hauntingly beautiful Chapter 3 I trailed my lean fingers against

hauntingly beautiful

I trailed my lean fingers against the blue frame, which held a picture of my brother.
Cameron was so young and innocent.
The picture in the frame was the only one I had of him; it was his sixth grade school picture.
I remember him asking me to help him tousle his brown hair that morning.
Cameron's eye catching smile lit up the picture, as his brown eyes sparkled against the blue backdrop.
Why did Cameron have to be the one to go?
Why not me?
"Hayden?" a soft voice called from the outside of my bedroom door.
I immediately shoved the picture fram back into my bottom drawer, under my piles of shirts.
I sat casually against my soft pillow, flipping a book to a random page.
My oak bedroom door suddenly swept open, as my adoptive mother, Ruth, leaned against the doorframe.
Her rosy pink lips spread into a grin, as she eyed the book in my hand.
"You're a fan of Shakespeare, too?" she asked.
I wasn't, to be honest.
Romeo and Juliet was the closet thing near me to flip open to.
But, I nodded, afraid of hurting her feelings.
She laughed lightly. "Well, are you ready for school?"
"Yes." I said, gesturing to my book bag, which was zipped and packed on the floor.
"Well, you should start heading out now. A friend of yours is waiting outside." she squealed.
Romeo and Juliet fell from my hands, as a frown plastered across my face.
A friend?
I didn't have any friends.
"Who?" I asked cautiously.
Ruth's perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.
"Why, I'm not sure. I forgot to ask!" she cried. "But, it's a boy."
I hopped off of my bed, as I made my way over towards the windows.
I peeked outside of my curtains, as my eyes widened at the sight.
Hunter was leaning patiently agaisnt his black BMW, twirling his car keys with his index finger.
What was Hunter doing here?
I don't remember requesting for a car ride to school.
"Do you recognize the boy?" Ruth asked, speaking over my shoulder.
I gulped, as I nodded.
Ruth smiled, as she patted my back gently. "Well, you should get going! You don't want to keep a fine boy like him waiting for too long!"
She handed me my book bag, as I opened my mouth to argue.
Before I could even say a word, Ruth's hand was lightly pulling mine down the stairs.
"Have a great day at school, honey!" she beamed, sending me out the front door.
I staggered on the front steps, as Ruth closed the door on me.
I squeezed my eyes tightly, as I turned around.
Facing me was an amused Hunter, getting up from the hood of his car.
"Is Sleeping Beauty finally awake?" he smiled.
I nodded, as he opened the passanger door for me.
As soon as he slid in the drivers seat, he turned to me with a frown across his perfect face.
"How come you never speak to me?"
I stared at my fingers, as I began to nervously play with them.
I didn't want him to get the wrong impression of me.
"Sorry." I whispered.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see his red lips twitching upwards.
I almost smiled myself when I saw that it had reached his beautiful blue eyes.
"That's better." he paused. "You should talk more. Your voice is beautiful."