My Woods

Not The Hunter I Knew

I grew up without comfort, without love, without care, and most importantly, without parents. Basically.
My parents were always fighting! At the drop of the faucet, I could hear them shoot pissed comments at each other.

'"I can't believe I ever married you! You son of a bitch!" My mom yelled at my dad. "Get out of here you dumbass gem! This is my house you asshole!"

Nothing could get my parents to stop their comments. Nothing except for my little, innocent, oblivious, sister. Believe me! I have tried 1 million times but, I just don't mean anything to them.

       I live in our basement. No bed. Just and old ruined sleeping bag. No pillow. Just a small pile of my old baby stuffed animals. No light. Just a small crack in the roof. Or should I say the floor. Where little light shines through and the screams of my parents cut through the walls. Usually, I went to bed thirsty. This one one of those nights.

          I crawled into bed and tried to shut my eyes. With the endless fighting of my parents ringing through my ears, I usually fell asleep when they did. Back and forth they shot insults at each other.

"Bitch!"
"Asshole"
"Gem"
"Faggot"
"Mother fucker"
"Fuck you asshole!"

       Finally, I couldn't wait any longer to get water. Even the screams of my parents were just in the back of my mind while it focused of my parched mouth. I slowly got up and out of bed. I walked across the creaky basement floor and up the rough stairs that I had been thrown down that one night night many years ago when my sister was born. This house was full of horrid memories. I opened the door slowly, nervous of what might happen next. I walked down the hall, getting closer and closer to my parents' shouts. That's when I saw my sister stepping down the stairs leading down from the second floor. All dressed up in her comfortable pajamas with her blanket hanging down from her hand. Her blonde hair fell from her head all the way down to her elbows.
      "Hunter?" she asked in a tired voice while rubbing her eyes.
      "Jessie! Go back to bed!" I whispered. "But-But I can't! I'm too thirsty!" she said. "Okay. I'll get you some water if you go back to bed." I told her. She agreed and walked back up stairs. Now for the real challenge. Going into the kitchen.
I slowly walked across the rest of the hallway and came to a closed door. 'Here we go' I thought to myself and quietly opened the door. My parents didn't even flinch at the sight of me. I was on one side of the room and they were on the other. Though they were fighting, I would expect they could hear me entering the room. I crossed the room and my parents insults got quieter and they both turned towards me.
"I-I'm so sorry! I-I just just wanted s-some water! I promise!" I said.
"Get the fuck out of here!" my dad screamed at me. "Go back to bed, NOW!" my dad screamed in my face. "B-But I haven't gotten a-anything t-to drink in 2-2 days!" I protested. My dad glared at me so intently, I could see his cold, dark, lifeless eyes. I knew that if I wasn't leaving, he was going to do something horrible. I slowly walked backwards. He slowly followed me down the hall. When we got to the basement door, he pinned me up against the wall and whispered in my ear, "You deserve to be on the streets you rat!" After I was in my room I heard  him lock the door behind me and continue his arguing with my mom.
      It hurt, bad. My own father. Tears rolled down my face as I climbed into my "bed".  I shoved my face deep into my stuffed animals and cried silently, hard.
      After a while of listening to my parents fighting and hating my dad, I heard my sisters voice.
"What are you doing sweetheart?" My mom asked. "Hunter took to long to get my water, so I came down myself." she said in an innocent, sweet voice. "Ok, goodnight." my father answered. "Mommy, daddy, why are you always fighting?" Jessie said having no idea what she was asking. "Well," My mom started, "sometimes, parents don't love each other anymore. Sometimes people get over each other and they have to work things out to love each other again." I'm sure my mom was tearing up. "But-but your not working things out silly! Your just fighting! Just trying to insult each other until the other one gets sad. Then you go to bed and do it again, silly!" Jessie is way smarter and cleverer than most 6 year-olds. I heard Jessie walk slowly up the stairs as my parents sat in silence. "Wait!" Jessie said running back down the stairs. "I forgot my water! Goodnight mommy, goodnight daddy!" I could hear Jessie's loud kisses against both my parents cheeks. After a while I could hear my parents walk up stairs.
      Wow! I really am nothing. Nothing to my mom. A rat to my dad. I could bet my whole life that they wouldn't notice if I just left. That's what I'll do! I formed a plan. Jessie's window was the only one that didn't squeak when it was opened and a while ago we had made an emergency exit for Jessie to come down to my room. So why couldn't I just climb up it?!

       I stood on a pile of stuffed animals under the hole in the roof or should I say floor. I carefully pulled myself up. I crawled through the walls.  The walls were built so that they followed the stairs and I could climb up the stairs without being noticed. I crawled uphill until I got to another hole at the top of Jessie's stairs. I carefully opened her door and walked inside. Jessie opened her eyes quickly. "Hunter?!" She asked. "Shhh!" I said.
"Where are you going?"
"Away"
"But Hunter, what will I do without you?!"  Jessie began to cry.
"I have to go!" I said. This was incredibly hard for me.
"What about mom and dad?!" Jessie sniffed.
I said nothing. "Please, Hunter, don't leave me all alone! Who will play with me! I will be alone and have no one to cry into and no one else can replace you and I just will never stop crying and I will never come out of my room! I won't ever talk again, Hunter! I won't!" Jessie cried running to me hugging my waist. "Please!" she whispered. "Take me with you!"

"Ok" 

After that Jessie and I ran away. Our parents sent out a search party for Jessie...not me. Jessie followed me until high school and I used all my money to bye her an apartment with me. She found a boyfriend and is happily married, careful not to repeat the same mistakes as HER parents made.

          After that I continued work that I had started at 12. That is the only way Jessie and I could have possibly survived. I was able to play a few rich girls and had gone to high school. Now, I had hundreds of scholarships to collages for my smarts and athleticism. With jobs finding this out in a big city, I got hundreds of offers and could move her, where I met Brynn.

       "Hunter!" Brynn covered her mouth with her hand. "I-had-no-idea!"
I was crying. "Yeah...That's me!" I said trying to sound cheerful. I wasn't fooling anyone including Brynn and myself and that hurt, bad.