Unbroken

Nine

Skye

Present

Iwish I can say that was the last time Hunter had fought a boy that disrespected me. But that first year at high school was not kind on us, and Hunter did not blend in well. It was ironic that Hunter had a harder time fitting in, while Leo blossomed.

“Sounds like Leo Itani went to that shitty high school for you,” Fay remarks, her voice quieter now as Brit continues to work on her blindfold.

I’ve been sprawled face down on the ground for several minutes, trying to catch my breath. My arms have gone dead, and the rope burn is searing.

I answer distractedly. “Yeah.” But I think it had something to do with Hunter, too.

“He was popular.”

That was an understatement. By the end of that first year, Leo would own the hallways. He just had that aura—that charm about him. It was hard to describe the way he reeled people in. It wasn’t just his beauty, either. The girls loved him, sure, but he drew in the boys too. Leo was friendly, he was charismatic, he was easily the most popular boy in our grade, and he did it all while following the rules, gaining the respect from teachers, too.

Leo was the Golden Boy of Brown Bay.

“Where was Hunter in all this?”

“There,” I whisper, breath caught in my lungs. “Always there.”

My sweet Hunter.

My violent savage.

Submerged in a different world right under my nose.

How could I have known he was hanging around the bikers though? He had never opened up to me about it, never expressed where he went when he was on his own. I should have pried harder. I should have tried stopping him…

But try telling a shy thirteen-year-old to be mindful of the biker presence in Brown Bay. I didn’t know what they were. Didn’t know what they were about. They started off small, a shop here, another there. The only difference I saw at that age was that Brown Bay sounded louder with those bikes zooming past.

“Poor guy,” murmurs Fay now.

“Why poor guy?” Brit wonders. “What happened to him?”

It suddenly hurts to breathe. I don’t answer, choosing to swallow hard instead. Thankfully Fay doesn’t respond either. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to relive the truth, or that day—

When the second wind hits me, I start to rub my face against the ground again, feeling the blindfold continue to move slowly up my face. I’m close—really close.

“I want you both to touch me.”

I shiver, pausing to savour the phantom kiss on my lips. I swear I can taste him on my tongue still.

“Leo’s mom sounded like a crazy bitch,” Britney says, seeming to catch on that some topics are sensitive. “Coming at you like that, it’s whacko shit.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t do something to get at you,” Fay adds.

I let out a sardonic laugh. “She did.”

Oh, she fucking did.

“What did she do?”

I don’t respond for a few minutes as I continue quickly, feeling the fabric continue to slide up my face. I’m getting there. From the sounds of it, they’re finding luck too.

“It’s at my eyes,” I exclaim. “I’m right there…”