Changed (The Hunters #1) (17 page)

“
What happened to your leg
and your face?” Brenda asked anxiously.

“
Ah, nothing bad. I broke
my leg in training, and the bruise is from training, too,” Rosa
lied. She hated to lie to Brenda. Brenda was an honest person and
did not deserve to be lied to.

“
You should stop your
training. You are always getting hurt.”

Before Rosa could respond, she heard a
small, sweet voice calling her name.

“
Rosieeeee!
Rosieeeee!”

Rosa turned around, seeing the
three-year-old girl with white blond hair and chocolate brown eyes
running toward her on wobbly little legs.

It was Grace, the smallest child in
the house. Grace liked Rosa very much, and Rosa liked her too.
Grace couldn’t pronounce her name, so she called her
Rosie.

Rosa walked with her crutches a few
steps. Then, throwing them on the ground, spreading her arms, as
Grace ran into her arms, laughing. Rosa picked her up and tickled
her, which made Grace laugh with such joy. Rosa stopped, balancing
Grace on her hip.

“
Well, Gracie. How are
you?” Rosa asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“
Good, you?” she asked.
Although she was only three years old, she could speak very well.
Rosa believed Grace was a highly intelligent girl.

“
I feel good, too. Don’t I
get a kiss on the cheek?” said Rosa and smiled. Grace pressed a big
kiss on her cheek.

“
Thank you, Gracie.” She
giggled.

“
Hey, don’t I get any
kisses?” Matt asked, and stepping up beside Rosa and Grace. Grace
giggled, and shook her head no.

“
Well, Matt, she likes me
more than you,” Rosa said, grinning. Matt made an insulting
expression.

“
Oh look, Gracie. Brother
Matt is offended,” Rosa said to Grace. “Go ahead, say hello to
him.”

Grace nodded as she held
out her little arms to Matt. He took her in his arms, and gave her
a kiss. The relationship between them was like one of true
siblings. They truly loved each other.

“
Do you want to eat?”
Brenda asked.

"Yes, please,” Rosa said, just as her
stomach growled. She had not had anything to eat since yesterday.
Rosa took her crutches, and sat down with Matt and Grace at the
table.

“
And how was school
today?” Brenda asked as she put the plates down on the
table.

“
Shall I help you?” Rosa
asked.

Brenda shook her head. “No. In fact,
with those crutches, you wouldn’t be much help anyway.” Brenda
winked. “We’ll be making a trip to Vancouver from Friday to
Saturday,” Matt said, answering Brenda’s question about
school.

She turned to face him. “With such
short notice? What will it cost?”

“
We don’t have to pay. The
trip is being paid for by the hunter clan.”

“
By the hunter
clan?”

Matt nodded. “Yes, and I don’t
understand it either.” Matt looked at Rosa with a quizzical look.
She shrugged. She didn’t know why either.

“
Vancouver is ruled by the
archangel. Why would they send you there? The angels might hurt
you.” Rosa heard the concern in Brenda’s voice.

“
Brenda, don’t worry. We
will be fine,” said Matt.

Brenda nodded, as she put lasagna on
their plates. Seeing the lasagna, Rosa’s stomach growled even
louder.

Grabbing a knife and fork, Rosa took a
large bite, and moaned with pleasure.

“
Brenda,” she said, with full mouth. “I love you
and
your
lasagna.”

Brenda laughed. “I’m so glad you like
it.”

“
Gracie, come sit over
here so Matt can eat, too,” Brenda said, as she took Gracie from
Matt.

“
Where’s Jeffrey?” he
asked.

“
He’s still at work,” she
replied. Jeffrey was like Brenda, a very nice person. Rosa did not
find it fair that those wonderful people could not have children,
but then there were women who also killed their
children.

Life really was unfair.

They heard the front door open, and
close again.

“
Mason?” Brenda
called.

“
Yes,” they heard an
annoyed voice.

Mason was the third child Brenda and
Jeffrey had adopted. He was sixteen-years-old and a rebellious
teenager. He was a troubled child, but the reason lay in his
past.

Matt had told Rosa about
Mason’s mother. She had been addicted to drugs, and wasn’t caring
for her son. In addition, Mason’s stepfather abused him. His mother
allowed the abuse, because the stepfather supplied her with drugs.
Obviously, the drugs were more important than her own son was to
her. Mason started abusing drugs at the age of thirteen. He used
drugs and drank alcohol every day.

The youth welfare office became aware
of Mason’s situation, removing him from the home, and put Mason
into foster care. Since then, Mason had stopped drinking and doing
drugs, but he was inclined to violence, and already had many
criminal complaints. Brenda wanted to send him to therapy, but
Mason had refused vehemently. She was still trying to persuade
him.

Mason came into the kitchen. He had
short brown hair and brown eyes. Bigger than others’ his age, and
more muscular, as he trained and worked out regularly. That was
sort of his aggression therapy.

“
Want something to eat,
honey?” Brenda asked him.

He sat down at the table.

“
Hey, Mase,” Matt greeted
him. Mason just nodded.

“
Hi, Mason,” said Rosa and
smiled.

Mason nodded again, and noticing her
injuries to her face, he stared for a moment, but said
nothing.

“
Mason,” Brenda said
again.

“
No, I’m not hungry. I ate
on my way,” said Mason, and took Grace in his arms.

With Grace, Mason was a very different
person. He talked to her, teaching her things, not aggressive or
offensive, but loving, patient and gentle.

“
How was school, Mason?”
Brenda asked, and sat down a plate.

“
Okay,”
he replied, and dishing some lasagna on his plate, although
he
’
d said he had
already eaten.

Matt drank his coke and stood up.
“Thank you, Brenda, for the dinner.”

Rosa, rising from the table, thanked
her, also. “Bye, little mouse,” she said to Grace, and gave her a
kiss on the cheek.

“
And Mason.” He looked at
her and smiled weakly.

Matt and Rosa went up to his room.
Matt’s room was like any other boy’s room—untidy and littered with
video games. Rosa sat down on one of the big black pillows. Matt
sat down beside her, and looked at her.

“
So, what do you want to
talk about?” he said.

Rosa rocked back and forth, not
knowing how to begin. She thought for a few minutes, and then she
decided to just be direct, as was her usual, anyway.

She took a deep breath and looked at
him. “Matt, are you in love with me?”

Matt said nothing, but crooked his
head to the side and looked into her eyes. She didn’t know why he
said nothing. Was her question ridiculous?

“
Matt, please say
something,” she begged him. What she did not like was when people
were silent after she had said something. It made her nervous, like
now.

He still looked at her. She tried to
interpret his gaze.

Then she got her answer from his blue
eyes.

He was in love with her.

Matthew Blair, her best friend since
childhood, was in love with her. He did not say it, but Rosa could
read it in his eyes.

Her heart stopped. Although she
already knew he was in love with her, she secretly was hoping she
was wrong.

Apparently, she wasn’t.

Matt turned to face her, taking her
hands, and stroking them gently.

He looked her in the eyes. “Yes, Rosa.
I love you. I have loved you since I saw you for the first time.
You’re so different and so wonderful compared to all the other
girls.” Matt chuckled. “I love you more than I think I
should.”

“
Matt ...” Rosa sighed.
How could she tell him the truth?

Matt folded his fingers into hers.
Then his lips met hers. This time, Rosa did not pull away, but let
it happen. She wanted to make sure she had no feelings for
him.

His lips were warm and full on hers.
He kissed her gently and quietly.

Rosa was waiting for the
butterflies in her stomach or the tingling. But nothing…

She felt nothing.

It was as if she were kissing her
brother.

Rosa pulled herself slowly away from
him. “Matt, there’s something I have to tell you,” she said
slowly.

“
What?” he asked,
smiling.

“
I
can
’
t be with
you, Matt.”

The smile disappeared from his face.
“What?”

“
I cannot be your
girlfriend. It wouldn’t work,” Rosa repeated. When she saw Matt was
confused and hurt, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

“
Why not,
Rosa?”

“
I’m in the hunter clan,
and hunters can’t love “normal” people. If I love you, and we come
together, you would be killed by the hunter clan. And I can’t that
let happen to you,” she told him.

“
Rosa, are you
serious?”

“
Of course I am! Do you
think I would make up something like that or what?”

He shook his head. “No, of
course not. So, that means that we can only be friends.” She could
see that he didn’t like that, and he was hurt, but Rosa couldn’t
change it.

“
Yes,” she replied
quietly.

“
But we can pretend that
we are friends, but still be together.” Hope was shining in his
eyes, and Rosa hated herself for destroying his hope.

“
No, Matt, it wouldn’t
work. I’m going to marry a hunter.”

Matt
looked at her in surprise and confusion. “What? That
can
’
t be true,
can it?”

Rosa sighed sadly. “It’s true, Matt.
The hunter clan will choose someone for me, and I’ll marry
him.”

He stood up now. “That’s crap! They
can’t choose who you will marry.”

Rosa looked at him. “They can, Matt.
They own me. They can do anything.”

Taking her hands in his again, he
said, “Rosa, you cannot just accept it. You have to determine your
own fate, your own life.”

Rosa smiled sadly. “Matt, I owe my
uncle so much, and in return I stepped into the hunter clan. For
me, the same rules apply as for the other hunters.”

“
Always your uncle! Uncle!
Uncle! You never think of anything else, just your uncle!” said
Matt, angrily. “Be with me! Forget for once your uncle or the
rules!”

Rosa shook her head. She couldn’t
forget her uncle and the rules, not with Matt’s life in
danger.

“
If I’m with you, the
hunter clan will kill you, and I cannot let that happen. Your life
is more important than love, Matt. Please understand.”

Matt just shook his head, but said
nothing. She took a deep breath. Now came the hard part.

“
Matt, I cannot be with
you ... because I don’t … love you. Not in that way.” She swallowed
hard, trying not to look away. “I’m sorry.”

Matt looked at her incredulously.
“What?”

“
I’m sorry.”

He retreated a few steps. His face was
expressionless as he stared at Rosa.

“
Would you please leave me
alone now?” he asked coolly.

“
Matt, please.” She
reached for his hand, but he shook his head.

“
Go, please.”

With a sigh, Rosa took her crutches,
and at the door, she turned back toward Matt.

“
Please don’t hate me,
Matt,” she said and left the room.