Hunter

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-one:

One week has passed since Joel left, and I am not coping, not in the slightest. I manage to do as Joel says, not letting Alec out of my sight. I paste on a fake smile each time he looks at me, and I'm pretty sure I can fool him into thinking I'm fine.

"Kate, you want to go get something to eat?" Alec asks me, and I shake my head.

"Can we just go back to base?" Alec places a hand on my shoulder, sighing.

"Fine."

The moment we arrive, Alec locks us both in my bedroom and corners me.

"Tell me what the hell is wrong with you," he commands menacingly. I shake my head, and he reaches out his hand. His index finger alights upon my chin, and tilts it up, angling my face so that my gaze is locked onto his.

"Kate, please tell me. Is it because Joel left?" I shake my head. "It is. Okay, so... why are you so afraid of him leaving you?" I push his hand away, and look down at the ground, studying the scuff marks on my black canvas shoes.

"I can't cope. I need him here with me. I haven't been doing so well the past few days. I need to be able to share everything with someone."

"There was a time when you shared everything with me," Alec sighs. "I'm always here for you. What's eating you up?"

"My parents came back and treated me as though they'd been there the whole time." Alec huffs, and I flick my eyes up to his face. He looks pissed off. "I basically told them that I don't want to see them ever again."

"I know how you feel," Alec replies stonily. "My father came to see me last year, acting like he actually cared. I banished him back to hell." Alec takes my hand softly, rubbing circles on the back of my palm with his thumb.

"Kate, when we're afraid, we need to face our fear. Once we face it, we can decide what to do about it. We can fight and overcome it, or we can accept it as a part of who we are. I fought my birthright, and I regret it."

"So you're saying that I should accept my parents as a part of my life?" Alec nods.

"Exactly. Can you try to do that? I know what kind of person you are, Kate. You value your family above anything else- Miles, Joel and I, we're all your family. Your sister, your parents, they're your family too."

"I..." Alec places his finger against my lips.

"Sh. Just think about it. Please." Face my fear? Alright.

"How do you really feel about me?" I ask Alec. "Tell me the truth, I promise I can take it no matter what."

"I love you, Kate, but I've accepted our relationship as it is. I don't know if I'll ever move on, but right now I don't mind. I just love being with you."

"You're not so bad to hang out with," I joke, and Alec grins.

"So, you wanna get some food now?"

"Sure."

I manage to feel slightly better whenever I'm with Alec, which is most of the time. However, my guilt grows worse each time I kill.

That man has a family.

That woman is two weeks pregnant.

That man is barely older than Joel.

That woman is about to get married.

"Kate, are you alright?" I drop to my knees beside my last kill and fall over the body, sobbing my eyes out.

"I can't do this anymore!" I scream out to no one, nothing, in particular. "I quit." Alec pulls me away from the body, and holds me up against the wall.