Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 35 - No Apology Required

Hunter

I almost told Aunt Becca about the kiss! What the hell is wrong with me? Do I want to sabotage everybody? 

If I told her she would pack Willow into that wreck of hers and leave us. I don't want them to leave. Where would they go? What would happen to them? And they wouldn't even get very far anyway because most of the car's engine is on my dad's workbench! 

Besides, if they left, things between Willow and me will never be okay again. Ma will be devastated if she lost them again and Dad will be so disappointed in me. And Frankie... the little dude worships Missy.

What the hell is wrong with me? 

I've been asking myself this question so many times lately, but I'm not getting a bloody answer!

Thank God for a friend like Dex. If he hadn't interrupted me... 

I don't deserve him. He's been sitting here with me patiently; on and off patting my back, squeezing my shoulder, assuring me that everything is going to be alright. He also keeps on calling me insulting things like melter and spanner and some new ones I'm sure I've never heard before. 

My level of stupidity today is really causing him to dig deep into his treasure trove of Irish synonyms for idiot. I should probably feel offended and give him a smack, but I'm just grateful that he's here calling me those things.

We all just sat here staring at the carpet after Aunt B headed upstairs again.

Dex finally broke the silence to explain to Jake why his question caused Willow to run away. Now the guy looks like he swallowed a worm. Jake has a worm phobia, swallowing one would kill him. I know he didn't mean to upset her. None of us did. We sometimes forget how sensitive and reserved she is.

I don't know where Tanner went, he took off a while ago. He looks a little tired today, and his eyes are slightly puffy and red. He's probably having a nap on my bed or maybe he went for a run to clear his head. He might be taking a shower. 

Crap! 

He might be messing up one of my clean canvases again. The guy cannot paint for shit, but he has this theory that if painting helped me destress, it should help him too. Maybe it does.

His painting tends to increase my stress, though. Mainly because he doesn't clean the brushes properly afterwards and their bristles become glued together, turning them into useless, hard sticks. Well, maybe not useless, I can still use them to get some texture going... No, he should just stick to cooking. He's always shooing me out of the kitchen, telling me to stick to painting, so...

Still, the guy looked pretty cut up after Dex's explanation. I wonder if he has a crush on Willow or just doesn't want Paise to lose her new friend. A crush? Come on! He has six million, two hundred and fifty-three thousand, four hundred and thirty-one point three girls to choose from! Yeah, I counted them! He should just leave Willow to me!

What?! I didn't mean that!

"Are you telling yourself jokes to feel better?" Jake wants to know, stopping me from chuckling to myself like the idiot I am.

"Yeah, why?"

"Paise will bring her back," Ash assures me, smiling limply. Good to see that he still has a universe load of faith in Paisley, even if they've been scratchy with each other for a couple of weeks now. I hate it when they fight. They've been the other side of each other's coin for as long as I can remember. It hurts all of us when they fight. 

The balance of the world just seems to shift off its centre when they're not happy with each other. It's like jam and peanut butter suddenly refusing to be on the same sandwich together. Or crispy potato wedges and gravy. Or ice cream and chocolate sauce. Or coffee and biscuits...