THE BOOK OF SECRETS BY TRISTAN SNOW

CHAPTER 4

As I fiddle around at the airport waiting for my flight, I call Malcom, to tell him I'm taking a much needed vacation, and ill be gone for several weeks, and to find out the date of the funeral, after he informs me it will take two weeks to get the body back to America and Samantha and him to have to get the funeral arrangements ready, I call sally who is now so angry at having to clean up the house, and inform her I will be taking a holiday, I don't know which she was more angry at , me taking off, or her having to clean up the mess, she asked if I knew about the box and I lied and said no clue to what she's taking about, I hate lying to both Malcom and sally, but needs must.

The flight was fairly uneventful, mostly because I slept through it, mostly from my stashed little bottles of vodka, I'd been given in my duty free bag after the plane was up in the air, why they don't let you carry them on is still a mystery, I mean , if they don't want you take clear liquids on a plane, why give them to you once you on it. makes no sense.

Instead of going to a hotel once we land, I go to the place I dread the most, the one I haven't been to in years, well 5 to be precise, maybe its the vodka still in my system that gives me the added nudge, but as i entered the airport taxi car, the address kind of rolled off my tongue.

I stand on stoop to the flat with my hand over the buzzer.

"What if he no longer lives here, what to do , what to do, fuck it" and I press the buzzer.

silence.

"Shit maybe the flats empty" I buzz again.

silence.

"Shit maybe I should have got a hotel", I buzz again.

"Hello" said a groggy voice.

"Shit its hunter, what do i say , what do I say",I say to myself.

"Eve" he sounds shocked as shit, maybe this was a bad idea.

"Eve, is that you, talk to me" the buzzer goes off ,letting the door lock open.

Fuck I cant do this and I turn around and head for the street, but as I stand on the street trying to hail a cab, I hear.

"DONT RUN" its hunter , I'd no that voice anywhere, my arm falls to my side, fuck what do I do now, I slowly turn around.

And there he is, in a pair of grey sweats and that's all, he looks older, more de-find than I remember, his hair is a little longer, and he has a five o'clock shadow, but he's still the most beautiful man in the world to me, my insides alight, like they haven't done in 5 years.

"Don't run Eve" he says again, slowly taking 2 steps forward, I stand stock still.

"I've spent so long looking for you", he says quietly as thou he doesn't want to spook me and takes 2 more steps towards me.

"I" is all i can get out, smooth right, but if you saw hunter, you would do what all the other girls in our high school and college did when they met him, swoon into a gooey mess.

"Why don't you come inside, its cold out here" he says putting his arm out as if to test I'm real, funny considering he wanted to bugger off to Africa I think to myself.

"Your still here" I manage to get out, still a little dazed at all the de find muscles.

"Still here, never left" he says taking 2 final steps and arriving right in front of me.

"But Africa" is all i can get out as now he is in proximity all I can smell is him.

"Never went, I realised that as soon as you went through that door, YOU wouldn't be in Africa" he slowly puts up his hands to cup my cheeks. his hands are warm, my face is cold from standing out here, the 2 elements collide, and I can't help but soak in there warmth, leaning in to his touch and i close my eyes and just feel his warmth.