday," I ask. She had been walking fine since I picked her up. But there was a small limp that's almost undetectable unless you're really looking for it.

"I'm alright. A little sore and stiff but it's nothing I can't live with. I've had a lot worse in the past." She says reassuringly, flashing a small smile as she holds my arm tighter.

The dinner was amazing. The restaurant I had picked was quite busy, but the food was well worth the wait. All the while we talked about life and laughed about school, finally finishing up a conversation we had started during lunch a couple days back that we never got to finish. Reyna spoke about how apprehensive she was about even attending since the school year was already close to being over and graduation being so close.

"Yeah I can understand that. Seems kind of pointless almost. But hey, we wouldn't have met if you never came to school." I say, taking a small sip of my soda.

She laughs, "Y'know, that's a very good point! All the more reason to come to a new school."

We tell stories about school, myself from the many antics that happened my last couple years, her with what life was like back in California. Laughing the entire time.

When the time comes to pay the check I get pressed by Reyna about it again, "You really don't have to pay for the whole thing, let's split the check."

I shake my head stubbornly, "Nope! We had a deal, whoever made it down the mountain last had to pay."

"You carried me down!" She protests.

I raise an eyebrow, "Only after you left me in the dust. I admitted defeat. You would have beaten me in that race without a shadow of a doubt."

"I- you... Fine, you win. But I pay for next time!" She exclaims, the biggest grin on her face.

"Deal." I say, handing the waiter my card.

After dinner we take another walk around the boardwalk, watching the sunset over the mountains across the water from the pier. At some point Reyna's hand had found its way into mine. I wasn't complaining.

"Man... I wish this day would never end." Reyna says absentmindedly, leaning against me on the bench we were watching the sunset from. The last remnants of the sun slowly dipping below the snow capped peaks across the water. The vibrant pinks and yellows mellowing out to violet and blues.

I was just about to put an arm around her when my phone dings. Disrupting the beautiful moment with a jarring crash back to reality. "Sorry," I apologize, pulling my phone out.

It was a text from Nick. "Kyle, I did some homework..." the rest gets cut off in the notification.

"Everything alright?" Reyna asks, looking up at me.

I nod quickly, pocketing my phone, "Yeah, nothing important." I say, reassuring her. But a pulling feeling in the back of my mind made me want to pull my phone back out. To see what Nick had found. A nagging feeling that he had found a lead pokes at the back of my mind.

The chill of night begins to set in shortly after the sun dips behind the horizon. The once peaceful and warm breeze growing harsher, more unforgiving without the warmth from the sun to smooth over its jagged edges. I notice Reyna shivering and I quickly wrap my flannel around her.

"T-thanks." She says smiling, blushing in the dwindling light.

"Of course," I reply, returning the smile. "Let's go get out of the cold."

Making our way back towards the car the shadows continue to grow longer, the beginnings of moonlight begin to reflect off the water, casting white light across the boardwalk as a ferry lumbers across the calm waves in the distance. Reyna stops for a moment, watching the boat as it passes by. The moonlight dancing in her eyes seemed to make her emerald eyes glow.

"Have you ever been to the other side? Of the water?" Reyna asks, pointing to the land in the distance, where the Olympic mountains are now obscured in the ever darkening twilight.

"Once or twice, it feels like an entirely different world over there. It feels older, wilder. It's also a lot more wet." I reply, remembering the lush rainforests and massive evergreens that make up the Olympic peninsula, it's a beautiful place that really shows what the old world used to look like.

She turns and links arms with me again, "I'd love to see it someday." She says leaning into me. "Shall we go?"

That small tingle in the back of my mind was beginning to return. Eluding to something important that I just couldn't see. Checking my phone for the time I'm greeted once again by the notification of Nick's text. Feeling my heart begin to drop I nod, "Yeah let's go."

Oh how I wish to stay in this moment. Just for a little longer. I didn't want to go back to the real world. Not yet.