Bella's Hunt

FORTY-ONE

The next morning I wake up to an empty bed. My hand roams the empty bed for Hunter's warmth, but when I don't find it, I slowly blink the sleep from my eyes. I rub my eyes as I lean up, quickly finding myself alone.

I furrow brows before climbing out of bed. Where did he go? Did he have to use the bathroom?

Or maybe he left?

No, Hunter wouldn't just up and leave without telling me goodbye-

My heart drops and I look down as I walk down the stairs. When I get downstairs, my heart skips a beat when I find everyone sitting at the table eating breakfast. My eyes roam over them and stop on Hunter and I feel a small weight lifting off of my chest. He's sitting at the corner of the table, the chair next to him is open, and Cam sits next to him at the end. They seem to be talking about something they find funny because they both laugh quietly. The place mat next to Hunter's has a stack of pancakes on the plate, layered in maple syrup, and a glass of milk.

As if everyone sensed my presence, they all look at me. Hunter's eyes instantly become shinier and I finally understand what Cam meant. When Hunter seems me... There's this shine in his eyes. Is that what my eyes look like!?

A small smile appears on his lips before Cam speaks, "Bella! You're finally awake!"

I laugh a nervous laugh and walk over to my seat. "Sorry... Um... You didn't wake me up." I tell Hunter, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That's because the last time I woke you up, you shaved off a piece of my hair." He states and Beverly laughs loudly with her mom.

"That was in the sixth grade." I remind him and he nods while smiling.

"And I learned something very important that day. Not to wake you up."

I chuckle softly before looking down at my food. "Did you make my plate?" I whisper to Hunter when everyone starts having their own conversations again.

"Mm." He nods while looking down at me.

"Thank you." I smile and he returns it.

"Hunter." Linda calls from the other side of the table and we both look at her. "You said that your mother is expecting you home today?"

"Yes," he nods.

"Did she say what time? We'd love to have a thanksgiving lunch with you." She smiles genuinely at him.

"Around five. So I should leave around two-thirty." He tells her before glancing over at me.

"Well," she sighs before standing up, "I better get started on my famous Mac and cheese. Teddy, come help me." She demands and Dad sighs heavily. He joins her in the kitchen, taking everyone's plates besides mine.

"I have a date with the girls, so I'll see you all later." Beverly wiggles her brows at Hunter and I before winking.

I roll my eyes and take a bite of my pancakes. When they're finished eating, Cam asks James and Hunter to come downstairs to play Minecraft with him and Hunter glances over at me for permission. Again, I roll my eyes before nodding.

I take my empty plate into the kitchen and both Linda and my dad look over at me. I smile a small smile before handing Linda my plate as she washes dishes and dad pours in the cheese mix into Mac and cheese.

"Thank you, Miss Bella." She smiles at me and I smile back.

My smile fades when I look over at my dad, "So..." I mumble and he snaps his head towards me. "I was thinking that when Hunter leaves, so do Cam and I." I state and his eyes narrow.

"I'm supposed to have you the entire break, Isabella." He states and I grit my teeth.

"That wasn't the deal. Not the deal I had with my mom."

"Deal? What deal?"

"That we'd come, not forced, then we'd only stay a few days. And that's what happened and what is happening."

"Isabella, you do realize that you do not make the rules in this house."

"Yes, I realize that." I nod. "That's exactly why Cam and I are going home today. We've stayed long enough."

"Of course," Linda enters the conversation and I turn to her, "Bella, we understand that you miss home and your friends. And this is your vacation! You should be able to do what you want with it. So if she wants to go home, then you shouldn't stop her, Teddy. She's always stressed and wants to have some fun. And she obviously can't have that here when her friends are back home." She smiles at me. "It's not like we'll never see them again."

We both look over at my dad with raised brows. "Fine. Two-thirty." He mumbles angrily. I smile a small smile before whispering a thank you to Linda.

Maybe she isn't so evil after all.

I walk downstairs to find the boys sprawled out on the couches, violently shouting at each other. I furrow my brows at Hunter before looking at the screen to see him trying to kill an enderman with a wooden sword. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!" He hisses and Cam laughs loudly next to him.

"You're bad at this game, Hunter." Both Cam and James say at the same time.

"I normally play Madden or Call of Duty." He tells them when he finally dies and everything from his inventory is open for the taking.

I chuckle quietly and Hunter's head instantly snaps towards me. A large smile takes over his face when I move to sit down next to him, but I'm instantly shouted at by the other two, "Bella! Move! You're in the way of the TV!"

I huff out a breath before sitting down next to Hunter. He continues to smile at me and I return with my own.

"HUNTER! PAY ATTENTION! You responded and there's zombies EVERYWHERE!" James shouts.

Hunter's head instantly snaps towards the screen and his eyes widen. "Fuck." He then hands me the controller and I look up at him. "Take this away from me." He stretches into the air and drops his arm over my shoulders before throwing his other arm over his face to cover his eyes.

I chuckle as I lean into his chest and turn towards the TV. After I've built myself a nice birch wood-two-story house and found enough diamond for complete armor, a diamond sword, diamond pickaxe, and a diamond axe, I hand the controller back to Hunter and he looks down at me in awe. "Don't lose the shit I just got." I tell him.

"She's a queen." James mumbles and I look to see all three are staring at me.

"That she is." I shiver from Hunter's breath on my neck. I place my hand on his chest and push him back a little and he grins at me.

"If you die and they take all the stuff I just got you, you're going to have to find yourself a new girlfriend." I state and his eyes widen. Cam's jaw drops dramatically and James just laughs as he continues to play. When Cam begins to play again, I look up at Hunter to see him still staring at me. "What? I'm a good actress." I whisper.

"I didn't know we were acting anymore." He mumbles.

My eyes widen at his statement. "What?"

"Nothing." He looks back at the screen and continues playing. I furrow my brows before looking down at my hands.

He wants to be... my boyfriend?

Is that what he meant?