Author's Note: I don't own Sweep or any of the characters, yadda yadda yadda. Enjoy.
I knew I was moping, but I couldn't help it. Sky had been as sympathetic as she could be, and I could tell that she was missing Hunter too. It was odd, getting to know Sky like this. I'd never spent much time with her on a one-on-one basis. She had a better sense of humor than Hunter did, and she was more understanding about certain things than Hunter. She really was a good person to know, I could see why Hunter and her were so close. I padded softly into the kitchen, not sure what to do with myself. Hunter wouldn't be back for a week or two, and I'd be staying at his place with Sky for as much time as I could, to keep her company.
Sky looked up from the magazine she was reading and nodded her hello, looking gorgeous, even so early in the morning. I had barely even slept. Hunter had left early, early in the morning and I hadn't gone to sleep once he left. I knew he'd be back, but the nagging worry and doubt were trying to destroy me. Stop it, I silently scolded myself as I pulled up a chair to sit across from Sky.
"You look tired." Sky commented, smiling wryly. I stared at her, resisting the urge to stick out my tongue at her. She pulled her white-blonde hair away from her face and tapped her fingers against the table, thinking. After a few moments, she stood and grabbed a plate. "Would you be a dear and help me?" Sky asked, setting aside a knife and a cutting board. I gave her a confused look and she just smiled. "Cut up some fruit please?" she elaborated and I heaved myself out of my chair, grateful for the distraction. It was going to be a long day.
My mind was distracted. I was overreacting and I knew it, but I wasn't used to the idea of Hunter being so far away from me, in a completely different country. Shouldn't I get used to it now instead of later? Being a seeker meant having to travel, and I'd been fortunate that lately he'd been refusing any assignments that were more than a few hours away. I couldn't be selfish about this, Hunter had a good chance of finding his parents and I could go a week or two without him if it meant he'd get what he'd been looking for.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, looking down at my hand. Blood was rushing up around a cut on my pale skin, welling up and dripping.
Sky rushed over to me, alarmed. She grabbed my hand and examined the cut at the base of my thumb on the top of my hand. I sighed inwardly. Hunter would just love this. He hadn't even been gone a whole day and already bad things were happening.
"Run it under some cold water, I'll go get some things to make a salve for it." Sky said, taking charge. I smiled grimly as she left the room and I maneuvered towards the sink, careful not to drip any blood on the floor. Sky was so much like Hunter, always taking charge in an emergency, although this wasn't much of an emergency, more of a stupid and reckless accident that could have been prevented.
Sky reentered the kitchen and lightly grabbed my hand, the blood surfacing without the water to wash it away. She applied a folded wet white cloth over my hand and smiled at my confused look.
"There's healing herbs inside to help, so that the cut doesn't scar. The last thing I need is evidence that I haven't been taking proper care of you." Sky joked and I smiled weakly. She straightened and took a sweeping look around the kitchen, her eyes resting on the strawberries I'd been cutting.
"Well, just to be safe we should probably toss those. I'm going to be late for work anyways." Sky said matter-of-factly, her black boots clomping against the floor as she dropped the strawberries into the trash. She paused in the doorway to look back at me.
I wondered what she saw when she looked at me. I knew I could never be as pretty as her, or anyone else for that matter. I was thoroughly plain, and the one person who made me think otherwise was now thousands of miles away. I knew I probably looked like hell in my pajamas, my un-brushed hair hanging in a messy braid down my back. I'd been fighting back tears since Hunter left, and I felt weak because I couldn't handle this with grace.
"Maybe I should take the day off…" Sky suggested warily, watching me from the doorway. My eyes snapped towards her face, looking directly into her almond shaped black eyes. Without even casting out my senses I could tell she was worried about me, that she wasn't sure it'd be good for me to be alone.
"No, really, you don't need to do that." I said, plastering a smile on my face. I knew Sky wasn't fooled, but she didn't pursue the issue. I said goodbye and waved as she left and waited until her car pulled away before I ran upstairs and curled up in Hunter's bed, inhaling in whatever remainders of him were around. It was going to be a long week for me.