Hunt Me Down - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Hunter’s POV
She sat on the counter, munching on her cookies. Her face was thoughtful and her legs, clad in black jeans, dangled.
“So…” Val began when the last on her treats was traveling down to her stomach. “You kissed my brother?”
“On the cheek,” I nodded and she absentmindedly repeated the gesture, her eyes focused on no particular thing as she stared at the pale wall of our kitchen.
“And he didn’t freak out?”
“Nope.”
“He didn’t push you or run out of the room or anything?”
“No.”
“Good,” she concluded as her eyes found me, a creepy smile slowly spreading on her face. She jumped off the counter and threw the cookie wrapper in the bin. “I was starting to worry with your getting-close-then-not-speaking-to-him-for-days approach.”
I shook my head.
If she only knew how hard that was for me! If Nathaniel only knew how difficult it was to stay away from him for so long because yes, a few days without him seemed like a long time.  Vallery’s reports on his activities, as detailed as they were, were not enough. I wanted to talk to him, not hear about how he talked with other people, his boring girlfriend included.
“Maybe we should speed things up now,” she began pacing from one side of the room to the other. “We should find a way to get you two in the same place and for a long time. A sleepover would be suspicious since you live next door so we’ll have to get more creative,” she went on with what I’d once heard Nat call her ‘scheming face’. “A road trip… Yes, that might do it. A road trip with a sleepover in another town. But we’ll have to think of a way to get Nat to tag along… I’ll be coming too, so it wouldn’t seem fishy to him.” She stood still for a second, chewing on her glossy lip, then resumed walking. “I think I have an idea how to make my brother come but how is mommy dearest going to let us go away for a weekend? Maybe if…”
I tuned her out, my thoughts back on Nat and Irene.
By my calculations, they would break up soon. She looked at him as if the world would end if he was not around, but he did not reciprocate. He seemed to like her but I didn’t see any sparks flying; the passion was still lacking. He felt no thrill when he was with her and I knew he felt it with me. So yes, they would be breaking up soon.
In a way, Nathaniel was cruel to us. He was cruel to Irene, because it wouldn’t last and he led her on, and he was cruel to me, because the attraction was there, yet he kept his distance.
But he was warming up to me; he might even leave that girl because of me, not because he got fed up with her.
Should I feel guilty?
Probably.
Would I?
No.
We both wanted the same person and we both upped our game to get him, but only one of us could have him, and I was not going to be the loser. It wasn’t my fault the girl couldn’t see that.
“You are not listening to me, Harris,” Val was standing still again, her face in a slight pout. “What’s on your mind?”
“I was thinking about Irene.” A guilty expression replaced the sulk as soon as I’d uttered that.
“When I told Nat he should have some fun with Irene, I didn’t mean dating,” she began. “And when I told Irene he liked her, I…”
“Just wanted to cheer her up and didn’t think she’d actually ask him out,” I added in a bored tone; we’d been through this several times already. “I’m not blaming you for anything here. It’s not like you forced your brother to say yes to her.”
“But he did that right after Satan brought up the fags-go-to-Hell topic; maybe he wouldn’t have said yes if she hadn’t.”
“He would’ve,” I contradicted confidently. “Your brother is too scared to disappoint others. I just have to make him see that I’m more important than what people would say about us.”
“And I’m so helping you with that,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. Her guilt for unintentionally  bringing Irene and Nathaniel together had made her more adamant on pairing me with her brother. “I don’t know how yet, but I’ll think of something. Anyway, I have to get back home. Talk to you later.”
She patted my arm on her way to the hallway and I followed her there. She still seemed contemplative as she buttoned up her black coat and put on her hood to protect her from the falling snowflakes outside; they were the first for this winter.
“By the way, you should go grocery shopping,” she said opening the front door. “You are out of biscuits.”
I rolled my eyes at her parting words and returned to the kitchen to get some of the dark green lettuce Raph loved so much. While I was washing the leaves, I thought about what Val had said; perhaps it really was time to speed things up. Nat had reacted well to the kiss on his cheek; he wasn’t ready for making out with me just yet, but perhaps a hug… Maybe even a small peck…
But Val was right: we needed to get away from his parents, Irene and other prying eyes for him to loosen up and allow me to get close.
*****
Nathaniel’s POV
It had been on the cheek.
There was nothing wrong with a peck on the cheek, right?
Technically, that had been more than a simple peck, but it was still on the cheek so it was okay; it was acceptable even though we were boys… Right?
I sighed and rubbed my face.
It had been just a kiss on the cheek, yet I’d spend today reliving the moment and debating on whether it had been right to allow it. It would’ve seemed innocent enough if his lips had not lingered for so ling; it would’ve seemed innocent enough, if I had not enjoyed it so much.
One kiss – maybe five seconds long – and my heart rate was going crazy and I didn’t want him to move away. One kiss – just one – and it had excited me more than all the times I’d kissed Irene taken together.
I tried to convince myself I was overreacting. I tried to convince myself that my heart drummed like mad because he took me by surprise, that I’d held my breath so as not to move and offend him and that the little tingles in my chest were the result from never being kissed by a boy before, even on the cheek, and therefore being a little nervous.
In the end, I concluded that even though the kiss had been sudden, it had been my birthday so it was not gratuitous. It was okay to kiss on special occasions; people did it all the time. It didn’t even have to mean anything; it was a way to congratulate someone or to share your joy.
So a little kiss on occasions such as birthdays had to be something innocent. So innocent that maybe I could return the gesture on his birthday…
“Phew! First day of snowing and it’s like it wants to bury us in our houses,” Val came in the kitchen, rubbing her hands, her cheeks and nose tip rosy from the cold outside. “And they said we shouldn’t expect snow till next week. Do you think we can get a few days off school if there’s a blizzard?”
“I doubt there will be a blizzard, Val,” I shook my head and got back to eating my strawberry jam sandwich.
“A girl can dream, can’t she?” She hopped on the stool next to mine and took a huge bite from the second sandwich I’d made. “I’m starving. Hunt only had a very small pack of biscuits,” she said, her words muffled by the food in her mouth.
“So, how is Hunt?” I asked, aiming for what I hoped sounded as a casual tone. I had not told her about the kiss and I did not intend to. It was better she didn’t find out or she would make a big deal out of it and try to convince me I should be with our blond neighbor instead of my girlfriend.
“He’s fine,” she shrugged and took another bite. “Why?”
“Just wondering,” I murmured and was prevented from giving her details by our mother rushing into the kitchen.
“Kids, I have terrible news: your Grandma is sick!”
“What’s wrong with her?” Both Val and I whipped our heads in her direction.
“She has a cold.”
“A cold?” My sister asked and snickered. “I don’t know what you are so worried about then, mom.”
“Your Grandma rarely gets sick,” our mother hurriedly justified her worries. “Even when I was little, I cannot remember her getting sick even once. Therefore, a cold is something serious when it comes to that woman; especially at her age.”
“What are you talking about?” Vallery continued. “The bitter old hag is going to outlive us all.”
“Vallery! I will not have my own daughter call my beloved mother ‘a bitter old hag’!” Our mother screeched appalled. “Mind your tongue, young lady!”
My twin and I exchanged a look. We both knew that Lydia Reed contacted her ‘beloved mother’ only on occasions such as Christmas and birthdays and she would avoid even that if she could help it. We also knew that mom fancied herself as an exemplary member of the community no matter in which town or country we were, thus why she kept in touch with the woman who gave birth to her. One shouldn’t get me wrong; our mother loved her parent but they were too different to get along.
“Given my mother’s fragile health,” she started again, “I shall go to her as soon as possible, that is to say, I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
“But dad is living tomorrow,” I butted in. Our father had been preparing for a work-related trip for the past few weeks and even asked his boss to go a couple of days later so he could be here for our birthdays. I was sure he wouldn’t dare ask for another postponement.
“I realize that and I hate to leave you on your own, but I see no other option. You are both seventeen now so I’m sure I could let you stay by yourselves…” Her voice faltered and she snuck a worried glance towards my sister who looked deceptively disinterested about us having the house to ourselves.
I sighed. Vallery was a loose cannon and a lot to handle with our parents around. I dreaded what it would be like with both of them out of town.
“Now, I’m not leaving you completely unsupervised,” mom went on. “Not that I don’t trust you,” she hurried to input but the tone of her voice contradicted her words, “but I asked that nice Miss. Harris to keep an eye on you.”
I felt a jolt in my stomach. Hunter’s aunt was supposed to keep us in check? And Hunter was going to be around when my parents weren’t…
“I have absolute, complete confidence that you’ll behave.” This time her words held a reprimanding inflection to them and she stared directly into my sister’s eyes as if to tell her: ‘You behave, young lady, or all Hell will break loose once I get back!’
“Define ‘behave’!” Val said evenly, completely unperturbed by the silent warning our parent sent her.
“I’m so glad you asked!” Mom smiled sweetly. “I’ve prepared a list of rules and a chores schedule I expect you to follow to the tee. I shall bring it to you right now so you can look it over.” With those words she left us alone in the kitchen.
“You are not having a party!” I said quietly – in case mom was still close enough to hear us – but sternly. “I mean it, Val, parents or no parents, I don’t want a bunch of strangers ruining our house.”
“Okay,” she answered calmly.
“I’m putting my foot down on this one,” I went on, readying myself for the oncoming fight. “I know this is your house too, but just think about…” I stopped abruptly, in mid-sentence, only now registering her agreement. Her all too quick agreement. “What do you mean ‘okay’?” I asked and narrowed my eyes at her. We had the house to ourselves and she was not going to go wild?
“It means, okay, we’re not having a party,” she explained leisurely, getting up and exiting the kitchen.
I was left alone to ponder about the whole situation. I knew my twin well; she wouldn’t just stay put. But if Val was not throwing a party, what was she planning? I had a feeling, a terrible, unsettling premonition, that whatever she had in mind for our home alone days, I’d enjoy it even less than a party.
“Oh, where did your sister go?” Mom asked, joining me in the kitchen. “Never mind, perhaps it is better she left.”
She sat down and put on a serious expression.
“I need to talk to you, Nathaniel, and I think you know what this is about. I need you to keep Vallery in check while your father and I are away. I depend on you and I have no doubts you won’t disappoint me. After all, you are the perfect son a mother could have! Now, I want you to do your best with your sister; our reputation, our place in the community, depends on it.”
Goodie! No pressure then. None at all.