Hunter

XXXI

Jade yawned, rolling over. She opened her eyes sleepily, but her vision was too blurry for her make anything out.
The dream she had just had was weird. It was like a whirlwind of images and actions.
She shut her eyes, resting her head back down on Aric's chest.
Wait.....
Jade shot up, face heating up. A sleeping Aric was positioned beneath her, their legs entwined. He looked so calm, and it looked like his hair was pulled back. Chunks of his hair had been loosened in his sleep, and they framed his face in tufts.
Jade reached forward, brushing it away from his cheeks.
How's his hair so soft........ It's so soft!
Aric's eyes fluttered open. "Wha.....?"
Jade smiled nervously, scrambling off him. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," she managed, weakly.
He smirked sleepily, closing his eyes. "Beauty, huh?"
Jade gently pushed his shoulder, breathing through her mouth to calm the hammering of her heartbeat. "Shut up, ok?"
He grunted, rolling over, and Jade fell over, back onto him.
"Shouldn't we get going?" She asked. She needed to get out of this place. What of those wolves came back? She didn't think she could take it, and her legs throbbed, remembering her running yesterday.
Aric cracked an eye open, frowning. "How are you feeling?"
"I- I feel better actually. Sleep helped. But-"
He reached a hand out, squeezing her shoulder. "If you're up to it-"
She nodded quickly. "Yeah. I- I'm over what happened in there."
Aric nodded, rolling out of bed, landing on his feet.
"Also, what's with the ponytail?"
He shrugged, walking to the bathroom. "Eh. Felt like it." He scratched the back of his neck.
He closed the bathroom door behind him, and Jade reached for her bag.
She grabbed some water bottles from the makeshift counter in their room, shoving them in.
Her phone was fully charged, and was already in her bag.
She vaguely remembered Aric saying something about a washing machine yesterday. Their dirty clothes were supposed to be in there.
She'd ask him when he came out.
Jade pulled the notebook out of her backpack, pulling a pen out too.
She scribbled down what happened yesterday.
Then something hit her.
If that gypsy woman from before told us to come here..... She had to have known what was behind that wall. Which means she planned for us to go in there.
Jade felt a surge of anger, rushing in like a tidal wave over her anxiety. All that anguish from yesterday...... That was her fault. And she still was hurt from those bruises and bites. And Aric got all those cuts.
Jade cursed under her breath, putting the notebook back in her bag.
Had Aric already known? Then again, she was shaken up so bad yesterday.......
Why is this all so confusing?! This all feels like a bad dream!
As the thought crossed her mind, she realized it applied to everything that had happened to her recently.
The monsters, Aric, Hunters..... It felt she was re-reading an old book. Familiar in an almost detached way......
Jade shook her head. No, that doesn't make sense. How do you forget something like this?
The sound of the bathroom opening snapped her out of her thoughts.
Aric walked out, his hair wet, wearing a plain white tee and black jeans.
Jade stood up, throwing her backpack onto the bed.
Aric shook his hair with his hand, spraying water everywhere.
Jade wrinkled her nose, throwing a towel at him. "As good as your hair smells, can you not?"
He frowned. "What?"
"Don't shake your head, you're getting water all over the place."
His cheeks reddened slightly. "Sorry."
Jade laughed, leaning towards him to kiss him on the cheek. "You're so cute sometimes."
He scoffed. "I am not." She leaned closer, and he put a finger on her lips. "Sorry. Morning breath."
Jade pouted. "You're no fun." Please, she silently begged him mentally. I need to feel something. I want to feel safe, please Aric.
He chuckled, kissing her forehead. "There. Better?"
Jade crossed her arms in mock anger. "I don't think so."
Aric laughed again, reaching his hand out to tousle her hair. "I'll kiss you after you get ready. Deal?"
Jade rolled her eyes, grabbing her clothes and getting into the bathroom. "Fine."
Aric flopped back on to the bed, thinking about earlier that day.
We need to get to the plaza...... That's where he'll be....... But how am I gonna get Jade to come there without getting her suspicious. And she's acting too bright this morning...... She hates mornings. She the type of girl who says something clever and goes back to sleep.
Aric quickly decided that this was her way of coping with yesterday. That maze had freaked him out too. Who the Hell was that twisted to come up with a freaking Hell-hole like that?
Aric winced as the bruises on his back twanged painfully. His arm tightened uncomfortably, and he grimaced, trying to relax his pulled muscle.
Jade came out of the bathroom, hair pulled into a bun and wearing a fresh new tee and jeans.
"Well? Where's the washing machine?"
Aric blinked, her words registering. "Oh. It's down the hall to the left."
She leaned down, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "We'll get the clothes as we go past, ok?"
Jade straightened, kissing him on the cheek. "Let's go."
His face heated up, and Aric stood up.
"Yeah, let's go."
Jade laughed at his expression, leaning forward again to smack her lips against his.
"You promised me a kiss, remember?"
Aric nodded a little to quickly, and she laughed again.
"Why are you so flustered all of a sudden?"
As he stood up, Aric frowned. "How are you really feeling? This morning......"
Jade crossed her arms, walking over to the door. "I'm just kissing my boyfriend. What's so wrong about that? Besides, I already said I'm fine." The lie felt sticky in her mouth. She needed to avoid these thoughts. She needed to think about something else, before it drove her insane.
It took Aric a few seconds to get past the boyfriend part, but his frown deepened as he listened to Jade's stiff tone.
She's just dealing with it. She'll probably tell you later.
He shrugged, opening the door. "If you say so."