Hunt Me Down - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Nathaniel's POV
Betty was the one who opened the front door, a lit cigarette in her mouth. She didn't ask me what I wanted, just stepped to the side and nodded for me to enter. As I strode towards the staircase, I wondered how far she thought things had gone between me and her nephew.
Of course, her silence might've been brought on by my appearance; I was sure I looked distraught. Not only had I upset my ex girlfriend when she saw me kissing a guy, not only did I dread her sharing her discovery, but I was at a loss at what had happened once I'd gotten home. My mother's rapid mood swing was disturbing enough, but I was also confused by her aggression towards me.
Was it my fault?
Had I mistreated her?
I'd spoken back at her, but did that warrant such a severe retaliation?
Or was the problem rooted deeper and if so, where?
Mom had seemed fine lately, doing whatever she usually did: cook, clean, chat with the neighbors and gossip. Had I overlooked anything?
For the past two weeks, I'd spend every moment of freedom with Hunter. Perhaps I had missed something... Some kind of event, some sort of signs.
I lowered my head as I stepped on the landing, remembering how on two occasions I'd faked a stomach ache, making mother worried. What if she'd already had problems and I'd only made things worse?
It might be best if I confronted her about this. Or maybe I should speak to my father first?
Would he be surprised at her reaction?
Would she get angry that I'd told him?
If she got angry, that would make matters worse, there was no doubt about that.
I knocked on the door; there was no response. I knocked louder and then once more, even louder, and I finally heard him shout 'Enter'. He seemed surprised to see me walk into his room; he'd probably thought I was his aunt.
Hunter was sitting in his bed, his back leaned on the headrest. Large headphones covered his years, but he removed them as soon as he saw me. I heard faint sounds coming from the ear pads, but I couldn't make out the tune.
"What are you listening to?"
I was avoiding what I was there for and he knew it. Hunter was smart - not the educated, but the perceptive type of smart - and he realized I once again needed him to give me time. He placed the headphones on the nightstand and shifted to the edge of the bed, his feet touching the floor.
"Tupac."
"Oh." I didn't know much about the artist. Actually, the only things I knew about him were that he was a rapper and that he died in the nineteen-nineties; I didn't even know how.
"Are you going to stand there all night?"
I closed the door and moved away from it, stopping a few feet away from him. He nodded to the bed and I sat next to him, on the edge.
My gaze wandered around the room. Nothing had change since I'd last been here. Not that I'd expected it to; I'd visited Hunt the night before, briefly, to wish him sweet dreams and to get a kiss from him.
Raph was in his aquarium and that was the only thing that struck me as odd; Hunter usually took the turtle out as soon as he got home. I'd watched it several times: he'd come home, greet his aunt if she was in, wash his hands, place his pet on the floor, give him lettuce and let him roam free while we kissed and talked, and kissed some more.
He'd broken his routine today and I was pretty sure of the cause for that: Irene or more specifically, my reaction to her. I knew I'd had to address that topic at some point and soon, but I wanted to bring up another issue first. I turned towards him and began recalling aloud what had happened once I'd gotten home.
Hunter listened quietly, nodding every now and then. His face remained impassive for the most part, except when I told him about my mother raising her voice at me; his eyes had narrowed at that point and his lips set in a tight line. My narration did not end with her driving off; I also shared my thoughts and my uncertainty at what could've been the reason for her outburst and my indecision of what to do next.
"Has your mother been to a shrink?"
I gaped and blinked at his question.
"She's not insane," I blurted out.
"She sounds bipolar to me."
"She's fine," I protested without thinking.
"You spent the last ten minutes talking about this, freaking out because of her actions and now you claim she's fine?"
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away. Raph has climbed the inner plastic stairs and was trying to push the lid of his aquarium off. The small turtle didn't stand a chance; the glass was too big and thick.
"Maybe your mother is not bipolar - I think if she was, she'd switch between happy and depressed - but there is definitely something wrong with her. And I'm not saying that just because I don't like her."
I looked at him again. I'd always known he wasn't a big fan of my mom, but this was the first time he'd said it out loud in front of me.
"Do you think I should talk to her about it?"
His eyebrows furrowed and his lips quirked to the side, but in a frown, not a smile.
"Maybe you and Val should talk about this with your father before you speak to your mother and see if he knows or suspects anything. Keep an eye on her for a few days before you speak to him though. And I mean a close eye so you can tell him exactly what you've observed."
I covered my eyes with my palms, then rubbed my temples. The circular motions did nothing to ease the pressure building up in my head and I let out a deep sigh.
"Problems just keep piling up one after the other," I murmured.
"Irene?"
"Irene."
"I suppose you'd want to call her."
"I'm not sure she'd answer though." I puffed. "Actually, I'm pretty sure she won't."
He said nothing. I placed my hands in my lap, intertwining the fingers and fidgeting as I took a deep breath.
"I want to talk to her so I can prepare her for tomorrow," I announced, my throat painful as if I'd taken a bite which was too big to swallow.
"Prepare her for tomorrow?" He raised an eyebrow.
I took another generous inhale of air and ignoring the tumultuous drumming of my heart, I blurted:
"I want to come out to our schoolmates. With you."
I'd expected a reaction. I didn't know what, but I'd expected one.
To say that I'd taken Hunter by surprise would've been an understatement; I was sure I had. And yet, he didn't display surprise, he didn't display happiness or worry; he looked... blank. It was like his brain had stopped working and I felt as if I was looking at a doll made into his image.
When the gears of his mind turned at last, he frowned. A frown was not what I wanted to see on his face at the moment and it was also the last thing I'd expected to. After all, he'd made sure I knew he wanted me to come out.
"Is this the result of Irene seeing us?" He asked quietly. "Are you thinking that it would be better if we told people before she had the chance to?"
My body loosened and I almost smiled when I realized that me coming out and being with him in public wasn't the issue; it was why I was taking this important, life-altering step that was bothering him.
"That was an instigative factor," I admitted, "but not the decisive one. I just think that it should be done and that I'd like to be with you at school and for people to see us instead of hide in the restrooms after classes."
His gaze softened and I went on with more ease.
"This isn't the best time given what mom did today so can we keep it just in school?" I pleaded. "For now."
"If we come out in school, the news will reach your mother," he pointed out.
"I know but... What are we to do? Wait for her to... What?" I waved my hands. "We wait and make sure that she's happy and normal, and then tell her about us?"
"You are probably right." He sighed. "No matter when we tell her, she's go nuts. Might as well do it now."
"But I want to practice on our classmates first," I insisted and he snorted at my choice of words. "I mean, I care about them less and I want to see how things will go there so I'd have some idea what I should expect at home."
"Alright." He nodded. "We'll tell the people in school tomorrow and if word reaches your mom, so be it; if not, we'll tell her in a few days. In the mean time, you and Val will make sure she isn't already nuts."
"Thank you," I murmured even though I was slightly irritated at his last sentence. I turned around so I could lean my back onto his chest; his arms wrapped around me in an instant.
"Hey, that's what boyfriends are for." Hunter whispered in my ear and kissed my neck.
This time, I did not hide my smile.