Huntsman by Cambria Hebert
2
Virginia
The familiar scentof nail polish wafted up as I stroked the short, paint-covered brush over my toenail. A sunny shade of yellow was left in its wake as I went back again with another long stroke to add even more of the shiny color.
As I leaned over in concentration, my long hair slipped over my shoulder, pooling in my lap. I pushed the brush back into the small square bottle, carefully swiping it before bending back to my toes.
Just as I placed the brush on my nail, my foot slipped off the side of the bed where I’d propped it and fell like dead weight toward the floor.
I giggled, bending again at the waist to stare at my foot, which was adorned with a long stripe of yellow polish all the way up my toe.
“Maybe I’ll start a new trend,” I mused, glancing over to the small lit-up glass cage where Zilla lived.
Hearing my voice, the leopard gecko turned her head to glance in my direction.
“What do you think, Zilla? Perhaps I should just add some brown dots and then we can match!”
She stared another moment longer, then went into the little tent at the side of her cage.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I called after her.
Setting aside the polish, I lifted my fallen leg, propping it up on the side of my bed once more. The quilt I used was colorful and patterned, so if I accidentally got a little polish on it now and then, no one would even notice.
Giving my legs a tap, I made sure they were steady and went back to finishing my task. Soon, all ten toenails were glossy yellow and radiating warmth just like the sun. I imagined how it would feel to wiggle them under the summer rays outside and maybe even how it would feel to burrow them into heated sand on the beach.
My cell phone lit up, a photo of my brother filling the screen. I sighed even as I reached for it. So overprotective. He was going to be here soon, but he was calling too!
“I didn’t forget about the appointment,” I said ruefully instead of just saying hello.
“I’m glad, but… I didn’t make it back in time,” Neo replied, also forgoing a standard greeting.
I gasped lightly, pushing at my hair. “What? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” He assured me. “The flights all got canceled in Texas because of weather.”
“Oh,” I said, listening to all the sounds in the background and wondering what it would be like to wander around a busy airport. “Well, that’s okay. I can handle this one on my own.”
“No.”
I pursed my lips. “No?”
“I called my bro—” A bunch of static interrupted his voice, cackling through the line.
“Neo?”
“… V. The signal is b…d.”
He tried to say something else, but all I heard was more static and his frustration.
“Listen!” I said loud into the line. Talking louder wasn’t going to make a difference, but my voice rose just the same. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle myself and tell you all about it later. Be safe, okay, and give my love to Ivory!”
“Vir—” Garble, garble, garble. “I cal—” The call dropped.
Pulling the cell away from my ear, I stared at the screen as it went black. I debated calling him back, but there really was no point. Tossing the phone into my lap, I couldn’t help but feel a little tingle of excitement as I realized I would be doing something independently today.
Quickly adjusting my legs so they were resting back on the footrests on my wheelchair, I rolled across the room to Zilla’s cage. The special lamp that kept her warm glowed down, and inside the glass enclosure looked like a small tropical paradise.
“Zil!” I exclaimed, tapping lightly on the glass. The small spotted gecko poked her head out of the tent, nose first. “Can you believe it? I get to be on my own today!”
She moved forward, coming right up to the glass where I was. Smiling, I reached into her warm climate and stroked her on the top of her head. “Maybe I’ll even make a stop to get you some tasty crickets.”
Her tail swished a little at that, signaling she was as excited as me.
This was the first time ever I was going to go out to an appointment or do anything alone. Neo was probably beside himself with the knowledge, but secretly, I was thrilled. No overprotective big brother watching every move I made. No one telling me to be careful or ask me if I was okay every second.
Just me out there in the city, taking care of myself. The way it was supposed to be.
Zilla went back into her tent, and I wheeled over to the brightly painted dresser near my bed. Reaching into the drawer, I pulled out a long cotton maxi dress and a small white T-shirt.
Even though I was in my room with the door closed, I felt awkward just stripping off my nightgown in the middle of the room. Anyone could walk in at any moment. It was just how it was when you lived in a care facility.
As much as I loved the staff here—and as much of me as they’d admittedly seen of me before—I still wanted to retain some sense of privacy. Taking my clothes, I wheeled into the wide bathroom, pushing the door closed behind me.
There was a floor-to-ceiling mirror propped along one wall. Neo brought it in especially for me so I could check my outfits without any trouble. And yes, he bolted it to the wall because he was terrified it would fall over on me.
I tried to tell him I wasn’t a toddler and I wasn’t going to be climbing on it, but he insisted.
Stripping off my nightgown and draping it over the back of my wheelchair, I tugged on the short-sleeved baby T-shirt and then the green maxi dress that had thin spaghetti straps and was patterned with white daisies with yellow centers.
Maxi dresses were my favorite thing to wear. Not only were they so soft and comfy, but they were very convenient. It was a lot easier to tug that down and under my bum and legs than trying to maneuver myself into jeans.
Once I had the dress worked down below my hips, I worked to adjust it until it fell over my legs.
Sometimes I missed the feel of the cotton swishing against my ankles.
Using the mirror, I checked to make sure that the dress definitely was on properly, pulled under my butt, and covering everything it should. It was super embarrassing when one side got caught and showed things I didn’t mean to show.
Satisfied, I opened the bathroom door and then made my way back into my small room, smiling at the huge mural of a tower in a field of flowers that covered the largest wall. My laptop was open on my bed, a movie I’d seen a hundred times playing on the screen.
Reaching for a white plastic basket and my brush, I got started on my hair.
Did I mention I had like a lot of hair? When Neo lifted me, it hung well past my butt. It was the color of wheat, a golden hue but not nearly as bright as the sun. It was thick and soft and prone to tangles.
I loved it, though. The long blond locks represented a part of me that could grow and change. A part of me that held even just a little of the sun I often missed so much, a part that could become a field of flowers or filled with waves like the ocean. Brushing through the lengthy strands was a calming ritual, and I also found it to be the most soothing memory when I needed it most.
Despite the copious amounts of hair, I was very skilled with my fingers and brush. In no time, I had it brushed out and parted down the center, my nimble fingers French braiding it into two very long pigtails.
Once they were done, I loosened the braids a bit and set about pinning small flower clips along the plaits. When I was done, my pale-gold hair was transformed into a field of purple and white daisies.
A swift knock on the door was followed by it pushing in swiftly (See what I mean? No privacy!), and my favorite nurse, Emogen, peeked her head in.
“You decent?” Most of the space her head occupied was taken up by the wild black coils of hair, perfect springy spirals that seemed to burst off her head to create this explosive beauty to surround an equally stunning face. Her skin was polished ebony, smooth and clear, and her vivid dark eyes never missed a thing.
“Funny you should ask that after you come in.” I teased.
White but not perfectly straight teeth flashed when her full lips pulled into a smile. “I ain’t asking for me, girl.”
Eyes widening, I realized that she was still just peeking inside, having made no move to fling it open wide. “Who’s out there?” I asked.
“Your brother.”
My nose wrinkled. “My brother? But Neo is in Tex—”
“I’m not her brother,” an extremely disgruntled voice grumped from out in the hall.
Even though it had been quite a while since I’d heard that particular voice, I recognized it instantly. “Earth!” I exclaimed.
A loud thud vibrated the wood when he slapped his hand on the other side of the door and pushed. The old hinges creaked as it swung in, revealing Emogen standing there in a pair of lavender scrubs with a glowering Asian man behind her.
“I thought y’all were family,” Emogen retorted, swinging around to look at him.
But he was looking at me, coal-black eyes sweeping from head to toe almost as if he were checking to see if I’d changed at all since I’d seen him last.
He was still the same. Intense. So intense. With the kind of piercing stare that paralyzed your lungs but made you forget to panic because suddenly breathing wasn’t all that necessary. His hair seemed maybe a bit longer, the inky strands looking like he’d run his hands through them more than once.
High cheekbones. Short dark eyelashes. Wide lips and strong dark eyebrows. He was dressed all in black, exactly the same as he always was. There was a rip in the right knee of his jeans. His black boots probably added two inches to his height, and the only way I knew where his black T-shirt ended and black leather jacket began was because of the slight sheen to the leather.
“She’s not my sister,” Earth said again, stepping around Emogen to move farther into the room. “Hey, V,” he said, eyes finally leaving me to gaze around the space.
Remembering to breathe, I sucked in some air, fingers finding the end of my braid curled in my lap to fidget with the elastic at the base. “Earth, what are you doing here?”
He swung back, glancing down to where I sat. I was used to being on a lower level, so why did the way he towered over me make me feel shy?
“You didn’t know I was coming?”
“Should I?”
“Neo didn’t call you?”
“Well, yeah, he called, but I couldn’t understand anything he said before the call dropped.”
Jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Earth sighed. “He asked me to take you to your appointment today.”
My shoulders jerked, the words flinging me back. “He what?”
Earth scowled.
“But why would he do that?” I continued. “I’m perfectly capable of getting myself there and back with no problem.”
I glanced at Emogen so she could back me up. She laughed.
“Why is that so funny?” I demanded, punctuating my irritation by tightly crossing my arms over my chest.
“Because this is Neo we’re talking about. In the entire time I’ve been your nurse, that boy has not once ever let you go anywhere alone.”
I groaned. “But I thought—”
“I gave him my word,” Earth interrupted, voice flat. “I realize being stuck with me is probably not what you want, but… I gave him my word. I can’t go back on it.”
Pursing my lips, I studied him for long moments. He thought that I wouldn’t want to be around him. Why? Obviously, I knew he and Neo had a big falling-out, but no one would tell me why. Not even Ivory. She never listened to Neo, but this time, even her lips remained quiet.
If no one else would tell me, maybe Earth would.
Shrugging, I said, “Okay. You can come.”
Surprise flashed in his eyes before it disappeared.
Looking at Emogen, I asked, “Could you call a taxi for us? We’ll need it since my brother isn’t here to drive.”
“No.” Earth stopped Emogen before she could even agree.
“No?” Her wild curls bounced.
“I brought my car. I’ll drive.”
I gaped. “You have a car?”
The surprise on my face seemed to amuse him because those wide lips curled up into a satisfied smile. “Sure do. There’s lots of things you don’t know about me.”
Exhilaration bloomed in my chest as my hands curled over the sides of my wheelchair. I wondered what else I might learn today about my brother who wasn’t my brother and who also stopped coming to visit due to a mysterious feud with my actual brother.
As I leaned forward, a mischievous smile played on my lips. “Can we leave now?”