“Riley?”
I look up at her. “His stepfather is violent. He doesn’t like Hunter, and they butt heads a lot, especially when he starts fighting with Hunter’s mom and Hunter tries to protect her. Sometimes…” I pause, unsure how to finish this sentence. After a few unsteady breaths, I tell her, “Sometimes he hits him. He did last night, and it was really bad, that’s why Hunter didn’t meet me for the movie. He couldn’t.”
Mom looks like I’ve dropped the weight of the world on her shoulders. I didn’t mean to, that’s why I tried to avoid this. “What do you mean, he couldn’t?”
“He was unconscious,” I whisper, looking down at the ground. “He and his mom got in a fight after he came to because Hunter keeps thinking she’s going to make Dennis leave, but she doesn’t. I think he finally realized last night she’s not going to. Her husband smashed Hunter’s head against a sink, Mom. He was unconscious on the bathroom floor and she didn’t even call an ambulance because she was too worried what it would mean for her husband.”
Covering her mouth in horror, Mom says, “Oh my God, honey. You’ve been dealing with this all on your own?”
I shrug helplessly. “I didn’t know what else to do. Hunter swore me to secrecy and he told me his mom was handling it. When he had the black eye, he said it hadn’t even happened before, but I’m trying to rationalize how this could escalate from a black eye to what he described last night, and… I don’t know if he’s being honest about that. That seems like a really dramatic escalation. He’s so worried about protecting his stupid mom that he’s not protecting himself and I don’t know what to do. I’m terrified something will happen to him,” I say, bursting into tears.
“Oh, honey.” Mom comes over and wraps her arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. “You should have told me sooner. I’m so proud of you for trying to help your friend, but this… this is serious.”
“I know it is.” I sniffle, holding on a little tighter. “I asked him to take his shirt off last night so I could take pictures of all the welts on his body with my cell phone. I thought in case he wanted to report Dennis, he’d need evidence.”
Mom sighs, calmly petting my hair. “That was good thinking.”
“He made me promise not to tell anyone.”
“I know,” she murmurs reassuringly. “You had to, though. A secret like this can’t be kept. When someone’s getting hurt…” She shakes her head. “You did the right thing, honey. I wish you had told me sooner, but… I’m glad you told me now.”
Chapter Eleven
Hunter isn’t at school the next day, but I’m not surprised. Now that we can text each other, he told me his face is too fucked up right now to come to school. His mom told the principal they had to go out of town this week, so he sent schoolwork home so Hunter wouldn’t fall behind.
Hunter was in such a hurry when he left my house that he left behind his gray wrestling hoodie. I asked if he wanted me to bring it over one day after school, but he said he doesn’t want me to come to his house right now. He told me he has others, so I can just keep it.
Under normal circumstances, I would be pretty happy about the prospect of wearing Hunter’s hoodie around my house, but my heart is so heavy right now, there’s no joy to be found in it.
The talk Mom wanted to have with me definitely changed once she learned about what has really been going on with Hunter. Maybe her opinion of him changed a little, too, but I can’t tell if it did or she just feels for him. No kid should have to go through this, and it shouldn’t be my mom willing to fight for him—it should be his.
Mom made an appointment with the principal and the guidance counselor on Wednesday to talk to them about it. She wanted to get in as soon as possible, but she had to work Tuesday and couldn’t afford to call off.
She made me tell her every detail I knew about the violence at Hunter’s house. I told her about the day I went over there, even though I knew I might get in trouble. I told her how Dennis acted and how even though I asked him to come back to our house until things settled down, Hunter stayed to protect his mom. I told her about the day I found him on the bridge and brought him back to our house. I sent her the pictures I took of his injuries Monday night.
I hate that it feels so much like I’ve sold him out. I wish he hadn’t asked me to keep this awful secret. I know we have to tell someone who can intervene because next time maybe Dennis injures him more permanently or even kills him, but I also have a strong hunch that when this comes out, Hunter will feel I’ve betrayed him.