Until. We. Die

.13.

I woke up on the couch in the living room with a blanket draped over me, my brace off and on the floor, and very alone. Not how I fell asleep last night that now left this tight feeling in my chest as it hit me that Hunter wasn't around. He was in the kitchen talking with his parents, loudly at that.

The house was bustling as it always did in the mornings, with people moving in and out of their rooms as everyone got ready for the day besides me.

Who was laying on the couch staring at the ceiling. Doing nothing. By the time I got off the couch and got my brace on Dean was out the door yelling goodbye, Lou was running around the kitchen, and the smell of bacon floated through the house.

"I'm heading out, mom." Hunter nearly took me out as he rounded the corner of the kitchen where I was entering, his hands grabbing onto my shoulders as the breath was knocked out of me.

"Already? You usually leave later than this..." Mary was busy doing Lou's hair as she ate breakfast. And Hunter held onto me, a smile on his face as he did so. His eyes looked so much lighter than they were last night, like he had gotten a good sleep for once this week.

"You okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah. All good." He squeezed my shoulders before letting go and moving out of the doorway so I could go eat, turning around and following me in the kitchen again. As I grabbed food and sat down, Hunter stood behind my chair and held the back of it, pulling it out and pushing it in for me before continuing to hold onto the back of it and leaning over me.

He spoke to his mom, "I told Dustin I would give him a ride. His car broke down yesterday, remember?" as I stuffed my face silly with eggs.

"Oh right, his mom said something about that. Better get going then. Good morning, Tristan."

"Who's Dustin?" I tilted my head back to look at him while biting a chunk of bacon.

"A friend."

I raised a brow, "A friend?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, a friend."

"I didn't know you had those." Mary snickered as Hunter glared at me, but only for a second before a smile broke out on his face and he promptly took my bacon out of my hand and ate it.

"Well, I do." He rubbed my head, rousing my hair as he smiled and hauled his backpack onto his shoulder, "Bye guys." And then he was gone. Mary smiled as she watched him leave out the door, Lou hummed while she played a game on her iPad, and I ran a hand through my hair where Hunter touched.

I felt a smile on my face too.

----------

I was in the kitchen working on homework when Mary came and took the seat across from me. And stared.

"Hi, Mary?"

"Tristan, why don't you go out with Hunter? His friends are throwing a bonfire. It might be fun?"

"I don't know...going outside..."

"Will be perfectly safe. I assure you, if anything were to happen with your father, we would be the first to know about it. And we will let Hunter know right away to bring you back." She smiled and stood, motioning for me to.

"How-"

"Uh-Uh...go put your shoes on, I'll tell Hunter you're going with. You need some air, and to have a normal night for once." She patted my hand, closed the computer in front of me, and motioned for the door.

I nodded as I stood and stretched my arms above my head, "You know, a bonfire has never been a normal night for me?"

"Well, it's always good to try something new."