Welp, I've finally made it to Chapter 11. Can someone throw me a party and gift me reviews…? Pwease? MAKE SURE TO READ THE A/N AT THE BOTTOM IF YOU USUALLY IGNORE THEM… YOU'LL BE INTERESTED, TRUST ME.


December 25th, 2012

Hunter's P.O.V.

Once he returned with two hot chocolates, Reese looked calmed down enough, but didn't look like she wanted to talk yet.

"I think I deserve to give you explanation," Hunter said carefully. Reese nodded, but didn't look at him. He handed her a hot chocolate, and she took a sip. "When I was six, I had an older brother named Zachariah. I idolized him then and listened to everything he said, until one day he took my favorite toy bear away and told me stuffed animals were for babies while he was babysitting me. Being the six year old that I was, I took it way too seriously and got extremely mad at him. My brother was an insomniac and he had to take sleeping pills, so my six year old self put together a brilliant plan to give him six or seven of those sleeping pills so he would sleep through school the next day and get into trouble."

Hunter's fists clenched, but he fought the anger down and continued, "That night before he brushed his teeth I dropped the pills in the water he would rinse his mouth in after he brushed his teeth. I didn't know that they would dissolve, but when they did I immediately thought that luck was on my side. I was wrong. It took a little while for the pills to take effect, he had tucked me in and given me my bear back so I could go to sleep. I immediately felt bad once he left and went to go tell him what I had done when he collapsed. When my parents came home I didn't tell them what I had done, afraid that I'd be in trouble. It took me until the next day to finally grasp the fact that he was never coming back. And ever since then, I've had diagnosed anger issues. A therapist gave me pills to take for it, but I've always flushed them down a toilet, afraid of what they would do to me."

Hunter took that moment to glance at Reese, who was looking at him with sympathy. "I owe you an explanation, too," she said after a moment. "Especially now that I'm the only person you've told the truth to."

Reese took a shaky breath and started her story, "My real father was a doctor and provided enough money for the household so my mum didn't have to work, but it was a real shame that he was a psychopath. He abused my brother and I, and did unspeakable things to my mother," Reese's voice cracked when she mentioned her mother, but continued on, "when my brother was thirteen and I was nine, my father found out that he was gay. Instead of sitting down and talking with him, he dragged me to the basement and strapped me to a table. Then, he brought my brother down and tied him to a chair and told him to watch or he would make it worse for me. He cut my shirt off and cut open my back, without anesthetic. He wouldn't let me pass out either, slapping me every time I was about to and saying that it was all going to be over soon in this cheery voice, like he was enjoying my pain. Once it was over he stitched me up and told my brother to fix himself or it would be worse the second time. He left me on the table and took my brother back upstairs for a continuation of his 'lesson'. A few hours later, my mum came downstairs and sang to me, called me her 'little warbler,'" Reese's voice cracked once more, and Hunter pulled her over to him and held her until she started speaking again. "When I was 10, a tornado came through where we lived and my father dragged my brother and I into the storm cellar and locked my mum out. He said to my brother and I 'that's what happens when you betray family' and started lighting up the storm cellar with emergency lights like mum wasn't being swept away in a tornado outside. Once I my brother turned 18, and I was 14, he took me away from my father and we went into hiding. He sent me to my new stepparents, Jim and Lucie, to try and get me farther away from my father. I've spent part of the summer with my brother in London ever since. I had a flashback earlier, they get triggered by physical contact." Reese looked at Hunter, her eyes huge on her petite face, still having traces of the tears she had shed for her mother.

"Reese—" Hunter almost said, but Reese rubbed the tears out of her eyes and stopped him harshly.

"I don't want your pity," she got up off the couch and was about to leave him there, but Hunter stopped her.

"I admire you," he said. He didn't pity her, not at all.

"What?" she asked, clearly shocked.

"I admire your strength. I admire your willpower. I admire you," he said.

Reese smiled. "That's the first time someone has said that to me," she said.

"So I guess the Warbler is for your mom?" Hunter asked, pointing to her neck.

"Yeah, I got this tattoo when my brother and I escaped to cover up that scar and to honor my mum," she was still smiling, as if that memory was a fond one.

"I'm still really sorry about earlier," Hunter said, even though Reese wouldn't accept his apology.

"Not your fault, and I'm not going to play the blame game. Now, let's go upstairs and play Skyrim. I don't want to be depressed the entire day," Reese smiled and motioned for him to come on. Hunter got up, but instead of following her to the stairs, he went over to the Reese-sized tree in a corner of the room and picked up a small package. "What are you doing?"

"Since it is Christmas, I want to give you this," he said. Reese opened her mouth to protest, but Hunter put up a hand to stop her. "Take it," he said.

She gave him a look and accepted it. She unwrapped the small box and opened the small jewelry box. Inside, there was a silver necklace with a warbler pendant on it. "See, now it matches your neck," he said, making Reese laugh.

"Thank you," she hugged him with arm and pranced up the steps. Hunter thought that he didn't mess up this Christmas too badly after all.


A/N: So now you know Reese and Hunter's past. I feel like a terrible person because when Pusheen and I were coming up with Reese's past, I thought of a ton of things her father did to her as a child and had Pusheen pick one to highlight for the story. I also thought of Hunter's brother, Zachariah's death. I think she thinks I'm slightly disturbed mentally O.o. Well, I guess that's what I get for watching Hannibal, disturbing thoughts. I have been thinking about the lack of reviews, and I think I might've come up with a solution *evil laugh*. For the 25th reviewer (and for the 50th, 75th, etc.) they will be inboxed with fluff from their favorite pairing (Anyone. Huntcylia, Jaya, Jabby, Seblaine *grin*, etc. They must be characters mentioned in the story, though). No lemons, sorry. So how about a review for the disturbed girl for the chance of exclusive fluff?