The Blood Red Rose

Chapter 3 : Stay a bit

"Shh . . . Calm down and listen to the sound of my voice . . . It's okay . . . ," Hunter said calmly. His hand was still placed over Chelsea's mouth. If he hadn't covered her mouth, she would've screamed for sure.

Chelsea's eyelids felt heavy.

Hunter just smiled down at her. "Good girl. Now, if I uncover your mouth, will you promise not to scream?" said Hunter. His voice was low and even.

Chelsea glared at him.

Hunter laughed quietly. "Figures. C'mon. Promise me. Afterall, I did just climb your house just to talk to you." He didn't know what to expect from her. Not really. Maybe just silence.

Chelsea rolled her eyes. She didn't believe a word he said. It was rather strange though. How did he manage to get up to her window? Her house was two stories tall and her bedroom was upstairs.

Seeing her eyes, Hunter sighed and closed his own eyes. After a moment, he looked at her again. "You know, I can do this all night. You locked your door, and your mother is cooking dinner. You don't eat much, do you? It won't be odd that you don't eat dinner tonight. Besides, like I said, she can't see me. How are you going to explain to her something she can't see?" Hunter said, his voice rising. He was bluffing. He had stated earlier that the spell wore off. Lucky for him, she didn't seem to remember. Chelsea looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise and anger. "Blink once if you're going to be quiet when I uncover your mouth."

After a long pause, she blinked. Chelsea certainly didn't want to do this all night. She heard Hunter give a quick chuckle before he removed his hand. Almost immediately, Chelsea got up from her bed and leaned against the wall, sinking onto the ground. Even through her jeans she could feel how cold the floor was. She watched Hunter as he climbed in through the window, landing on her bed, now sitting up straight.

Hunter scooted across her bed towards her. Chelsea was pulling her knees to her chest. Once Hunter's legs were dangling from the bed, he placed his elbows on his knees. He chuckled and said,"Weren't expecting a visit from me, huh?" Hunter looked towards the small table where Chelsea was drawing before. Kicking off his shoes, he stood up and walked to the table. "What were you drawing?" he asked before he even realized that Chelsea had beat him to the table and crumpled the paper up into a ball. Chelsea's chest was rising and falling quite rapidly. Her face was flushed and her breathing was audible. Hunter was filled with concern and he placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "Are you all right?"

Chelsea shook her head and threw the balled up paper into her trash bin. "Why are you here? How are you here?" asked Chelsea as she sat in her office chair. With her feet, she turned the chair to face away from him, the back of the seat facing him.

"Well, for starters, Miss Emma, I came to apologize for . . . I don't know what exactly, but I know I made you upset." Hunter sat on the foot of the bed and tapped his fingers against one another. "And if you really want to know how I got up here, I already told you. I climbed your house, remember?"

Chelsea remembered, indeed. It did just happen, afterall. "Is that all? Because if so, you can leave now. I don't need or want your company." Chelsea knew she was being extremely rude, but she didn't want him in her room. Getting no response, Chelsea slowly turned back to face him. She flinched in surprise. Hunter looked hurt. His hands gripped the hem of his shirt and were shaking. He was biting his lower lip and a little bit of blood ran down his chin. Chelsea stammered,"H-Hunter . . . I . . . I'm sorry . . ." His hands didn't stop shaking. Instead, his whole body began shaking. Without thinking, Chelsea held his hands in her hands, feeling the warmth of them. She noticed that he calmed down, just a little though. "Sorry," she whispered. She smiled up at him.