Him Of All People

3.0

three//:

I stared at the dancing images on the screen. The bright colours stored life back into the room, penetrating the darkness. The flashy yellow subtitles of the old Italian film, peaked my interest as I longed to be one of the characters on screen.

Free, happy, and most of all, loved.

I hadn't realized but his image popped up into my head without me even realizing. Those alluring chestnut brown eyes and that sharp-defined jawline. Those pearly white teeth and perfectly done up eyebrows. Not to mention his beautiful tan skin, carrying meaningful tattoos engraved onto his skin. The swirling of differing colours and messages forever imprinted onto him.

God, why was he such a perfect example of perfect?

I shook my head to getting rid of any Hunter-like thought. I slowly patted Honey as she sat beside me, on my comfy mattress.

Focus, Tess. Focus.

I grew more lonely, day by day. It was the month of July, and the house sat 5 minutes away from the beach. And yet, I couldn't find myself walking out and finding something to do. The house was silent all day, until my parents decide to quickly inform me over the the phone, of their last-minute trip to Germany. Without informing me of their return or even saying a simple goodbye, Mother simply hung up.

I hadn't expected anything else, but it still hurt.

2:01 A.M. The clock read.

I couldn't sleep. The demons of the night kept me up, wide awake. I knew that if I shut my eyes, it would happen all over again. Those nightmares. Those terrible, awful nightmares would invade my darkness. Leaving me paralyzed with bat-shit ton of emotions.

It would eventually come to end, where I would awake with tears staining my pillow and a blood-curling scream at the tip of my tongue.

It always ended the exact same way. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Thump — Thump — Thump

The long hallway echoed with footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Confused and, the tiniest bit, thrilled—I slowly made my away off the bed and crept towards my bedroom door. With a sharp intake, I twisted the brass knob and peaked my head through to see what was going on.

I saw a tall, muscled silhouette of a figure slipping out of the kitchen and slowly making their way down the hall. It had been in complete darkness, so I couldn't make out the facial features.

"You know Tessy, you don't have to spy on me," Hunter states as he neared my bedroom door.

"You know Hunter, you don't have to be walking down the halls at 2 in the morning," I teased back, popping myself out my door—leaning against the door with my hands crossed over my chest.

"What were you even doing anyways?" I asked, unable to keep my curiosity at bay.

"Oh you know," He stalled out, letting out a cough or two before continuing, "Just had a slice..or two...of warm vanilla cake..."

Before I could help myself, laughter bubbled up inside me. My voice filled the morning air, dancing and humming along the edges and corners of the silent house.

It felt nice to laugh again. It had been a while since I truly laughed. I never had a reason to.

"You know for a guy who preaches about living a healthy lifestyle, you sure are weird..." I murmured more to myself, staring at his outline in the darkness.