Don't Believe What You See

Chapter Eleven

Delilah couldn't sleep at all that night. She just kept replaying what happened earlier over and over in her mind. Hunter has always been happy, now he's hiding the pain. She looked over at the clock and realized it was three thirty in the morning. Then her phone starting ringing.

It was Hunter.

She panicked and assumed the worst. Someone hurt him. He hurt himself. Somebody was hurting someone he loved.

"Hello?" She croaked.

"Can you come to the fort?"

"Why?"

"Just can you?" He pleaded.

"Um, sure," then she hung up. She quickly got dressed and tip toed downstairs to her car wondering what was going to happen.

***

Delilah stopped on the front porch before opening the door. She starting sweating and again, her mind assumed the worst. What if he's in there with a needle in his arm? What will she do? She grabbed the handle and twisted it open. She walked in and saw Hunter laying on the couch asleep with a bag of McDonalds' food sitting on the table.

"Hunter?" Delilah gave him a little shake to wake him up. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes. His face was still beaten up, and hasn't gotten better, but his eyes were better. They were no longer filled with anger and hatred. They were back to the innocent, chocolate brown eyes that she loved.

"Hey," he said. Even his voice was different, it was softer and sweeter.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said in a 'why wouldn't I be' tone.

"Then why'd you ask me to meet you in the freezing woods at four o'clock in the morning?"

"Because I wanted to apologize. I haven't been myself lately and I never wanted to hurt you. I felt so bad about what I did yesterday and I know you're probably not going to forgive me, but I bought you your favorite McDonalds' food," Delilah looked down at her elbows and realized they were bruised around where he grabbed her. This is the first time she noticed this, but she did notice the bruises on her back from the locks. It hurt to lay down because of her back.

"Hunter, I can always forgive you. But I need one question answered."

"Anything."

"Why are you beaten up?" Delilah asked lightly. Hunter just wiped the smile off his face and put his head down.

"I get that you want to help me, but some things I need to keep from you."

"Why would you keep secrets from me?" Delilah asked obviously hurt.

"It's to keep you safe Delilah," Delilah knew he was still hiding something, but she was too tired to ask again. Hunter was just about to tear into the food when Delilah grabbed his arm, pulled him off the couch, and led him to the bathroom. She got out all the stuff he got out for her scratches.

"Sit on the toilet," she said.

"Delilah you don't have to-"

"Oh will you shut up and let me clean you up?" Hunter smiled, nodded his head, and took a seat on the toilet.

"I need to go to the store," Delilah said.

"Why?"

"Because you need stitches and we need more band-aids and alcohol."

"Well in that case, I'll take some Jack Daniel's and Captain," Hunter said with a smile. Delilah rolled her eyes, but was truly thrilled that he had his happiness back.

After running to the store, cleaning up his infections, and closing up his wounds with stitches, he finally looked like himself again, besides the stitches.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Hunter asked.

"I took a nursing class a couple years ago."

"Of course you did."

"Yeah well, it wasn't that easy,"

"Why?" Hunter asked with confusion.

"Because it was back when my, you know, craziness started, so I would see a dead body on the opperating table and I would freak out, but everybody would just look at me weird. But eventually I got it under control."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," she was suddenly sad remembering the dark time.

"Hey, let's go back to the couch and eat."

"Okay," they walked back and she was about to lay down when her back started to hurt. She winced at the pain.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just my back."

"What did you do?" She threw him a guilty look and he knew it was from when he pushed her up against the locker.

"Here, turn around," Delilah turned around and Hunter lifted up her shirt just a little bit, but he could still see the dark black bruises.

"Oh my god. Delilah-"

"Hunter, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I did this and I am so, so sorry," Hunter said rubbing small circles along her back. She relaxed a little and grabbed the food.

"Now, shall we eat?" Hunter said tearing into the bag while still rubbing Delilahs' back. Delilah suddenly wasn't hungry, remembering that Hunter still never told her why he was beaten up so bad that he couldn't tell her what happen. She shrugged it off.

'I'll find out later,' she thought, 'I'm just happy he's better.'