Page 97 of Hunter's Hidden Camera
“Jo is a trooper. A little banged and bruised, but she’s going to be fine.”
“What about the baby?”
“The baby is also going to be fine.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“They’re going to keep Jo here overnight, but she should be able to go home in the morning. I’m staying here all night. So are Darin and Henry.”
I can see the cold air coming into and out of my mouth. “I’m sorry about everything that’s happened. I never should’ve gotten you and Jo and your friends involved.”
“Hunter, are you going to tell me what’s really going on here?”
“Someday. But right now I have to go. Oscar is in a lot of trouble. I just wanted to check to make sure you and Jo were all right.”
“We are. We’d be even better if we knew what’s happening. We can help you.”
“No,” I say. “I’m handling this.”
“Okay,” says Patricia, “but I have to talk to you about something.”
“What?”
“When I was cleaning you and Oscar up, I could tell those cuts and scrapes and wounds were on account of you getting hit by an SUV, like you said. But there were other markings, scarring, that I saw around your neck and on your forearm.”
“I have to go, Patricia.”
“No,” Patricia says, calmly. “Listen to me, Hunter. I know what those marks are. I know what those scars are.”
Silence.
Then, she says, “I used to have them too, when I was younger. I used to make them too.”
I don’t know how to respond. So I don’t.
Patricia continues. “Although I got kicked out of my own house by my parents when I came out to them, in many ways it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Once I was out of the house, once I was in the real world, I was able to see how old and outdated my parents’ beliefs were. I mean, inside thathouse, it was like I was living inside a bubble. But out in the real world, I could breathe. I could be myself. I found my allies, my people, my tribe. And you can have that too, Hunter. You just have to be a little patient. And then you’ll see.Yourlife has so much value.”
“Hunter,” I hear Blanca say.
I turn around and see Blanca standing there, her arms crossed, trying to defend herself from the cold. I hold up my finger to let her know to wait a moment.
“I’m going to find you a therapist,” Patricia says. “I’ll pay for it. Your parents don’t have to know. I think it’ll really help you. Put things in perspective. When you’re inside your own head for so much, sometimes you can’t see the light. But with the help of a therapist, you will. But you also have me and Jo and Darin and Henry. You have so many people supporting you, Hunter. You just have to look.”
Blanca squeezes herself even tighter. “Manny took a walk. And he just texted me. We gotta go meet with him now.”
I nod.
“Patricia,” I say into the phone. “I really need to go.”
“Promise me. You’ll go see a therapist. Promise.”
“I promise,” I say. And I mean it. “Thank you, Patricia.”
“Good.”
I say, “There’s one more thing I need you to do for me.”
“Anything.”
