June Summerfield

Chapter 13

Hunter wasn’t sure how to react as he watched June finally break down. He just reached over and carefully started stroking her hair, keeping it out of her face.

“Is there anything I can do?” he offered.

“I just miss him. I f*****g need him right now, not you.” she sobbed as tears flooded down, soaking her neck and the top of her gown, giving her the worst headache she had ever experienced. “You said you can take the pain away. Take it away, then,” she demanded through broken cries, trying to gain some control over herself again.

“You have to trust me.” he sat up on the bed. He could heal anyone’s physical wounds, as long as they aren’t too severe, but he had to have the person’s trust to take away their emotional pain.

“Obviously, I do!” she snapped. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have come here to your shitty room and be in your shitty bed begging for your help like a child.” her words were filled with emotional rage as she sat upright, trying to catch her breath and stop the tears.

Hunter took a deep breath as he placed a hand on her back, right between the shoulder blades.

“Close your eyes and take a deep breath. I want you to fully relax your body, the best you can anyway.” June did as she was told, although she hated taking orders from him, even if it was for her benefit.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy, like she was spinning, but she tried to stay relaxed. The tears slowly came to a stop and it began to get easier to breathe. When she opened her eyes, she felt lighter. Like some great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“What did you do?” she asked, picking at her nail beds and looking over at Hunter. June didn’t understand what just happened, but it eased up her pain immensely.

“I took your pain away.”

“How? Where did it go?”

“Don’t worry about that.” his voice was soft as he looked down at her laying on the bed. “Come here, let me braid your hair so it’s out of your face.”

Not knowing what else to do, she slowly pushed herself up and turned her back to him. He took a hairbrush he started keeping by the bed once he was informed she was coming and gently brushed out any tangles. Once he was finished, he carefully started doing a simple three-strand braid, just something to keep her hair from matting up and getting in her face as she slept.

Once he was finished, he tucked her back into bed, her face still red from crying.

Once she was comfortable, she was still shaking a bit from the spell he had to use to remove her pain. The normal one didn’t seem to work as planned, so he had to use the stronger one. It took a lot out of him, but it made her feel better. For now, anyway. HE could deal with the emotions slightly better than she could, so he gladly took them off her shoulders.

“Goodnight, my darling,” he told her as he threw a light sleeping spell over her so she could get some rest. She didn’t have time to respond before it took effect and she dozed off.

The next day, June woke up and rolled over, noticing Hunter was still asleep. She still didn’t feel as much pain as she did before, so she decided she’d get up and just go sit somewhere quiet. Try to process what her life now consisted of. As soon as she got out of bed and put her robe back on, Hunter was sitting up, watching.

“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice still raspy from sleep and his hair a fluffy mess.

“Back to my room. I want to go somewhere quiet,” she informed him and then walked out of the room, going back to her room.

“You know, I know the perfect place,” Hunter told her as he followed her down the hall, making sure to open her bedroom door for her. She just cut her eyes over at him.

“Oh, is that so?” The pain might be a lot less, but she still didn’t forgive him for taking her and Montana away from their friends, leading to his death.

“Yeah. I can take you there if you want. It’s in the woods.” he shut the door behind them and watched her pick out a simple brown dress that came just below her knees. He turned around as she removed her robe and started getting dressed, making sure to give her privacy.

“After what happened last time, I don’t think going into the woods is a good idea. What did they want with me anyway?” She finished buttoning the top and decided to redo her braid.

“Trust me, you would rather not know. If I go with you, however, we will be protected. Nothing will harm you as long as you stay with me.

“There seems to be a lot of things that I’d rather not know. Tell me something I would like to know.” she crossed her arms as he turned back around, facing her.

“Come with me through the woods and I’ll tell you something I think you’ll enjoy, especially now that you’re over what happened.” he leaned back against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants. Even when he was a mess, June couldn’t deny he was attractive. Too bad he kidn*pped her.

“I’m not over it. I’ll never be over it, so get used to that.” she spat. “But I guess I can go with you. Just keep your mouth shut so I’m not annoyed the whole time.” she rolled her eyes as she went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

With a quick smirk, Hunter returned to his room and got ready himself. He met her in the hallway. She had put on some light makeup that highlighted her best features like her nose, eyes, and lips. He was taken aback slightly but managed to keep it together. He kept it simple, with a pair of jeans and a maroon button-up shirt that fit him a little too well, June thought.

“Let’s just get this over with,” she said as she started down the hallway and toward the stairs.

“Whatever you wish, dear.” he rushed to keep up with her fast pace, but once he caught up, he led her to the edge of the woods. “Now, wait for a second while I cast a protection shield around us. No one or anything will be able to hear, see, or smell us. We will be completely hidden.”

“How long does it last?”

“As long as I want it to.”

Once he was finished, he led June through the woods. She didn’t feel any different or protected, but she had to trust him. She just wanted to be somewhere quiet and she didn’t know of any places herself.

After a long walk which made June’s feet ache, they started to reach a clearing.

“Do I hear running water?” she asked, out of breath. Hunter just smiled at her as he continued walking, leading her into a small clearing by a small streamlet. There was a large patch of green grass and wildflowers on the other side, making the dark, intimidating forest seem more welcoming. The water splashed against rocks that sat in random spots along the stream. The only sounds that could be heard were the rushing water and some birds off in the distance. There was an old stone bench that sat right next to it.

“I always come here when I need to think. So, please, make yourself comfortable. Just let me know when you’re ready to return.” he leaned against a tree, watching June slowly walk over and crunch down by the water, feeling the ice-cold rush with her hands before walking around the clearing and finally resting on the bench.

“You know, you don’t have to just stand there.” she snapped after a while of silence. “You can sit next to me, I won’t bite.” she kept her eyes cast down, focused on the running water, as Hunter slowly walked over and sat down.

“I thought you wanted to be alone in the quiet,” he asked, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, well. Things change, I guess.” she started picking at her nail beds again, looking around now for anything to focus on other than Hunter and the water.

“Is that so? How come?”

“Just shut up before I change my mind,” she mumbled as they both sat there by the water.