Unbroken

“I shouldn’t have. Shane told me to always keep my cool—”

“It’s okay,” I repeated, grabbing his hand. “You’re just being normal.”

It was the first time I’d ever seen the cracks in him. At thirteen, they were just hairline cracks in the wall he put up.

Over time, they’d grow big enough to plunge a hand through.

He calmed down, replacing his troubled expression with what I could only describe as a shield. It was like looking at Leo but not really looking at the real him. It unnerved me a little that he could suddenly look so calm but feel so troubled inside.

“I’m okay,” he told me, calmly, opening his eyes.

“Good,” I said, feeling unsure and a little disturbed. I quickly brushed off my emotions. “Let’s start over, pretend she never showed up. It’s our first day of high school. Let’s make it positive before it naturally turns to shit.”

He let out a quiet laugh. “Yeah.”

As we headed back, he dropped his hand to wrap his arm around me. I was very aware of the countless eyes still clinging to us. I was sure that drama was excellent first day fodder for everyone.

“Is Hunter okay?” Leo went on to ask, voice filled with concern.

I nodded. “He’s okay.”

But I was wrong. So very wrong. The second I entered the school, I saw the commotion coming from the halls. I saw Hunter slamming a boy that was bigger than him against the locker. A crowd of kids were screaming, some excited, others horrified, a few laughing.

A group of grinning girls looked at me, and one of them said, “There she is.”

Why were they looking at me like that? Why were others staring too? My face flamed from their attention, but despite the nerves, I knew I had to do something. Letting go of Leo, I pushed through the crowd of kids, desperate to get Hunter to calm down. “Hunter, stop!”

Leo was already there, grabbing at Hunter and pulling him off with great difficulty. Hunter was still swinging his fists in the air, his breaths ragged, his growls loud as he shouted, “I’ll fucking kill you!”

The guy was on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He spat a glob of blood on the floor before standing up and stumbling down the hall like he was hurrying to get away. A couple guys raced after him, patting him on the back like they were concerned for him.

What the hell happened?

Why was everyone staring at Leo and me with such intensity?

Leo had to wrap his arms around Hunter’s front just to get him to settle down. He glanced at me with a concerned look, and I simply shook my head, lost for words. Hunter was a loose cannon, sure, but he would never have hurt that boy for no reason.

I approached him slowly, the way you would a caged animal and brought my hands to his face, whispering, “Come back, Hunt.”

The morning bell rang, and the crowd dispersed. Students snickered around us as they hurried to their classrooms, tossing looks our way. The same group of girls stared at me again, whispering to one another. I heard,“It’s because of her…”and nothing else. I didn’t look back, didn’t pay attention because I didn’t care. I just needed Hunter to calm down, to come back to us.

“What if a teacher saw you?” Leo growled now, finally letting go of Hunter. “You wanna get suspended two minutes into school, Hunt?”

Hunter didn’t answer as he pulled away, forcing me to drop my hands from his face. I wanted to correct Leo and tell him to expect no such supervision in a school like this. We would be made to fend for ourselves. Leo would learn that soon enough.

“What happened?” I asked softly, stepping close to him again. I stared up at him, my hand resting on his flushed cheek, my thumb stroking his swollen bottom lip.

Hunter’s eyes shut at my touch, and he let out a long breath as his chest finally began to slow down. “He said things about you, Skye. If I didn’t hit him, he’d think he could keep doing it.”

Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach. “What did he say?”

“I won’t repeat it.”

“Hunt—”

“You’re nothing like what he said,” he firmly retorted. “I’m not repeating it.”

I looked over at Leo, my dread growing at the sudden dark look on his face. “You guys need to calm down—”