𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗

I toss and turn on the mattress, knowing Grayson is lying right next to me on the bed. I keep waking up randomly, and I don't know why. Opening my eyes, I turn to look at him. He's sound asleep, little snores are escaping his mouth. At least he seems comfortable.

Sighing to myself, I get up and head out of the dark area. The minute I step into the living room, I notice Hunter sitting peacefully on the couch.

I loudly gasp, jumping from his random presence. "What the hell?"

"Oh, you're up." He looks confused by the thought.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" I tilt my head.

"I was going to surprise you when you got up." He looks at me through the darkness.

"So, you were sitting in this cottage like a creep?" I chuckle and walk closer, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well, if you put it like that, it sounds weird." He shakes his head.

I stare at his side profile, studying his facial expressions. "Hunter, where have you been?"

"I had some things I needed to take care of." He shrugs, keeping his eyes on the glass coffee table in front of us.

"Like what?" I need more of an answer from him.

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"Did you put the carnival in the field?" I blurt out.

A low smile hangs on his lips, even though it seems like he's trying to fight it. "Depends. Did you have a good time?"

"So, it was you." I shake my head back and forth.

"I may or may not have taken part in it." He simply shrugs.

"And to answer your question, yes. It was fun." My mind thinks back to Grayson and I sitting in the ferris wheel seat.

His face was so close to mine, and his words still render with me. He's going to kiss me when we get back to the real world. The thought makes me long for a feeling of happiness.

"How are you feeling about Grayson?" Hunter whispers while looking back at me.

I stay silent, really digging deep into my brain. "A little bit different than before."

"Like?" He raises an eyebrow up.

"When did you become such a matchmaker?" I laugh.

"I'm trying to help you figure out your purpose for being here." Hunter clears his throat.

"And you think it has something to do with him?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"I just want to know how you're feeling about him."

I continue to stay silent, not knowing if I should bring up the fact that I felt my heartbeat due to being so close to him. It has yet to happen again, but once was enough for me to realize something is going on.

"I think he's funny, and outspoken. He has this confidence about him that I wish I could radiate." My voice trails off as I try to think of how to continue this conversation.

"So, you like him." A small smirk curves onto his lips.

"I might be starting to. I don't know, it's complicated." Usually boys are the most confusing aspect of my life. I spent years trying to get Chase to notice me, when he barely gave me the time of day. If I wasn't his friends little sister, he probably wouldn't have glanced my way.

"He's not like Chase, if that's what you're thinking." Hunter reads my mind, something he's always been good at.

"What makes you so sure of that?" I continue to eye him like a hawk.

"Because he's rough on the surface but deep down, his soul is pure. It's filled with light. He's one of the good ones, whether he realizes it or not."

"You can see that?" I whisper, shocked.

"Yeah, I can. It's an aura that people have around them. His is good, and so is yours." He continues to look at me.

"The only guy I've ever had a major crush on was Chase, but it wasn't even a real crush. It was more of a 'I think my brother's best friend is hot' type of situation." I awkwardly try to explain it.

"You didn't have real feelings for him. You didn't get to know him, and he didn't get to know you either." Hunter points out.

"I'm actually getting to know Grayson." I state the obvious.

"And he's getting to know you, which is major." He nods his head.

He's right, it is major. I'm not the type to open up about my feelings. My life is very closed off, and I planned on keeping it that way. I was too scared to allow anyone to get inside of my brain.

"Did you have real feelings for Aubrey?" I lowly ask.

I always knew Hunter was head over heels for the black haired beauty. But was it true feelings? I never really knew for sure.

"I did, yes." He gulps, I can tell he's growing nervous.

"I thought she felt the same way." I let out a breath.

"She did, for the most part."

"Then how come you guys were never officially together? It was so obvious you liked each other."

"Because I was too much of a pussy, according to Kyle." He clenches his jaw.

"Kyle went after her, too." I whisper, hating the thought of it.

"He was straight forward, overconfident. I beat around the bush and wasted too much time obsessing over the idea of making her mine, instead of taking action to make it happen."

"But you were always the confident one. You-"

"Even the strongest people have their weaknesses. And Aubrey Holland was mine."

"After you died, I heard she was dating Kyle. It made me sick to my stomach because I knew it wasn't right. It was supposed to be you, Hunt." I shake my head, angry at the world.

"Well, it never will be."

"How could your friends do that to you? Just turn on the person who was there for them the most?" The thought makes me ill. Hunter was the best friend those assholes will ever have. And what did they ever do to him? Get him drunk and take his life away.

"People aren't who they claim to be, Hope. Not everyone is your friend, fake people are everywhere. They simply try to trick the innocent." He shrugs.

"Do your friends know about what happened to me? What about the entire town of Renton?"

"Yes, people know." He exhales a sharp breath.

"The question is: do they care?" I let out a chuckle.

"It caused a lot of commotion. You know how it is. Small town, people talk."

"What's Kyle talking about?" I can't help but ask.

"Let's find out."

"Huh?" I furrow my eyebrows.

We're quickly transported to a dimly lit basement. I frantically look around, totally confused by what just happened. Before I can ask what is going on, I spot Kyle, Chase and Dave sitting on an L shaped black leather couch.

"Where are we?" I look back at Hunter.

"Kyle's basement." He says while keeping his eyes on his ex best friends.

My attention also turns back to the boys, who are watching a baseball game on the flat screen TV hanging on the wall.

"Gardner can't strike out, I need the Yankees to win." Chase nervously runs his hands through his blonde hair.

"You're such a traitor. How can you root for New York when they're versing the Seattle Mariners? That's foul to your own state, man." Dave rolls his eyes before picking up a tortilla chip. He dips the salty snack in some salsa before popping it into his mouth.

"Because the Yankees have an awesome team this year, they've been on a hot streak." Chase rolls his eyes.

"Seattle's gonna crush them, guaranteed." Kyle chimes in, taking a slug of his beer.

"Like your guesses are so accurate. You lose every bet we make." Chase groans.

"I have a good feeling about this one." Kyle says with a low smirk.

"Babe?" A female voice calls from the stairs.

Both Hunter and I turn our heads to the left, along with the other boys in the room. Aubrey Holland walks down the steps wearing a red sundress. Her black hair is styled in a ponytail, and light makeup covers her already beautiful features. She's gripping onto the straps of the brown backpack clinging onto her skin.

"Hey, baby. Did you get more chips?" Kyle asks while eyeing her up and down.

Chase and Dave barely take their eyes off of the screen to say a brief hello to her. They're deeply invested in their baseball game.

"Yup, sour cream and onion along with two bags of barbecue. I know Dave is obsessed with them, so they'll be gone in two seconds." She takes a seat next to Kyle and unzips her bag, revealing the snacks to them.

"You know me so well, Aubrey." Dave smiles brightly before picking up one of the two bags.

"Thanks for stopping at the supermarket." Kyle smirks before leaning down and placing a kiss on her lips.

"How can you watch them like this?" I ask Hunter, scoffing in disgust.

"Because I'm dead, Hope. I learned to move on from my past." His mature answer surprises me.

I nod my head and look back at them. It seems odd to just spy on their lives. There has to be a reason we're doing it.

"What are we doing here?" I whisper to Hunter.

"So, uh, I saw Corynn Myers at the store." Aubrey awkwardly speaks up.

My eyes immediately shift to her at the mention of my mother's name. The entire basement falls silent, the only sound coming from the TV.

"What did she have to say?" Dave slowly asks.

"That she misses me. Well, she misses us." The black haired girl clears her throat.

"You guys heard about what happened to the sister, right?" Chase turns to look back at Aubrey.

"You mean Hope and that kid from New Jersey?" She slowly nods her head.

"It's horrible, what happened." Dave mutters.

"Mrs. Myers looks completely distraught. I mean, who wouldn't? She lost her son and now she might lose her daughter, too." Aubrey actually looks guilty, along with Chase and Dave.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Kyle speaks up with an emotionless tone to his voice.

Aubrey exhales a sharp breath. "I guess I just feel bad about-"

"About what?" Kyle suddenly snaps at her.

She stops talking, almost like she's afraid to continue. Chase clears his throat while Dave turns around.

"Feel bad about what, Aubrey?" Kyle presses her to finish speaking.

"I guess I just feel bad about Hunter dying. That's all." She lowly mumbles under her breath.

"Well, of course. He was a good person and an even better friend." Dave nods in agreement.

"What happened to him was an accident. There was no preventing it." Kyle says before taking another sip of his beer.

Chase's eyes slightly widen. Dave looks extremely uncomfortable. Aubrey is holding back tears.

"Why are they so afraid of him?" I ask my brother, who is staring at the gray carpet.

"Because they know what he's capable of." Hunter's eyes meet mine.

I go to glance back at Kyle, but it's too late. We're already perfectly placed in the small cottage, away from the real world.

"Holy crap." I mumble while looking at him.

"It's heavy stuff, I know."

I keep my stare on Hunter, wishing I could just pull him into a hug. I love my brother so much, and the fact that my time with him might be running out, is making me feel weird.

The door to the bedroom suddenly flies open, and we turn our heads to find Grayson walking out of it. He stops once he sees us conversing on the couch.

"Hey, there you are." He says while grinning at me. The cute smile on his face causes one to appear on my own.

"Morning sunshine." I nod my head.

"Hunter, where have you been? We've been trying to summon you." Grayson turns to look at my brother.

"I've been busy." He vaguely answers.

"Busy?" Grayson seems unconvinced.

"Yeah, I actually need to take care of some business but you two have a great day." Hunter says before lowly flashing me a smirk. I furrow my eyebrows at his odd outburst, but he's already gone.

"What is his deal? I want to see my parents." Grayson rolls his eyes.

"I have no idea." I let out a sigh.

"Hey, are you okay?" His eyes soften as he looks at me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I try to convince the both of us.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here." He says softly before nodding his head.

I meet his gaze and he flashes me another small smile. I can tell his words are genuine. "I will, thanks."

"I'll be outside if you need me." He places his hands into his pockets before walking to the door.

Once I'm alone, I rush into the bedroom to pick up my diary. Reading my first entry again, I begin to ache at the fact that Grayson read my words about him. I wish this thing came with a lock.

I want to write about how this situation is becoming too much. That all I really want to do is stay with Hunter, even if it's selfish. A part of me can't leave him, but that requires me to fully die. Am I ready for that? Can I handle it?

My eyes catch a glimpse of Grayson's name on the page, and I begin to think about him. How would he feel if I didn't come back with him? Would he be mad? Would he understand?

I simply close the diary and place it under my pillow. Walking out of the room, I head toward the back door and quickly exit the cottage, knowing I need to find Grayson and figure everything out.