Wingless and beautiful episode 19

episode 19
🕊 ~WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFU~ L🕊
🍁EPILOGUE🍁
 
My life for the following months had been pure bliss. Iwas not exactly invisible to the people in school becauseHunter was always beside me. And he was definitely notinvisible—especially to the girls. I knew they still couldn’tbelieve that I could score a guy like Hunter. I didn’t carewhat they thought. As long as they kept their thoughts especially their lim-bs—to themselves and leave us the hellalone.
Hunter never missed picking me up in the morning anddriving me back from school every night. He was a waybetter guardian angel than Chaise ever was.It took a good twenty-four hours for Denise to recoverfrom her shock when Hunter and I showed up in their house,
holding hands. We finally explained to her how we first metat CRC when Hunter was still blind and how we fell in love.
“She was the reason why I agreed for a transplant. I loveher. And I wanted to be the b©yfri£ndthat she deserved. Ab©yfri£ndwho would live for her, die for her, protect heruntil his very last breath,” Hunter said.
Denise blinked back at him and said, “You have to befreaking kidding me! Who are you?”
“Give it up, cuz. I am sweet and ro-mantic. But onlyAllison can bring it out.”
“Yeah, otherwise, you’re a heartless douchebag!”
“Be careful, Denise. That’s my b©yfri£ndyou’re referringto,” I tea-sed her.
She gro-an ed. “How could this happen to me? My bestfriend and my cousin! Ewww!”
“Oh, grow up. I met her first,” Hunter quipped. “Besides,we’re not too thri-lled about your relationsh!peither.”
Her eyes wi-de-ned at him. Then she turned to me. “Youtold him?”
I shook my head. “I would never.”
“She didn’t tell me,” Hunter was quic-k to say in mydefense. “Just remember, Denise. Just because you thinknob©dy’s looking, doesn’t mean no one is. You’re on myradar. Always.”
“Seriously, Hunter?”
“It’s none of my business,” he told her. “But I hope youget out of that infatuation quic-kly. Buckley is bad news.”Denise glared at him and for a while I thought they weregoing to fight. Then Denise sat back onthe couch. “Youdidn’t have to tell me. We’re done.”
“Oh my God, Denise. Are you okay?” I asked, sittingbeside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“I’m okay. It kinda felt good that I didn’t have to hideanymore. Arthur’s no fun. He doesn’t get me.”
“What do you expect? He’s a generation older thanyou,” Hunter muttered.
I wi-de-ned my eyes at him, warning him not to make itany worse.
“He’s only a couple of years older,” Denise argued. “Butanyway, we’re throu-gh.”
“Are you okay? I mean… are you upset about it?”
She shrugged. “I’m actually surprised I wasn’t as upsetas I thought I would be. I’m… okay.”
“Good. But… I’m here, if you ever want to talk.” I gaveher shoulders a reas-suring squee-ze.
“I know. But really, I’m okay.” She smiled back at me.
“Wait, tell me more about Chaise.”
I stared back at Hunter. He sighed and then he toldDenise everything that Chaise did.
“Holy cra-p!” Denise cursed. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“Me too,” I said.
“Would you ever forgive him?”
I shook my head. “I really don’t know.”
“The things we do for love, huh,” Denise breathed,looking thoughtfully into space.
I looked at Hunter and he smiled back at me.
“Yeah,” he said in a gentle tone. “The things we doindeed.” He gave me a wi-nk.
“Except that I don’t think I was in love with Arthur in the first place,” Denise said thoughtfully.
“No,” I agreed. “I didn’t think you were.” I gave her anencouraging smile. “Don’t worry. You’ll find love soonenough. And it will be much more special than what you hadwith Arthur.”
It is true. Love happens when you least expect it to. Ithappens in the most wonderful ways and to the least likelypeople. Even when Hunter was blind, and he thought hewould be a burden to the person he was with, I still fell inlove with him. Even when I thought my scars made me lookugly and monstrous and no one would even like me, Huntersaw the real me and thought I was beautiful enough to like,
protect and love.Graduation was just around the corner and I was
anxious to receive acceptance letters from the universities I
applied to.Soon after that, I received one of the best news of my
life. I got in to MIT and also received financial aid. Meredithwas quite relieved and happy. She really wanted the best forme because she thought I was brilliant and deserved goodthings in life, but she was afraid she could not afford to s£ndme to a good university.
Before I got the news of my acceptance at MIT, Hunterand I were having arguments about my university options.He offered to lend me money to pay for my tuition, but Irefused to let him help me financially. He was alre-ady takingcare of me in many ways. But I cannot receive any financialfavors from him. I made it clear to him that I wanted to besuccessful in life because I worked ha-rd for it. Not because Ihad a rich b©yfri£nd, who was always looking out for me.
Hunter also chose to go to MIT, while Denise chose to goto Harvard. We all planned to share a three-be-droomap@rtment in Cambridge. I intended to find a job to pay formy share of the rent. I knew Hunter alre-ady had some ideasin his head but there was no way I would allow him to makeme live in that ap@rtment rent-free.
Soon enough, high school was over. I exited LeightonHigh with flying colors. I stood in front of hundreds ofLeighton High s£nior students with my chin up as I deliveredmy valedictory speech. When I finished, everyb©dy stood upand cheered—including Chelsea br@xton and Don Winston.
Today, a week before Hunter, Denise and I set off toCambridge, Hunter asked me to spend the weekend with him in his lake house. Meredith didn’t object. But before Iwent out of the house, she called, “Have fun. And be safe.”
I know what she meant. But she didn’t sound tooconcerned because she knew that Hunter and I were bothadults now, and we were both responsible. And during ourmany dinners with her, Hunter always dropped hints that heintended to marry at a very young age. I also showed hermy gorgeous promise ring and told her what that ring meantto Hunter and me.
I was sitting on the pas-s£nger seat of Hunter’s Escaladeas we drove to his lake house. He reached out for my handand brou-ght it to hisl-ips.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
He gave my hand a gentle squee-ze. He must haves-en-sed that I was uneasy, but he didn’t say anything.The truth is, I was nervous as hell, I was on the brink ofasking him to turn back the car. True, we’ve been left alonebefore in the lake house, and Hunter had spent many nights
on the couch of our house whenever Meredith had anovernight shift. But still, this weekend at the lake house feltdifferent. For this trip, I didn’t know what to expect. But God knows I’m re-ady. And I do not want to share myself withanyone else but Hunter.
We parked in front of the beautiful white house. I couldsee that the lights inside were on.
“Does someb©dy stay here?”
Hunter rounded the car to open the door for me. “No,”he replied. “But I have help coming here to keep it tidy.Today, I asked them to prepare the house.” He pu-ll-ed me forchaste k!sson thel-ips. “I have an important guest coming.”
I couldn’t help the bu-tterflies in my stomach from goingwild. I turned away from Hunter to take de-ep breathswithout him noticing.
He took our bags from the backseat of his Escalade.Then he took my hand in his and pu-ll-ed me towards thehouse. Although the house was lit, it was empty. I realizedthat we were completely alone.
“Your house is beautiful,” I breathed as I looked at theinterior. It has changed a lot since the last time I was here. Itseemed Hunter spent some time decorating it.
“Well, the last time, I didn’t get it fixed yet. I didn’t feellike fixing anything. My heart was a whack. Decoratingdidn’t come at the t©p of my priorities then.”
But now, I noticed that he had a new chandelier. Therewere paintings on the wall, and his couch and coffee tablealso looked br@nd new.
“Come. I’ll show you the rooms,” he said.He took my hand in his and pu-ll-ed me up towards theglas-s stairs. Hunter led me to the room at the end of thecorridor. I remember before, Denise said she’d seen all therooms in the house except for one—Hunter’s be-droom.Hunter opened the door that led to a mas-sive be-droom.The main furniture there was a king size four-poster canopybe-d with white curtains around it. It has a fireplace in thecenter, with a white rug in front of it.
Above the fireplace was a painting of a girl. She haddark hair tied in a fishtail br@id. Her face was turned sideways, showing a faint scar on her cheek. I had to blinkback because the girl in the painting looked like me.I turned back to Hunter, raising a brow at him, but myton-gue felt frozen.
He smiled at me sheepishly. He pu-ll-ed me to him,snaking his arm around my w@!st, then spinning me aroundso we were both facing the painting.
“I painted that after my first day at Leighton High,” heexplained. “Do you like it?”
“Hunter… this is beautiful. I mean, your painting isbeautiful. You have some skill.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “It’s a hobby.”
“Are you kidding me? You could make a living out ofthis.” I turned around to face him. “I mean… if you’re notalre-ady super rich and multi-talented.”
“Well, I’ll keep that for future reference,” he leanedforward and k!$$£d me. I could feel a lot of emotions in thatk!ss. He pu-ll-ed me closer to him as he de-epened the k!ss.My heart was beating loudly inside my ribcage.Hunter and I have been k!ss!ngfor a couple of monthsnow but every time hisl-ips were on mine, my mind stillwent blank and I felt lost without any hope of being foundbut I didn’t care at all. I loved being in Hunter’s arms, whereI didn’t have to care where I was in the universe or in time. Ifelt safe… protected… loved.He leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you,angel,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.”
He k!$$£d my forehead and then he pu-ll-ed away. Hepointed towards the left corner of the room. “Thebathroom’s there, if you want to change clothes. I’ll be-downstairs, preparing our dinner.”
“I’m… I’m staying here?”
He raised a brow at me, like I spoke a differentlanguage. Then he replied, “We’re staying here.”
I opened my mouth to speak but no words c@m£ out.
Hunter took a step forward and pu-ll-ed me into his arms. Hestudied my face for a moment. I was afraid that my cheekswere crimson red, and he could see right throu-gh me.
“Angel…” he whispered. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
He titled my chin up so I could look at him. “Hey, this isme. You can tell me anything.”
“I know,” I sighed. I smiled and k!$$£d him on the cheek.
“I’m okay.”
I gently pu-ll-ed away from him and then walked towardsthe bathroom.
“Angel,” he called out and I turned back to him. “If itbothers you, I can sleep in the next room.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s fine.”
He walked towards me, giving me a reas-suring smile. Hewra-pped his arms around my w@!st, looked into my eyes andsaid, “I don’t want you to feel any pressure, angel. I didn’tbring you here so I could s£dûç£you.”
My heart st©pped beating altogether.
“I just want us to have some alone time before we headoff to college,” he continued. He pushed a lock of hair awayfrom my face. “I want to sleep in the same be-d as youbecause… well, I want to watch you sleep and wake up nextto you. But that’s it. We don’t have to do anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with. You know I will wait as long asit takes.”
I smiled and then I hvgged him. “I love you, Hunter.”
“I love you more, angel. Now, go change quic-kly. I’mchallenging you to a game of chess.”
“Seriously?” I pu-ll-ed away from him.
“What? Did you really think I brou-ght you here so youwould sleep with me? Of course not. Out of all the people Iknew, you were the only one who ever gave me a challengein a game of chess.”
I gave him a slight push. “Oh, really? Wait for medownstairs, I just might beat you this time!”
“Game on!” He gave me a wi-nk. Then he turned towardsthe door. “I’ll be in the garden.”
I felt relieved that we talked. He was right. There wasnothing to be pressured about. S-x did not define ourrelationsh!p. I knew we would eventually do it. When thetime was right. It was always better to go with the flow, feelin the moment, rather than plan or expect. It would be a lotbetter that way.
When I c@m£ down to the garden, I was dressed in apair of white shorts, a yellow sleeveless blouse and theyellow sli-ppers that Hunter gave me.He was standing in the garden, in the center of a giant
chessboard with hvge chess pieces reaching almost up tohis w@!stline.
“Oh my God, Hunter. This is so cool!” I couldn’t helplaughing.
He stood by the black pieces. “Your move, angel.”I must admit, carrying the chess pieces around theboard was fun but kind of distracting. Thus, it bec@m£ muchmore difficult to strategize. But I did well. Before Hunterannounced ‘Checkmate’ he only had three pieces left on thegiant board.
“Damn it! Someday, I would beat you in this game!” Imuttered.
He laughed, giving me a hvg. “You have all the time inthe world to try beating me. Come on, you must bestarving.”
“By the way, I still owe you for these sli-ppers,” I said,pointing at my feet.
“What are you talking about? I gave them to you. I toldyou I didn’t want you to pay me back.”
“Why would you just give it to me?”
“Because you’re my girlfriend. I’m allowed to give yougifts once in a while, right?”
“Right. But you alre-ady agreed to accept payment inkind for this, remember?” I reminded him. “I don’t like owinganyb©dy.”
He sighed and then without warning, he pressed hisl-ipsagainst mine and gave me a thorou-gh k!sson thel-ips thatalmost rendered me mindless afterwards. He smiled whenhe saw the violent blus-h on my face. “There. Your debt hasbeen paid. Now, can you just let it go? It looked good on youand I felt good showering you with pres£nts. Let’s just eat.I’m starving.”
I sighed and decided to let it go. He was right. Maybe itwas normal for a guy to give his girlfriend pres£nts. Maybe Iwas just not used to receiving any gift from anyb©dy. I couldtell it made him really happy.
Barbecue had been prepared for us beside the mas-sivebarbeque g@s grill. He had h0tdogs, corn, potatoes, burgersand steak. We ate dinner un-der the stars again.
After dinner, Hunter put a mat and blanket out on thelawn and prepared some bonfire where we roasted h0tdogsand marshmallows. He pla-yed the guitar and we sang. Hetaught me chords to new songs. The evening felt so relaxed,so comfortable, like we were in a world of our own.
Then suddenly, Hunter’s wristwatch alarmed.
“Time to sleep?” I asked.
“Almost,” he replied. He put his guitar aside and stoodup from the mats. “Come. Let’s go up.”
“Are we just gonna leave our stuff here?”
“Yeah, we’ll fix them tomorrow. There’s no one else
here. We’re totally alone and the gates are locked. We’reperfectly safe. No one will bother us or invade our privacy.Don’t worry.”
He led me up the stairs. “You take the shower in themaster’s be-droom. I’ll take the other bathroom.”
I took my time in the shower, ma-king sure I got rid ofthe smell of barbecue in my hair and skin. Then I dried my hair and dressed in a pair of pink pajamas and matchinglong-sleeved shi-t.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I found Huntersitting on the be-d. He pla-yed chill out music in the room.
“You said you weren’t going to s£dûç£me,” I said in ateasing tone. “What’s with the music?”
“I don’t think I nee-d music to achieve se-duction, angel. Ican manage that all on my own,” he said smugly.
I laughed. “You and your big, inflated head.”
He reached out for my hand and then he pu-ll-ed metowards the glas-s doors. He opened them and led me to ahvge terrace.
“Oh my,” I breathed. “This is surreal.”
There was a daybe-d lounger with a pu-ll-ed-back suncanopy in the middle. There were lamps around the terraceand the lounger was covered in pristine sheets, with duvetand pillows on t©p of it.
“What are you planning?”
“You’ll see,” he said, lying down on the daybe-d andpu-lling me with him. I rested my head on his shoulder as hepu-ll-ed the duvet over us, keeping us both warm.A lover’s moon illuminated the clear night sky. It was fullof stars and I could see some constellations. The big full
moon illuminated the sky along with the stars.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. It reminded me of our d@t£ un-derthe meteor shower and I made a wish. I still remember thatwish.
“What did you wish for the last time we watched ameteor shower?” he asked, gently ru-bbing my forearm withhis hand.
I took a de-ep breath. “I wished you would be able to seeagain.”
He l@ystill. I thought he st©pped breathing, I looked upat him.
“Hunter, are you okay?” I asked.
“Out of all the things you could wish for, you wished forthat?”
“Yeah.”
He k!$$£d the t©p of my head. “Thank you.” He turnedback to the sky. “Now, you can make another wish or adozen of them, if you want.”
“Why?”
“Look up, angel.”
When I looked back into the sky, I saw a flash of light,followed by another, and then another.
“Oh my God, Hunter…” I breathed. There was anothermeteor shower. Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched theamazing displ@yof falling stars above us.I felt his arms around me ti-ght£ñ as he inhaled throu-ghmy hair and then k!$$£d my forehead. Tears welled up in my
eyes as I watched the meteor shower above us.I propped up on my elbow so I could look into his eyes.
“I love you,” he breathed.
“I love you too.”
Slowly, I bent towards him for a k!ss. I felt his hand onthe back of my head as he pu-ll-ed me to him and de-epenedour k!ss. His arm sn-ked around my w@!st, trying to get meas close to him as possible.I could feel heat emanating from his skin to mine. Hegently pushed me towards the be-d, without breaking ourk!ss. My heart pounded inside my ribcage, but I didn’t feelnervous at all. Instead, I felt a s-en-se of thri-ll and excitementthat I could ha-rd ly control. I was lost again. I was hopelessto be found but I didn’t give a damn.
Then I just know… that moment felt right.Hunter pu-ll-ed back and looked at me. His eyes were adarker shade of blue, and he looked consumed by his ownraging emotions. I knew we were both thinking the samething.
His hand went to the edge of my shi-t until it t©uçhedthe ba-re skin un-derneath. He gave me a wistful smile and then he whispered, “I have to st©p. But God knows, I want tokeep k!ss!ngyou.”
I giggled, “Me too.”
I pu-ll-ed him to me so I could k!sshisl-ips. He k!$$£d memore aggressively. I gave him all the permission he nee-ded.When he pu-ll-ed back at me again, he, too, wasbreathless.
“Are you… are you sure?” he asked gently.
I nodded. “Just… go slow. It’s… it’s my first time.”
He smiled at me. “It’s mine too,”
I blinked back at him. “Are you serious? I thought dozensof girls were pining for your attention, Hunter Vaughn.”
“I was waiting for the right girl, angel. I was waiting foryou all along.”
He leaned forward and pressed hisl-ips against mineagain. I could feel the loud sound of his heartbeat. He tookhis sweet time showering me with k!sses, c@r£ss!ngmyskin… discovering me….drowning me to oblivion. When henipped at my ear-lobe and nuzzled my n£¢k, I slowly openedmy eyes, just in time to see endless streaks of meteorshower in the sky above us.
At that final moment, he looked me in the eye, ensuringthat I was sure about what we were doing. In his eyes, I sawde-sire. I saw love. I saw his entire soul ba-red to me. He wasgiving me everything he had, leaving nothing to himself.
Finally, when that inevitable pain r!pp£dthrou-gh myb©dy, he held me in his arms to comfort me, until I couldfeel no more pain, only plea-sure. And just when I was fullydrowned in our pas-sion and fell over the edge of sanity, hecaught me, held me, whispered my name and told me overand over how much he loved me. And in that final moment,before he allowed bliss to fully consume him, he whispered
against my ear, “I am yours forever, angel.”It took us both a moment to catch our breaths and comeback down to reality.Another first.
And it couldn’t have been more perfect than this. Withthis boy. At this place. In this moment.I realized now, more than ever, how lucky I was. My firstwas with the guy I loved with all my heart. A guy who
promised to cherish, love and protect me for the rest of hislife. I was enveloped in love and cloaked in pas-sion. I wasalso drun!kwith de-sire, when I didn’t even know what it was.When I thought my heart swelled with love for Hunter,the guy I was sure I would want to spend the rest of my lifewith, I didn’t know our relationsh!pcould reach an entirelydifferent level. The thri-ll that I felt right now, the electricitythat brou-ght my nerves to life when he t©uçhed me, and theway he left me breathless each time hisl-ips t©uçhed minetook our love to new heights.
From the moment I met him, Hunter was the only onewho could make s-en-se of everything in my life… I didn’tknow he was also the only one who could take s-en-se awayfrom me, until I couldn’t think of anything, didn’t knowanything, wouldn’t see anything… just him—only him!He held me in his arms as my head rested comfortably against his shoulder. I felt warm and secure in his [email protected] lazy k!sses he gave me made me feel treasured andloved.
The peak of the meteor shower was over now, but I knew that Hunter and I had never been closer, ourrelationsh!phad never been dee-per,and our love had neverbeen stronger.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Hmmm…”
“I’m sorry if I caused you pain,”
I giggled. “Only for a moment. The rest of it was…ethereal.”
“I know. I felt it too. It was out-of-this-world amazing,”he agreed.
“Do you think it always feels like that?”
“I think it only happens when you have a de-ep
emotional connection with the person you’re with. I don’tthink we’ll have a problem connecting that way again.” Heleaned forward and gave me a k!sson thel-ips. Then hestared back at me. “Sleep now. We have an early starttomorrow.”
“What do you plan to do?”
He pushed a lock of stray hair away from my face.
“There was something I wished I could have done for youbefore, but couldn’t because I was blind,” he replied. “I’mnot blind anymore. So I could do it now.”
I drew my brows together and asked. “What’s that?”
He smiled at me gently. “I will teach you how to swim.”
I stared back at him, remembering our first d@t£ whenhe first found out I couldn’t swim to save my life. I saw paincross his face when he said he wished he met me before hisaccident because he would have loved to give meswimming lessons. Back then, I didn’t know it was stillpossible for him to see but I didn’t care at all. But being with
him now, in this little piece of heaven, where nothing washindering him from seeing me, protecting me, taking care ofme, I was quite thankful that we were given a chance likethis. We were given a chance to make our love story evenmore amazing than it was before.
“Do you know who your donor was?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m allowed to know.
Most transplant organs are donated anonymously. Butwhoever he was… I would be forever thankful that he madea decision that saved my future.”
I smiled, tears welling up my eyes. Hunter’s donor mayhave pas-sed, but his or her corneas still lived to give Hunterthe most precious gift of life… the gift of seeing howbeautiful the world around him was.
I thought about those people who pas-sed away butsome p@rts of them continue to live on because they chos£not to be selfish. Their lives may have ended but because they cared enough… were selfless enough… they were ableto save the lives of others.
Suddenly a thought occurred to me. Nob©dy everwanted to confront issues like these because they wereafraid… because they thought that not thinking or talkingabout death would make it evitable. But it isn’t. And rightnow… I’m ma-king a decision that if ever something
happened to me and I could not move on in this life… then Iwould give whatever I could to make sure that the others,who nee-ded that p@rt of myself, could still have a chance ofsurviving… of living longer so they could still be with theirloved ones.
Just like Hunter’s donor. If he didn’t choose to give awayhis corneas when he pas-sed away, then Hunter would notbe here with me. Because of him, Hunter would have thebest memories in the world… the most beautiful images ofme and the life we would live together. Because of thatselfless choice, Hunter and I were given a chance to
continue our extraordinary love story.
“I’m thankful for him too,” I whispered. “Because he gave me a chance to show you how beautiful our love was,and how wonderful our life together was going to be.”
Hunter stared at me for a long moment and then heshifted so that I was lying on my back and he was on t©p ofme.
“I will always thank my donor because he gave me a chance to take care of you and protect you with my life.”
He leaned forward and gave me a thorou-gh k!sson theli-ps. After the k!ss, I looked into his eyes lovingly.
“You are my guardian angel in human form, Hunter. Youmay be wingless… but you’re just as magnificent, just asbeautiful as an angel would be. I love you.”
“I love you more.” he said gently k!ss!ngmyl-ips again.
I raised a brow at him. “Really? How could you be sosure that you love me more?”
He gave me a pla-yful grin. Then in a serious voice, hesaid, “Because I traded my wings just to be with you,beautiful.”
As we k!$$£d again un-der the stars and the lovers’moon, I vowed to prove him wrong. I have the rest of ourlives to show him that I love him… exactly as much as heloves me.
 
*THE END*