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1 YEAR LATER

"No way! No way are you cooking dinner again tonight!" Carmen frowns, snatching the two-minute noodles out of Stacey's hand.

"Why not? I'm a good chef. Hey, El, back me up here. I'm a good chef, aren't I?"

We're in the grocery store, trying to work out what we need for the week. This is how it always goes now that we've moved into our apartment in town together. It will take us at least an hour to decide on one meal.

"Look," I say, grasping Stacey's shoulder, "using boiling water and adding sachets to a packet of noodles, doesn't really count as cooking."

Stacey scoffs and Carmen gives her an I-told-you-so look that I begin to laugh at.

"We all know I'm the best cook," Carmen says, raising her hand in the air. "Tonight, we are having tacos and if anyone," she directs her gaze at Stacey, "wants to complain about it, then they can cook their own dinner."

"Fine!" Stacey whines, practically stomping her foot like a two-year-old.

"Why don't you pick tomorrow nights dinner, Stace? As long as it isn't noodles, we promise we'll eat it."

She sighs, tying her blonde hair back in a low messy bun. "Yeah, alright. I'll go find something."

She wanders off, walking past the dairy aisle where Carmen is standing. "I'll go and get the taco shells! Could you buy some cheese? We ran out after Saturday's nacho night," Carmen shouts at me as I walk further and further down the aisle.

"Sure!" I beam as she disappears from sight, looking for her tacos.

We'd only been living together for a month, but so far, it's been pretty good. I mean, other than the fact that Carmen and Stacey fight over nearly everything, which includes what movies to watch, who didn't replace the toilet roll, who didn't do their dishes, who didn't tidy the house and of course, what to eat for dinner. 

I wouldn't have survived the past year without them, though. School was hell, but at least I actually graduated and have plans to go to university. It was hard enough living with my mother for a year until I counted down the day I turned eighteen and she no longer had to be my guardian.

Don't get me wrong, parts of my relationship with my mother have mended over time but I will never be able to forget the fact that she just left me for seven years of my childhood. I'm grateful that she's trying to be good and I appreciate that, it doesn't go unnoticed. I still see her and Noah, who has also moved out of home, every Sunday night for our family dinner.

My relationship with her will never be perfect, but I'm finally starting to move forward. 

My phone beeps in my pocket and I pull it out to read a message from Noah. I'd spoken to him before coming to the supermarket and now he was asking me to buy a cake mix for his birthday with my own money.

I roll my eyes, replying that I'll do it, but mum will have to bake it because I hate cooking, specifically deserts. I finally locate the cheese and then I'm off to find the cake mix my brother so desperately needs and can't get himself. Lazy ass.

We happened to live five minutes away from each other. He's renting out a house with a couple of his friends and I bought an apartment with Stacey and Carmen. Noah loves the fact that he can walk to my place and steal all our food.

My biggest regret in life was giving him that spare key.

My phone chimes again with a reply from Noah. It's a stupid face emoji with its tongue hanging out.

He didn't even say thank you! I was buying his stupid cake mix out of the goodness of my heart and he couldn't even—

Oof.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying att—

I freeze when I look up to see who I've bumped into. My breath hitches and I can hardly believe it. It's really him, standing in front of me in the flesh.

It takes me a minute to gather my thoughts, to even comprehend speaking. It has been such a long time since I last saw him and now, standing in a supermarket aisle of all places, is the one man who stills own my heart.

"Hunter?"

When he smiles at me, my heart melts. The feelings I have for him never went away, even when Stacey and Carmen tried to set me up with countless blind dates that always ended badly. He looks exactly as I remember too. Tousled blonde hair, big blue eyes. Mouth-watering smile. He sure does know how to affect people.

"El," he smiles and my insides stir at the soft sound of his voice. I've missed hearing him speak.

"How long—how long have you been out?" I say, adjusting my grip on the shopping basket.

Hunter had been sentenced to a year imprisonment and I cried the day I found out. I wasn't even allowed to go to his trial. I couldn't even say goodbye to him. The worst part of all was the fact that he never let me see him in jail. I tried countless times to go a visit, but he always kept me on the list of people that he didn't want to see. That's what hurt most, knowing he was purposely keeping me away.

After six months, I gave up trying to see him. I was angry for a long time but as my therapist says, it's good to move forward with our lives. 

I haven't been in contact with him at all since the day I was shot. Yet here he is, in the freaking supermarket.

"I've been out for a week," he says, shifting his gaze to the shelves filled with food. "I got out last Thursday."

"Well...hi," I whisper, not knowing what else to say. What are you supposed to say to the person who practically shattered your heart by cutting you out of your life? I know his intentions were good, but that didn't make it any easier for me. All I want to do is see him.

He stops smiling and his eyes grow sad. "I'm sorry that I didn't let you see me. If it's any consolation, the guards told me every time that you did try to come in."

"Look," I say, staring at my shoes like they are the most interesting things in the world. I tuck a brown strand of her behind my ear before clearing my throat and continuing. "I'm not gonna lie, it really hurt me that you purposely shut me out. All I wanted to do was be there for you."

"I know, but that was the problem, El. I didn't want you to give up your life for me. I didn't want you to sit around waiting for me to get out of prison."

"You were only in there for a year, Hunter. You weren't given a life sentence. It's not like I'd be waiting around forever."

My heart pangs suddenly. I picture dad, spending the next fifteen years in prison. We'd slowly started to repair our relationship, too. Noah and I visit him once a month when we are allowed to. He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment, which even though sounds bad, was a lot more lenient than fifteen years.

He shakes his head, closing his eyes briefly. "A year was enough. And it was an important year for you too. I didn't want you to get distracted while you were completing high school. I didn't want you to worry about me."

I sigh. "I don't want to fight with you. I've had a year to think things through and I understand that your intentions came from a good place. I know you were only trying to protect me, even if it felt like shit every time I was knocked back."

"Trust me, I wanted to see you. I wanted to be with you every second of every damn day."

My heart lifts and his words and I give him a small smile. "I'm not angry at you, Hunter. I was at first, but I've had a long time to think everything through."

Never in my entire life did I think I'd be having a heart-to-heart in a supermarket.

"I don't understand how you can be so forgiving," he whispers, brushing a strand of my hand behind my shoulder.

The butterflies erupt in my stomach and it's crazy how nothing has changed between us. Even after a year, we are able to fall back into place.

"Don't get me wrong, I'll never be able to forget what your father put me through but you and Ridge, you were just as trapped on that farm as I was."

Hunter nods, staring at his shoes again. I can see the agony behind his beautiful eyes and I desperately want to take that pain away.

"How's Ridge, anyway?" I ask, changing the subject.

Ridge had been given a twelve-month community corrections order. He didn't come back to Wayhill High this year, so I never got to see him.

"Yeah, good. We moved in together."

"Hunter, that's awesome. So what's happening with the farm?"

"We were allowed to sell it. That's how we were able to buy the place together. We split the money."

"That's really cool," I say, grabbing his arm. We lapse into a comfortable silence. I draw my arm back, smiling at Hunter. It really is great to see him again.

"How have you been, anyway? After everything that happened, I mean."

I blow out air from my nose, wondering where to even begin. "Well, I'm getting better now but it hasn't been easy. It's taken me a while to get over everything. Plus, when I arrived home from the hospital my mum of all people had returned after seven years."

His eyebrows shoot up and his face pales slightly. "No way. How did you feel about that?"

"Well, I went off at her. She left me, you know? It really hurt. So yeah, at first I was just so mad and I didn't have a proper conversation with her for at least two months. But then I started going to therapy and I knew that I needed to start over someday and that I needed to do it soon. We aren't very close and I'll never forget what she did but we are getting somewhere at least."

"And how are you physically? After getting..."

"Shot? It's okay, you can say it. I won't break down from hearing that word," I laugh, but in my mind, I know there was a time I didn't like it being brought up.

"I'm feeling a lot better. I was back to my normal, physically healthy self about seven months ago."

Hunter smiles again, one of the open mouth, genuinely happy smiles that take my breath away. But then he suddenly looks upset again.

"I tried to see you in hospital but I was never allowed. Partially because Noah always stopped me."

We both laugh at the mention of my overprotective, idiotic brother. Back then, I had been angry that he kept stopping Hunter from seeing me, but I had learnt to understand why. Noah had been protecting both of us.

"I wish you had been allowed to see me. It would have made things a lot easier," I say, touching his arm again. I can't seem to help it. It's probably because I haven't seen him for so long.

A moment passes between us, and I pick up my basket.

"Hey," he says, touching my hand lightly, "so, um, would you want to...I don't know, grab some coffee?"

"Like, right now, you mean?"

"Well, yeah. Right now," he says, eyeing me nervously.

I start to laugh and he gives me a strange look. I shake my head. "Sorry, but for a second there we actually sounded like two normal people wanting to catch up over coffee. How nice would that have been? If we were normal."

Hunter laughs too, and I'm filled with a sense of warmth.

I never want to see this boy walk away from me again. And if I could help it, he'd be a constant part of life for a very, very, long time.

"Well, maybe not coffee then. Maybe that's too normal," he says, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

But I shake my head. Being normal is all that I ever want. Having coffee with Hunter would give me that sense of hope that I'm one step closer to finally moving on with my life. 

"You know what?" I say, "I'll just text my friends to tell them where I'm going and then I'll pay for everything I'm buying. And then, why don't we go grab that coffee?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to—"

"Hunter," I say, stepping forward to touch his arm. "I think after everything we've been through, we deserve a little bit of normal."

He grins at me as he offers to take my basket, which I so graciously accept. Then I grab his hand and we rush to the checkout.

We run out the doors laughing and I finally, finally feel as if everything will actually be good again in my world.

As I grab his hand, I realise that no matter what, this was the most normal, heart-stopping moment that reminded me that life didn't always have to be difficult.

And Right now, standing in this supermarket parking lot as Hunter leans towards me, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I feel pretty damn lucky that I met a razor-sharp boy with edges that hurt, but a heart that loved with everything he has.