Unbroken

He chuckled dryly. “No, darling girl, Hunteristhe trouble.”

I sighed, head pounding. “Please, Kurt, not with this again. Not today. Please.”

I didn’t want to know that the stranger that passed by asking for him was bad news. I didn’t want to hear that Hunter was attracting bad attention. That his disappearances from school and everyday life was probably tied to that man. This was shit I already knew and was still processing.

Right now, Hunter and his mom were homeless, and the rest of life’s shit needed to fade away into the background. Just for now.

To my relief, he held back, growing quiet. The minutes passed, and then he leaned into me, nudging my shoulder with his. “People have been talking…I’ve never been much for that mindless chatter, but—I’ve been hearing your name thrown around, mixed in with that Itani boy and Hunter.”

I pretended to act casual, looking around. “Why are people so interested in a bunch of teenagers?”

“Well, mostly because one of them is the richest boy in town, and the other…well, the other’s a bit of a delinquent.”

I frowned. “People push Hunter around, Kurt. It isn’t as black and white as you think.”

“I don’t care what makes that boy tick.”

“Then what’s your point bringing them both up?”

He sighed slowly. “You gotta figure out what boy you want, sweetheart. Running from one to the next—”

“That’s not what I do!”

“It’s what itlookslike you’re doing.”

I gritted my teeth. “Well, that’s not true.”

“But you know how it looks, don’t you? Skye, you gotta pick one.” Now he shuffled even closer. “I think we know which one, too.”

My heart skipped a beat. I looked down, stroking Onyx. My hair fell over my face, and I hoped he couldn’t see my warring expression. “They’re my friends,” I stressed.

“Uh-huh.” He exhaled louder, sounding more defeated. “How much longer do you think that word is going to placate them?”

Irritation flared through me. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t?”

“No, it’s not as easy as picking one boy, Kurt. We’re not like that.”

“Can you help me understand?”

“No.”

He sounded frustrated. “Why not, Skye?”

“Because we’re different, and you’re all the same.”

He chuckled, but it didn’t sound real. He continued to shake his head. “I don’t care how you try and reason it in your head, Skye, it’s unhealthy. It’s having an impact on you—darling, you’re different these days and your mother and I have noticed, and we don’t like it.”

“I’m sorry I’m not that sweet little girl anymore, Kurt,” I said icily. “I’m sorry that shit’s happened and I’m sort of affected by it—”

“You won’t even tell me what it is that’s happened!”

“You’re not a safe place to turn to!”

“Why not?”

“Because you lock my windows and put alarms on the door and try to keep me contained, Kurt! It doesn’t fill me with fuzzy feelings having someone I care about do that to me.”