My Cousin in the Summer

Chapter 8

Part I

The stage was set, the camera was rolling and I was on the floor. Dead.

Grammy, Pa, Aunt Marlene and Uncle Craig watched intently and so far, we had done exceptionally well. We were filming the last scene and now, all Hunter had to do was recite his lines.

Romeo, or Hunter, had just found me in my tomb and laid a stuffed dog, that was supposed to be Paris, next to me.

"A grave?" He said, "oh, no! A lantern, slaughtered youth. For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes this vault..."

Hunter continued his lines as I laid there. He was close to finishing, saying how his eyes would see no more, when he paused. It was eerily silent, until Alicia coughed slightly, making Hunter jump and continue.

"Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O you. The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss. A dateless bargain to engrossing d-"

Hunter stopped again. I felt his breath come in short gasps as it fluttered across my face. He whispered, "I can't do this," before I heard him run away.

I opened my eyes, stood up and looked at Alicia behind the camera. Her eyes showed her panic as she kept casting glances upstairs where Hunter had vanished. Samuel, who wasn't even in the scene, cried out, "Juliet! She's alive after all!"

I bit my lip before hurrying up the stairs and saying, "I'll go find him."

I ran into the kitchen, and looked around. Nothing. I hurried into the main room and checked the other set of stairs as well as where the computer was at. He wasn't there.

Panic rushed through me like a wildfire. He had to be here somewhere...

I scanned the room again, and noticed that the door wasn't even properly shut. He must've gone outside. Running towards the door, I burst into the warm summer night and looked around. The front porch lights were on, yet I still couldn't seem to find any hint where he could have gone to.

I speed-walked across the gravel where the fountain was, stopping just short of the stones that were cemented as a path walk. I turned, looking at everything that I could possibly make out in the darkness. Nothing. I tried calling out his name, but there was no reply.

Letting out a sigh, I began walking back across the gravel, my feet making a crunching noise. Where could he have gone?

I was just about to pass in front of my aunt and uncle's car, when I heard something squeak. It was high-pitched, almost as if the swing, which was a few feet away from the fountain, had come to life.

I paused. The swing.

Turning around to face the yard, I jogged up onto the pathway and squinted in the darkness. I barely made out a shape, but it was there. I stepped forward catiously, and whispered,

"Hunter?"