The Hunted

Chapter Two • Rose

Chapter Two • Rose

The Past

 Easter Day - 2006

            I was sitting on the couch when a blue eyed boy with, a smile to die for, came and sat next to me. He was, at the time, twelve year old John Wilson.

            I had known John for practically my entire life. Before he disappeared, we both (along with Levi and Dieter) went to the same school, except the three boys were all in the grade above mine. Levi, Dieter, John, and I were the best of friends and had been that way for as long as I could remember. We were inseparable – always at my house, Levi’s, or John’s. If one set of parents got sick of us, we would house hop to another.

            “You wanna see a magic trick?” Young John asked as we made our way to the trampoline in Levi’s backyard. I had noticed that one of his old red Converse shoes was untied.

            John climbed on and held his hand down to help me up. “Sure.” I said as we sat with our legs criss-crossed.

He placed out his hands, palms up. “See, no quarter. Now close your eyes.” My eyes snapped shut. I could hear him pull something out of his pocket. “Okay, you can open them now.

            A quarter was placed in the center of his hand. John was smiling goofily. I rolled my eyes. “That’s not a magic trick.” I protested. “You just put it there when my eyes were closed!”

            “I am hurt, Rosie!” He feigned innocence as he clutched his heart.

            I slapped his shoulder. “Don’t call me that! You know I hate that name.”

            He stood up and started jumping up and down. “Rosie, Rosie, Rosie!” he cried at the top of his voice. John hopped around me in brisk circles. “Ring around the Rosie!”

            “Stop that!” I shouted as he bounced me up and down. I reached over and grabbed his leg. “If you don’t, I’ll trip you!”

            John stopped and looked down at me, his brown eyes shining in the afternoon sun’s rays. “You wouldn’t.” He challenged.

            “Would too.” I said matter-of-factly, still gripping on to his pant leg.

            He raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly, Rosie.”

            “How would you know that?” For some reason my reaction made John laugh, and my annoyance was bubbling. “What’s so funny?” I demanded.

            “I’ve known you most of my life.”

            I gaped at him. “And your point?”

            He shrugged and sat back down next to me. I scooted away. “Remember that one summer when we were here for Fourth of July?”

            “And you wanted to blow up that poor frog with a firecracker?” I said, finishing his thought.

            John rolled over on his back and folded his hands behind his head. “Yeah,” he sighed with satisfaction of the memory. “Those were the days.”

            “You’re such a dude.” I sighed, shaking my head and lying down next to him.

            The rest of the day went along those same lines. We would laugh, then argue about pointless things like an old couple, and somehow in the end make up. Levi would always tease us and tell us that one day we were going to get married. I would laugh, and John would blush. Every time he would tell us that, I would yell at Levi that “not in a million years would I let that happen”. But secretly, deep in my heart, I never minded that idea. It had always been that way, until he disappeared from my life when I was fourteen. Each time I went back to Levi’s house I’d hope to see John. But to my dismay, my small childhood wishes were never granted. And after three years passed, I still hadn’t seen him, and was somehow even forgetting about him.

Christmas Eve – 2010

            Christmas Eve was always something I would look forward to as a kid. Holidays were usually spent at Levi’s, and all of our family would be there. Surrounded by a sea of colorful wrapping paper, I was watching my little cousins as they tore apart their presents when Levi walked in with another of his friends. His name was Dieter Matthews, and like John, I had known him for years. Unlike John however, Dieter was cocky and immature. His personality resembled that of a hyper five year old. He was athletically built, although I doubted he played any sport, and had short black hair and dark eyes. Not gonna lie, he was an attractive guy – nothing compared to John though. But only looks get you so far. In other words, Dieter and I rarely ever saw eye to eye. It wasn’t that I hated him or anything; it was just that I can only take so much sarcasm from someone. And knowing Dieter, he was full of it.

            A year passed as I soon found myself forgetting about John. He was becoming a distant memory of my childhood.

December 30 - 2012

            That night, I slept over at Levi’s so I could help his mom, Karen, with her New Year’s party the next morning. Besides, seeing as my parents usually worked at night, I was getting sick of staying in the house by myself. I was sitting on a barstool in Levi’s kitchen, gabbing away with his mom, when he came inside the house with Dieter and another guy. The latter caught my attention. Was it really him? I thought. He was older, of course, not the awkward fifteen year old I remembered, but an eighteen year old man. As cliché as that sounds, at that moment I didn’t care about anything else. All I cared about was that I finally saw John again.

            When he caught my eye, he walked over to my side. My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour with each step he took. My gosh that boy had gotten good looking. He still had his adorable baby-face, but grew into his tall frame and had enough muscle to make it cute. His usual mop top dark hair was disheveled and an inch away from bed head. “Hey Rosie,” John smiled. Oh how I missed that smile. “You look great!”

            I blushed and looked down, smiling at the floor. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.”

            “Wow, you didn’t yell at me for calling you Rosie!” He laughed and pulled me into a hug. Before I knew it, I was wrapped in his arms. He smelt like sweet cologne and the forest. The forest? Why does he smell like the forest? “You miss me?”

            “Of course I missed you.” I gave in as I could feel my knees go weak. “You were gone for years!”

            John pulled away and ran his fingers through his choppy brown hair. “Yeah, I know.” He said shakily looking down at his old black Converse high tops. This whole time he hadn’t looked me in the eyes. “But how’s my Rosie doing? Any boys I need to beat up?”

            Yeah, yourself, I thought, for not telling me you were leaving for three bloody years! “No.” I laughed quietly hoping he couldn’t see me blush.

            Karen cleared her throat behind us. I had completely forgotten she was there. “Okay love birds, get a room.” she said sarcastically. Great. If he had missed me blushing earlier, he could definitely see me now. I snuck a peek at John who, to my surprise, was blushing as bad as I was if not worse.

            “Eww, I think I walked in on the wrong part of that conversation.” Levi groaned as he and Dieter stepped back into the room. It was the first time I had noticed that his normally blondish hair was chopped just above his shoulders. “Seriously Mom, you’re talking about my best friend and my little cousin. Too much.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m off to bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow!” Karen said excitedly, “Party time!”

            I groaned internally.

            I hated parties.