The Canary And The Blue Bird.

Chapter 6. Hunter.

"—mie? Jamie! Oh my god I'm so glad I found you," a voice said, running towards me.

It was Hunter's voice.

"Holy shit what happened to you?" he said, crouching to my side. "Jamie? Jaime, can you hear me? C'mon man this isn't funny."

His voice sounded pained. He shook me, trying to wake me up, but I was too weak and tired.

"Did—did they do this to you?" He said, lifting my body onto his. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you home and fix you up okay? You'll be okay, I promise."

Hunter started to walk along the road, whispering things to himself. I kept going in and out of consciousness for the next ten minutes.

"Taxi!" Hunter yelled.

The car stopped and he opened the door and laid me down in the back seats. He closed the door and got in on the other side. He took my head and laid it on his lap.

"Where to kid?" the man said.

"77 Lincoln road. At the end of town near the highschool."

"You got it."

I felt the car move and Hunter's hand rested on my shoulder. I'm glad he found me. The rest of the drive was relatively silent. The subtle sound of jazz played on the radio and the taxi driver was humming to the music. I felt tired and light headed. My head was pounding and my stomach ached, but I was calm. I felt safe with Hunter even though we were in a car with a stranger.

About eight minutes later, the car stopped.

"Alright kid, we're here," the driver said.

"Thank you sir," Hunter said, carefully taking my head off of his lap and getting out of the car. "I would've been walking forever if it wasn't for you."

"No problem. It's my job after all." he said, taking out his wallet. "I want people to arrive at their destination safely, y'know?"

Hunter opened the other door of the car and helped me out, taking my arm and putting it around his shoulder. "How much do I owe you, sir?"

"Five bucks."

"Okay.." he said, taking out a five dollar bill from his wallet. "Here."

"Thanks." he said, taking the bill. "Hey, take good care of your friend there alright? Make sure you clean the wounds before tending to them."

"Thank you sir, I'll be sure to do that." Hunter said, walking us away from the car.

The car drove off and the sound of it became quieter until all that was left to hear was the sound of light rain hitting the road and the muffled hooting sounds of owls in the distance. Taking keys out of his pocket, Hunter unlocked the door to his house and we walked inside. He sat me down on the bench at the door and took my shoes off, then his own. He turned the lights on and took my jacket off and set it in an empty laundry basket. He took my hand again and lifted me up to stand, and walked me down to his room and I sat down on an old towel on his bed.

"I'm gonna get you a change of clothes, okay?" He said, walking over to his closet and taking out a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. "Your clothes are full of mud so I'll put them in the laundry. Don't worry about being quiet or anything, my mom won't be back for a few days and my dads on a business trip in America right now. You should probably take a bath, you have mud all over your face and hair too."

He walked to his bathroom attached to his bedroom and started the bath. The sound of the water hitting and filling the tub was loud. I looked around his room hazily. There were band posters, movie posters and car figurines everywhere. There was a record player and a shelf of old records on his shelf. He had a small radio on his desk and scattered music tapes everywhere. The room had blue and yellow wallpaper, and the floors were carpeted.

After two minutes, the water stopped.

"Okay the water's ready, Jamie," Hunter said, walking out of the bathroom.

I nodded and he helped me stand up and walk to the bathroom. He helped me get undressed and into the tub, then took my dirty clothes and my jacket to the laundry room and put them in the laundry machine to wash them.

"Can you wash yourself? Or do you want me to help you?" he said, walking back to his room.

"I'm sore everywhere.. I can barely move my arms on my own." I said, looking up at him.

"Okay, I'll help you then." he reassured, rolling up his pant legs and taking his socks off.

He sat on the edge of the tub facing me and started washing my face with a small faded green towel. His hands were rough from training, but he caressed my face with them so tenderly. He washed my hair with his shampoo and conditioner, and massaged my head while scrubbing it onto my scalp.

"Keep your eyes closed." He said, cupping his hands and filling them with water. He rinsed my hair and then cleaned my shoulders, back and chest.

I don't remember the last time I was taken care of like this. I don't think I ever was. After I was rid of any mud or dry blood, he helped me out of the tub and helped to dry myself off. He left the room again as I got dressed in his clothes, and he came back with a first aid kit.

"This might hurt a little bit, okay?" "Okay."

We both sat down on his bed and he started to clean the small cuts on my face. He looked so focused. Although we really didn't say anything during this short moment, neither of us felt uncomfortable or awkward in each other's presence. I felt safe with him.

My eyes started to get heavy as he took care of me. He finished bandaging my face and he let me lay down on his bed. Hunter cleaned up the bandages, put them back in the first aid kit and set it on his desk. He turned off the lights and locked the front door before walking back into his room and laying down beside me.

"I'm sorry this happened," he whispered, pulling the covers over our shoulders, "I didn't know they would do such a thing to you. Next time, I'll stay by your side the whole time. I promise."

I suppose I really did like him. He took care of me at my worst when we were kids, and he's taking care of me the same way now.

"Goodnight, Jamie. Get some rest, okay?"