36 Good Night 2 (1/2)

Ash lay next to Hunter on the bed in the guestroom. She felt tired from her head down to her toes. She had cried for a long time, maybe twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of grief for a childhood lost.

Ash's mother didn't have a funeral. She had no living relatives in the country where she died, so no one came forward to make funeral arrangements for her. Even after her death was reported on the news, no friends or coworkers came forward looking for her or her daughter. Her own husband was still missing.

Narra Flores Parker had died alone, leaving behind her only daughter.

Ash didn't know where her mother's body was or what happened to it; she never thought to ask. The matter had been taken care of and Ash had been too young to know to ask any questions.

Ash was eighteen now. She was an adult. She had a right to know where her mother's body was buried. She would demand this information of the orphanage immediately when she returned.

Ash buried her face in Hunter's chest. He wrapped both his arms around her and squeezed.

”Thank you,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

”I love you,” Hunter said.

Ash squeezed her eyes shut even harder. It felt good to hear his words. It felt good to hear that somebody in this world loved her. She didn't know for sure what he meant by it, but it didn't matter. Being cuddled and hearing that she was loved was enough.

Hunter, on the other hand, was panicking quietly. Ash hadn't said she loved him back. He felt the empty seconds tick away, hearing no echo of his professed love being returned.

[Isn't she supposed to say it back? It's not like it's hard to say.]