Holding On

Chapter 29 - Laying Low Again

Hunter's POV

Relief flooded through me as Katherine finally left the house. Hearing Courtney defend herself was enjoyable though. Watching her get underneath Katherine's skin was priceless. However, there went my chances of keeping Courtney a secret from Katherine.

After a few moments of breathing once again, we both gathered up the spilt groceries and headed into the kitchen. It was nice to see that we had some new foods around this place. Courtney seemed content as well, and I was relieved that she heard me out about the whole Katherine situation.

Lunch was rather quiet. Courtney had settled on having a light lunch, but when I asked if she was alright she kept telling me that everything was fine. Something has been a bit off about her the last few days, but I haven't really pushed her for answers. I had a feeling that everything that has happened lately was getting to her, but I decided I would just take a backseat and see if she would unfold for me later.

It was hard to believe that three, almost four, months have passed since the first night that I saw Courtney. Granted, I wish we could've met under different circumstances, but at least I know her now. If she hadn't been on that street or had left a bit earlier from wherever she was coming from, I wouldn't have her here with me. It was nice to have her by my side now, and I was determined to keep it that way.

Alex and John had decided to come over that afternoon to watch some football. Alex was a big football fan, though he never went all out crazy about it. John just like seeing which player got knocked out first. He says he doesn't care much about the sport, that he thinks its just another event where one person tries to hurt the other, but there are moments that even he gets into it a bit. He just almost always has another opinion about everything.

Relaxing on the couch, I was content to prop my feet up on the coffee table and have my arm wrapped around Courtney's shoulders as she curled up at my side. Her blonde head lay gently against my chest, and we all watched the game unfold. Alex was practically on the edge of his seat the whole time.

After a while, I leaned down and gently placed a kiss on the crown of Courtney's head. "I'm sorry you had to meet Katherine like that," I murmured softly into her curls as I heard her sigh happily. "If I had known she was so near, I swear I would have warned you sooner about her."

She shifted gently and smiled up at me. "It's fine. I'm the one that jumped to the conclusions. Besides," she paused giving a small shrug, "it was nice to finally see what I was up against." I chuckled softly as I drew her closer to my body.

"Trust me, there is no competition," I said, my voice taking a low tone. I just hoped that Katherine would leave Courtney alone, but her warning before she left made me think differently. It was a foolish thing to hope for since knowing Katherine meant knowing that she would fight for anything she claimed as hers. If I was pegged as hers, she wouldn't care about whatever the cost would be if there was something threatening to take me away from her.

"Hey, wait a minute!" I turned my attention over to Alex as I heard his voice cut in on our conversation. "Did I just hear that Katherine was here?" He was now showing more interest in us than the game. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips pinched together. "And, if so, why wasn't I called?"

I sighed and heard Courtney laugh softly. "Yes she was here," I said and heard the mutter at the edge of my voice. "I didn't call you because she showed up out of the blue while Courtney was at the store. It was completely unexpected and she was such a pain that I was only focused on getting her out of here."

John was paying attention now too and sat with his arms resting against his knees. "What did she want?" He had suspicion etched in his voice and features, and Alex nodded to John words. The game was forgotten now.