Invisible

Chapter 35 Leaps and Bounds

"Here." I hand him a mug full of coffee and a thick slice of cake. The dark red of the cherries reflects the fire in the round, enormous, open fireplace that sits in the middle of the upstairs living room.

"Thank you." Hunter smiles as I sit down a little farther down the couch. His face turns into a frown as he regards the space in between us.

I ignore him and focus completely on the smaller piece I gave myself, the chocolate seems light and fluffy, moist but not too much. I wish I would have whipped the frosting just a touch more, it's not quite at that melt-in-your-mouth texture I was going for.

"So..." Hunter reaches out and sets the mug down on the trim that rings around the fire and moves a little closer as he sits back down a little closer to me. He pulls on the hem of his shirt a little, it was still warm when we got it out of the dryer. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, really Hunter. I just got a little cold."

"A little? Your hair was frozen."

"I didn't realize it was going to get so cold tonight." I mutter at my plate.

"You really need to be more careful, you don't have a lot of extra weight to keep you warm."

His comment makes me snap to attention. "I'm not skinny."

"Says who?"

"Me!"

Hunter shakes his head and moves closer.

"I mean it! I've never been thin, I used to get teased in school. 'Leanne, what do you do? Eat butter for breakfast?' 'Hey Leanne, why don't you put down that sandwich before you pop right out of those pants.' 'You know why you never date? Well maybe if you lost some weight you would know.' I wouldn't have heard that stuff if it wasn't true. I'm ugly and fat."

He shakes his head.

"What?"

"Well, one, I don't believe you were ever ugly. You make dirt look attractive."

I blush deeply at his comment.

"And two, I keep forgetting you always haven't been Leah. You don't seem like a Leanne." He's kept moving towards me and now he's right next to me.

"I'm not." Tears prick the corners of my eyes and I'm feeling irritated and uncomfortable. He reaches behind me and pulls a blanket to my shoulders.

"Leah is a gentle name, sweet, like a flower."

"A weed." I remember our conversation from late this summer, where he was trying to convince me how beautiful weeds are.

"A lone dandelion, in the middle of a yard."

I squish up my face.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Make that face, it's too cute. I might not be able to control myself."

"What about this?" I stick my tongue out and touch the tip of my nose, crossing my eyes.

"Leah I mean it."

"What are you going to do about it Hayes?"

He takes the plate from my hands and moves it to the fireplace ledge next to his. "This!" He lunges at me and I dodge, getting up. My legs shake slightly as I run around to the back of the couch, gripping the end.

Hunter considers the half circle couch, eyes darting to mine as he weights his options. Max barks at my feet and for a second I look down. Hunter makes his move.