“You might need stitches. I’m afraid to turn the light on. I don’t know if my mom’s asleep or not, and if she sees the light on, she’ll definitely come in.”
“I’m fine,” he says, gently pushing my hand away, but still not looking at me. “I just—you were mad at me and I needed to explain why I didn’t show up tonight. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to. Dennis was in one of his fucking moods and he and my mom started fighting. He put hands on her so I stepped in and… the situation escalated.”
“Where’s your mom? Is she safe?”
Hunter nods, his jaw locking. “Yeah. Seems they bonded over the sheer terror they both felt when he smashed my head against the sink so hard I lost consciousness. Not enough terror to call an ambulance, apparently, but…”
I can’t even breathe. I have no idea what to say. I’m physically ill imagining the scene he just described, but the terror of knowing his mom didn’t even call for help…
Because she didn’t want her trashbag husband to get in trouble?
She would protect him even at the cost of Hunter’s life? Because if he was unconscious, she couldn’t have possibly known he was okay.
Oh my God.
Tears spring to my eyes again tonight, but this time, they’re so much worse. I’m not just sad for Hunter, I’m not just angry at his mom—I’m frightened for him. She isn’t protecting him, and Hunter is too stubborn to back down. This is only the second time I know of that his stepfather got physical with him, but if it escalated this badly this fast?
I’m just so glad he’s here now. I’m still afraid he might not be okay and that he really needs to see a doctor and make sure he doesn’t need stitches or have a concussion or anything, but right now I just need to hug him, so I do. I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight, but I quickly loosen my grip when he hisses as if in pain.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, starting to pull back.
“No,” he says, placing a hand on my back to keep me there. “Stay put. I’ll be fine. I’m just a little sore. It was a bad fight.”
“It’s not a fight when you don’t stand a chance,” I snap, but it’s not him I’m mad at. “You’re 14 and he’s a grown man. That’s not a fight, Hunter, it’s abuse. He should be in jail.”
He doesn’t say anything to that, just keeps his arm around me while I hug him a little more gently this time.
I let go after a minute, then I wrap the cold compress in a thin cloth and hand it to him to put on his eye. We don’t say anything for a few more minutes, we just sit together in a companionable silence.
The gnawing in my gut won’t go away. I want to tell him he can’t go back home tonight. I want to tell him we need to wake up my mom. I want to tell him I know I promised I wouldn’t say anything, but I can’t keep that promise anymore.
What if tonight had gone just a step further? What if his stepdad had smashed his head against a sink and caused more than unconsciousness? I could never forgive myself for holding my silence if something happened to Hunter. It’s not his job to cover for the people who aren’t protecting him—it’s their job to do better.
I don’t know where his head’s at, though. I guess I need to find out.
“Did she kick him out?” I ask softly.
Hunter doesn’t say a word for the space of a few heartbeats. His jaw locks and he stares straight ahead. Even in the dark, I can see the storm in his gaze. The betrayal and heartache stirring there, and I have my answer. Tears spring to my eyes before he says a word.
“We’ve fought about him before. Especially last time, when he gave me the black eye. I know she didn’t make him leave after that, but I thought… She told me she was afraid to leave him. He’s kinda crazy and she was afraid of what he might do. Plus, I know she’s afraid to be alone to begin with, but I told her I could protect her. I wouldn’t let him hurt her.”
I want to tell him that’s not his job, but he goes on before I even get a chance.
“Turns out she was just making excuses, though. When I came to tonight… I lost it. I was fucking pissed. I grabbed the phone to call the cops. I didn’t even have to be the one protecting her this time. He had done enough damage that there’s no way he would’ve been allowed near us after that, but… she took the phone and begged me not to call. I didn’t get it. I’m so stupid, I believed her. I really thought she just wouldn’t leave him because she was afraid to.”
“That might be part of it,” I say carefully, but I definitely don’t want to take her side. With a mother like mine, I legitimately cannot begin to comprehend how his stepdad isn’t sitting in a jail cell right now. If someone ever did to me what Hunter’s stepdad did to him, that man might be the one with his head smashed against a sink because my mom would never in a million years put up with it.
Hunter shakes his head, staring off into nothing. “No. She was finally honest tonight. She sat on the edge of my bed, crying her eyes out. Not because of what he did to me, but at the prospect of losing him.” He pauses, inhaling slowly. I don’t know if it hurts to breathe deeply because of his physical injuries, or if the rest of what he has to say is just that heavy on his heart.
Then he answers my question and breaks my heart in half, but I’m not mad about it. I know his is broken, too.
“She told me she just loves him so much,” he says, his voice strained. He pauses to clear his throat and swallow, looking down at his lap and shaking his head. “And I guess… I guess I must be pretty stupid, because I thought she loved me.”
Tears well up in my eyes again, and this time, they start to fall. I take a labored breath and throw my arms around Hunter again, burying my face in his shoulder and holding on tight. I’m not careful this time. I can’t be. I just want to hold him and never let him go. I want to move him into my house and let my mom take better care of him than his stupid mom does. We might not have money, but what we have is much more valuable.
“I’m so sorry, Hunter,” I whisper.
I feel him nod in acknowledgment, his grip on me tightening.
“You don’t deserve this,” I tell him. “Your mom should protect you. She should love you and keep you safe. That’s her job. If she isn’t able or willing to do that, the problem is with her, not with you. Please believe that.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he grumbles, voice low. He’s still holding onto me so I don’t try to pull back.
“It does matter,” I say, wanting my disagreement to be firm despite the comfort I’m offering. I have no idea what to do in a situation like this, but I don’t ever want him to feel like it’s somehow his fault. I try to imagine what my mom would say to me in a position like this, but I can’t even get there mentally. I want to wake her up, because I’m sure she would know what to do, but Hunter needs me right now and I can’t bring myself to leave him.
He takes the cold compress off his eye and sets it down on the foot of my bed. He pulls away, so I start to lean back too, but before I can, his hand moves toward my face. He cradles it in one hand, his touch sending tremors of awareness shooting all through my body. The muscles in my legs even tauten, then a sensation stirs between them and startles the hell out of me.