I Remember Love

Folliwing their interlude Hunter left the room.

Charlie sat on the floor, numb and almost in shock. He had always done his utmost to protect Luke. To be there for him. It was his job as his brother, his privilege even. Somehow amidst all the secrecy and doubt, he had forgotten that. What made it worse was that at such a crucial moment when Luke would have needed him, he had been acting so disgracefully toward his brother.

Charlie sighed.

Hunters words were still echoing in his ears. Deep down he knew Hunter was right and it was in his best interest to just leave Luke alone. Luke wasn't ready to invite him into his troubles and given their recent history would just turn him away. It mattered little to Charlie, though. Try as he might to fight the urge, he had to see his friend. He would drive until he found him.

With that, Charlie gathered up his resolve and the remains of his dignity and left the room. Heedless of the warning tossed his way he found himself swiftly mounting his bike and driving in the direction of Luke's school. If he couldn't find him there, he would scour the city until he did.

While Charlie was on his way blindly driving into a chaos he couldn't fathom Amalia was just waking up.

Rubbing her eyes Amalia stared at the walls around her vacantly. How long had this been her home? She wondered. When, exactly had she begun to feel this way about this place? Amalia sighed as she searched her memories. She had been so preoccupied with everything that she couldn't even keep that straight. Now, as things stood, she wasn't sure how long this home would be hers.

Her body felt like lead as she pulled herself from bed to the shower and prepared herself for the day. Hunter had been a godsend these last few days with his unwavering strength. It was only when they were alone that she could let guard down and breathe a little.

Little by little, he was wedging his way into her small existence. It scared her. She needed his strength but she was afraid of his warmth. If she got too close to him, her hard-earned resolve would crumble. All of this was racing through her mind as she tugged her jeans on, distracted, while her mind ran rampant with all the doubts and worries which plagued her mind.

Amalia shook her head. She had to keep her focus. She had much more important things to worry about. Her grandfather was still in the hospital and his condition was showing no improvement. What she needed to focus on now, was him. It was while she was mulling this over that her phone rang.

Amalia had been walking on eggshells the last few days, so the sound of her phone ringing very nearly threw her into a state of panic.

"H..Hello?"Amalia answered, momentarily forgetting to disguise her voice. It hadn't even occurred that it could be someone from the club on the other end. Her only thought now was for her grandfather and her worst fear was that this would be the call she had been dreading these last three days.

Unfortunately for her, it was something much worse.

"Luke? Who is this?!" The question came out of nowhere. Amalia froze and cursed herself silently for her stupidity. Faking a cough Amalia cleared her throat and spoke in a gravelly voice.

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

There was a momentary pause on the other end when a reluctance voice was heard at Amalia's ear.

"It's me, Charlie, where have you been bro? I haven't seen you for days. I've been worried sick."

It would be a lie for Amalia to say Charlie's concern didn't touch her, the problem was as always she didn't have time for Charlie's sentimentality. Rolling her eyes she groaned into the phone.

"For real Charlie, are you my mother?"

There was that same silence again, this time the voice which answered sounded tired and frustrated. It was taught with withheld emotion.

"Well, I can see you are the same always .."

Charlie paused on the other end, pinching the bridge of his nose between his temples. He couldn't blame Luke really, for such a cold response. Maybe Hunter was right, maybe he was meddling too much. But there was a big part of him that felt innately protective of his kid brother. He sighed into the phone as he spoke.

"I guess I'll..see you at the club then. When you get back, I'd like to talk. That is if you have time."

Amalia was listening on the other end of the phone. Her heart aching when she heard the pain etched in Charlie's voice, she just couldn't find it in her though to coddle him. He was always trying to delve deeper into her world than she was ready to allow, she couldn't be blamed if he was hurt by the backlash of her defenses. She had lived behind her walls for far too long.

"Yeah. When I get back. Maybe. But listen, Charles, I really gotta jet. So ..I guess I will see you when I see you."

Amalia left the phone call to end there, hanging it up before he could answer. This was really just one more headache she didn't need right now. She was exhausted beyond words. In pain and more vulnerable than she had ever been since her father died. For what seemed like the millionth time in days she was caught up in the strain of it all and collapsed to the floor in tears.

Having ended the call with Luke, Charlie stared mutely at the phone in his hand. Was it him or was there something off about Luke's voice when he answered the call. His suspicions just seemed to continue to build to a point of frustration. Tucking his phone away he looked tiredly at the school before him. No point in checking in here. He had already talked to Luke. What was more, Luke had made it clear he didn't have any time or desire to see him.

With nothing else to do and no other solution in sight, he decided to make his way home and sleep it off. Charlie laughed at the thought. As if that was even possible.

In the meantime, Hunter had just pulled up in front of Amalia's house and began to knock on the door. When no immediate answer came he knocked again, pacing anxiously across the front porch. Upon the third knock with no reply, Hunter let himself in.

The punk had just been through way too much lately, it made him worried. Without even thinking or worrying about impropriety anymore he charged upstairs. Upon reaching the second floor of the family home he was met with some of the most heart-wrenching sobs he had ever heard. His heart broke immediately.

Hunter followed the sounds until he found her room and without knocking, threw open the door. The sight that met his eyes would have broken even the most resolute of soldiers. He had seen grown men tortured to the point where they had been rendered unrecognizable. He had witnessed bodies being bloodied and battered within an inch of their life. The sight of this usually tough natured cocky kid though curled up on her floor and crying was enough to shake even his stone cold heart.

Kneeling down beside her Hunter scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her bed. Holding her close, much as he had at the hospital, he pressed her face into her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"It's ok, Lia, It's okay. Let it out baby, I'm here."

Hunter shook as the girl trembled in his arms, shocked not only by his own words but by the sudden tremor he heard in his own voice as he spoke. When had this girl become so close to him? When exactly, had he started to think of her this way. His mind absently went back to Ren's words as he stroked her hair. The bloody bastard had seen it coming before he had.