His Saving Grace.

Chapter 29.

As I got comfortable on my bed, Hunter sat still, almost as if he was waiting for me to burst. I rested my back on the headboard, pulling my knees to my chest. Wrapping the duvet around myself, I cleared my throat and —"How is work?"

At my question, he shifted slightly and played with the loose threads of my covers. "Uh– it's not that bad, I guess. Why are you asking me this?" He knew that I was just beating around the bush so I sighed and tipped my head back, contemplating my response.

I could feel him staring at me so I spoke —"Is everything okay at home?" His eyes flashed with something but before I could decipher it, it was gone and replaced by an impassive look. "This again?" He said, his voice was on the verge of annoyance.

My temper rose slightly at the way he spoke. "You tell me. We've been dating long enough to have built a trust with each other but you're still somehow reserved—" deep breath — "Do you not trust me?" I mumbled quietly at the end.

His stony expression softened immediately and he grabbed my hands which were clutching the covers tightly. I didn't realise that my fists were balled up until Hunter pried them open and wrapped his cold hands around my warm ones.

Hot and cold, just like our relationship.

"Of course I trust you. You're the only person that I trust aside from my family."

"Then why do you always flip your shit whenever I ask about them or even bring them up?" My tone was cold but at that moment, I needed answers.

"It's just that, it's difficult for me to explain it to you."

"How do you know if it's diffucult when you've never even tried to explain it in the first place?"

He shrugged.

I sighed and pulled my hands out of his. I glanced at the picture frame that adored my dressing table and grabbed it. I looked at the picture encased in it and brushed my fingers over the glass. A faint smile graced my lips as I stared at the picture of me and my brother. I had taken it out of the place where I had hidden it all these years.

"I still remember this day as if it was just yesterday," I muttered in hushed tones, still staring at the picture frame. Hunter shuffled closer to me and glanced at the photo in my hand. His body stiffened but he soon relaxed when I turned to look at him. He gave me a weak smile and urged me to continue.

"It was taken a few months before he—" I ignored the stabbing pain in my chest, —"before he died. Before he was taken away from me." I could feel the tears swimming in my eyes but I blinked them back. I wasn't going to cry. Not yet.

"That was two years ago. The nightmares I get, it's because of what happened. My brother and I were very close and when I lost him, I lost a part of myself too. Some say that time heals all wounds,—" I let out a humourless laugh and looked at Hunter through glossy eyes, —"but the scars, however, those can never be healed. The wound of my brother's death left me with scars that haunted me almost everyday. They killed me inside. I was a mess for almost two years, Hunter."

"Grace, I'm so sorry," he wrapped his arms around me but I ignored him. I wanted to let it all out.

"I would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming and wishing that my brother was still with me. Sometimes, I would wish that it was me instead of him. At least that way, I would be free from the pain."

"Don't you dare think like that again, okay? It scares me," he said in a stern yet calm voice.

I nodded feebly and continued, "I went to therapy, too. Not that it helped but I just went for my parents. They were worried about me and I don't blame them. I would lock myself up in my room most of the time and I deserted myself from everyone close to me. I couldn't bear to see any more of their pityful looks." Hunter ran his hand up and down the side of my arms to comfort me and it worked.