June Summerfield

Chapter 17

Hunter sat in his closet, late at night, and pulled up the image of the girl he was crushing on. She had finally cried herself to sleep. He was just about to cast a comforting spell on her when his father called him down for dinner.

He watched as she slept, so peaceful now. There was arguing in the background, but it wasn’t loud enough to wake her.

She rolled over and now he could see her face. Right below her left eye was a cut. It wasn’t very deep or big, but it filled Hunter with rage. He wanted to protect her, from everything. She must have only been 8 or 9 at the time, with him only being 13.

Hunter could make out bits of what her parents were arguing out, so he snuggled back into a corner of his closet so he wouldn’t get caught, and continued to watch and listen.

“We can’t keep her.” A man’s voice was loud and clear, followed by the sounds of a woman crying.

“We don’t have another choice.” She sobbed.

“Honey, I’ve said this a million times. We either get rid of her, or she’s dead.”

“I know but… there’s got to be a way. I can’t lose my baby.” The woman sobbed some more while the man stayed firm.

“She’s leaving tomorrow morning, it’s already been arranged. It came too close today, Augusta. She’s hurt now, but next time she could die. I’m not having that and that’s final.” Augusta must be her mother’s name. Hunter thought it was pretty, just like their daughter.

What they were saying didn’t make a lot of sense, but he could piece together somewhat of a story from watching arguments like this before.

As far as he knew, the girl’s parents were in trouble. Serious trouble at that. Somehow, their daughter was the target and her father was trying to protect her by sending her away so they could deal with the situation.

He continued watching as the house fell silent and the girl fell into a deeper sleep. Hunter was starting to get tired himself, so he cast a quick and effective protection and comfort spell before ending the image and crawling out of the closet and into his bed. It wasn’t a lot, but it was all he could do. At least for now.

He knew the girl was special. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but from what he gathered, she was the reason her family was in danger. He planned to keep watching as much as possible, hoping to one day save her.

Hunter’s eyes opened slowly as he realized he had fallen asleep.

Looking next to him, so had June.

Hunter hated having these dreams. They reminded him of a darker time. Now that he was older, and knew why the girl was in so much danger, his heart ached. It wasn’t her fault at all, as he once thought.

The blame fell completely on her parents, mostly her father. He watched her as she slept, so blissfully unaware of her power and history. He couldn’t wait to explain it all and show her what she could do and see her reaction, but he knew he had to wait. She wasn’t ready yet. Maybe after the party.

“Hunter, I’m tired.” June complained as they spent all day practicing in his room again. She already had the dance down beautifully, but he enjoyed the time together. This time they were practicing in the ballroom, where the party would be held.

“Fine. We can take a break.” He faked groans and fought a smile.

“No, we’re stopping for today.” She demanded, causing the smile to fully take over.

“I want to do it just one more time. The dance is tomorrow evening, I want you to feel prepared.”

“I do, I promise.” She rolled her eyes. She was actually filled with anxiety about it, but she could do the dance with her eyes closed now, so she was as confident as she was going to get.

Hunter sighed. “Why do you always defy me?” He shook his head in fake disappointment and crossed his arms.

“Because I don’t like you.” They both knew it was a lie but she stuck with it. She had grown to be close to Hunter, and would even consider them friends. She’d die before she let him know that, though.

They rested for a bit and did the dance one last time, as Hunter had said. Once they were finished, he told her to go rest up for the party.

“These things usually last a while, and I know you get tired easily.” She shot him a glare. “So go back to your room and rest up.”

“What if I don’t want to go back to my room?” She crossed her arms and tried to stand firm, but he saw right through her. She didn’t want to be alone. Ever since she lost Montana, she hated being alone. Hunter guessed the thoughts and dreams were too much for her.

“Well then, don’t. Stay here. I don’t care. But I’m going to take a nap.” He said as he went to his room and into the bathroom, changing into a pair of loose shorts. Returning to the bedroom, he saw June had taken her gown off and crawled under his blankets.

He felt his heart pound as he realized she was simply in a bra and underwear. He felt glad that she felt that comfortable around him, and he wasn’t going to mess it up, no matter how excited the thought made him.

Walking over to the bed, he noticed her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t yet asleep. Carefully, he pulled back his side of the blankets and laid down. It was already fairly late in the afternoon, so they both figured this is how they’d spend the night.

“Mama, why can’t I just stay with you?” The girl cried as Hunter sat and watched again from inside his closet.

“Because baby, it’s not safe. Your dad and I will come get you in a few weeks, I promise.” Her mother insisted as the three of them drove down the road.

They pulled into a middle-class neighborhood and one of the driveways. Outside sat a couple, about the same age as her current parents.

Once they had gotten her and her things out of the car, they said their painful goodbyes, and her parents turned to leave.

He watched as her mother cast a spell and wiped the girl’s memory of everything that had happened previously. His heart broke as he realized she would most likely have no idea who she is and what she could do.

But Hunter knew it was for the best right now. Whatever it took to keep her safe.

Her new family took her in as their own immediately, and as the aftermath of the spell wore off, she fully believed this was her birth family.

Hunter knew she would never see her real parents again. He felt tears come to his eyes as he watched, unable to help or do anything for her.

Once again, he cast a protection and comfort spell over her and ended the image. His father would be coming to get him for his lectures any time now, and he hated when Hunter was late.

Hunter woke up in a cold sweat, with tears in his eyes. Sitting upright, he looked over and saw June still sound asleep.

The blankets had come down and part of her bra was exposed. As much as this excited him, he reached over and tucked her back in, returning to his thoughts.

He couldn’t figure out why he was having so many dreams about June’s past, but he had to put an end to it. It was putting a lot of stress on him reliving the times of watching her suffer and being unable to help.

Hunter sighed to himself before getting up to wash his face. He knew he should tell her the truth about her past, but he knew she wasn’t ready yet. After the party. He told himself as the cold water splashed against his cheeks.

He sat in the bathroom for a while, thinking about how he was going to bring up such a topic.

“Hunter?” He heard June call out as she woke up. Her voice was surprisingly airy and light.

He opened the door to see her fully snuggled under the blankets, looking at him.

“I was just wondering where you went.” Her tone darkened to its usual annoyance and she rolled her eyes.

“The party is tonight. Do you want to go through the dance one last time?” He offered.

“Oh god, please no.” She groaned and threw her head back on the pillow, her dark hair splaying out around her.

“Well, you need to get up anyway. You need to pick a dress.”

“I’ll wear one from my closet.”

“No, you have to wear a certain type of dress to events like this. I think you’ll change your mind once you see them.” His eyes cut to her gown still dropped on the floor. “Once you’re dressed, let me know and I’ll take you to the seamstress.” He returned to the bathroom to give her privacy and could hear her moving around in the room.

“You can come out now.” She called once she was fully dressed.

Hunter led her down the hall and the stairs, to a small door right under the stairs. June sighed, knowing this was going to be a painful experience.

Once they entered the room, however, her mindset changed completely. The room was much bigger and brighter than she expected, with dozens of ball gowns varying in designs and colors on display.

“Payton!” Hunter called out, and as if on cue, a small woman with blonde hair that was loosely pinned back came out of one of the back rooms.

“Oh! King Maslin!” She bowed and rushed to his aid. Her voice was high-pitched and had a lightness to it that June hadn’t ever heard before... June could feel jealousy rising in her chest but she pushed it down and away. She didn’t care who Hunter fancied. “What can I do for you two?” She said, acknowledging June. “I have to say, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, June.” She gave her a warm smile which made June feel a lot better about the situation.

“How do you know my name?”

“Everyone does. King Maslin is obsessed with you.” She was filled with excitement as she waited for her orders.

“Payton, as you know, there’s a party tonight. I need June in the best dress you can get her to agree to.” He chuckled before taking a step back. “I’ll leave you two to it. Payton, please send word of what dress she chooses as soon as it’s chosen.” He pointed at her and then left the two alone.