Page 38 of Sunrises & Salvation

HUNTER

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR YEAR

I keep my books tucked close to my chest, hunching my shoulders and making my way through the crowded hallways of my school.

There are people stopped and talking at their lockers, others just standing in random groups along the walls of windows facing the parking lot.

The streams of sunshine shine in and reflect off the linoleum floors.

I just have to make it to my homeroom class, and I’ll be okay.

This has been a week from hell, but as the first bell of the day rings, hope rises inside of me that today, I’ll be okay.

I won’t have to worry about the kids tormenting me.

I can keep my head down and my focus on the floor, watching the scuff marks from other students’ shoes disappear under my feet.

Today is Friday. I only have to make it through today, and then I have two weeks off for Christmas break. It’s not nearly enough time, but I’ll take what I can freaking get at this point.

My parents have thrown around the idea of transferring, but god.

That’s the worst-case scenario. It’s not only embarrassing that I’m a Junior, seventeen years old and getting bullied.

But then I would be subjecting myself to other people realizing what a loser I am.

That doubles the original amount. And from there, who freaking knows.

It’s not rational, the train my thoughts take, but they’re the only thing that makes sense. It’s better if I stay here and stick it out, with the evil I know.

The door to my home room class opens, and Mrs. James is waiting there like an angel beckoning me home. She’s the only teacher who knows what I’m going through, the only one who actually cares if I make it through a whole day with no incidents.

Her blond hair is pulled back tight into a bun on the top of her head; it makes her look like a ballerina with the black stockings she has on to go with her pastel pink dress.

Her smile widens, and I tip my lips up barely.

It’s still hard to smile most days, but she and my parents are the only ones who get the closest thing to a true smile.

When it comes to my parents, I’ve been relying on a fake smile a lot, just so they don’t feel the pressure of my inner turmoil pulling them down with me.

“Hunter,” Mrs. James greets me, stepping to the side of her door and letting me pass through.

I sigh a deep breath of relief as I take my seat in the front row, letting the legs of the chair rock while my butt and back meet the hard plastic.

My side twinges a little bit, the massive bruise I have still a dark purple, but it’ll heal up.

I just have to keep babying it like I have been.

That bruise came from Matt when he cornered me in the bathroom on Tuesday after the math class we shared together.

I still couldn’t figure out if his anger came from the fact that I did better than him on the test, or if it’s because, rumor has it, he caught his girlfriend cheating on him. With her best friend.

I wasn’t stupid enough to ask.

The class slowly files in, bringing loud conversations and muted cheers.

It’s the last day of class for this semester, so it’s practically a blow-off day.

There’s no reason for us all to be here.

And I can’t speak for everyone else, but I refuse to let my perfect attendance be tarnished over an easy day.

Mrs. James waits for everyone to quiet down after the bell rings, the tension building in the room.

“We’re watching a movie today,” she starts, and everyone erupts into rambunctious cheers, wobbling their desks from side to side to maximize the noise.

“And— I don’t want to hear a word out of anyone.

I want one hour of silence.” My lips fight to pull up into a smile.

The thought of watching a movie and having silence is like offering a king the finest gifts.

She dims the lights and rolls the TV from the back of the room to the front, positioning it perfectly in the center so we can all see it.

The opening credits begin, and I hear a loud, annoyed groan come from the back row. Mrs. James cuts her eyes, glaring at the student complaining. When she seems satisfied, she nods her head and goes to sit back at her desk.

The fairy tale book takes up the full screen, and immediately belts into loud music. When Shrek slams the book closed, I let my mind drift off.

When the bell rings, signaling the end of class, I’m snapped out of my daydream. Thoughts of a bookstore full to the brim with romance books and where everyone is welcome. Something that will never happen as long as I’m stuck in this town.

“Hunter! Can I speak to you?” Mrs. James asks, and my classmates ooh and ahh, making annoying faces while they walk past me. Embarrassment heats my face, not from Mrs. James asking to speak to me, but doing it so everyone will wonder what she had to talk to me about.

At least I’ll have an excuse to be late to my next class so I can avoid seeing Matt for another hour.

He’ll be waiting for me, though, he always is.

I can’t wait for the day we graduate, because I’ll go off to college and only come back here to see my parents.

Matt will be off doing whatever it is that superstar quarterbacks with daddy’s money do when they leave for college.

What sucks is, we used to be best friends, back in elementary school.

There were pictures of the two of us, waist deep in mud holding up worms, on the picture wall in my parents’ house.

One weekend he was at my house, eating chocolate chip cookies on my couch while we watched a football game with my dad.

It was always the two of us, thick as thieves.

I still don’t know what changed between us.

We had talked all year about having a joint birthday party, the day we shared, and we had all these plans.

When the day came and he didn’t show up, I was worried at first. But not only did he not show up, no one else did, either.

I remember sitting on my front porch steps watching the cars go by and waiting for someone to walk up the driveway. No one ever came.

The next school day, he ignored me. All day.

And the next day was the same.

I cried to my parents because I couldn’t understand how my best friend could change that suddenly. They didn’t have an answer for me, and they still don’t.

“Are you okay?” Mrs. James asks, standing and resting her side against her desk while she stares at me.

I shrug my shoulders. “I’m fine, ready for Christmas break, like every other student.” I smile, only feeling half fake right now.

“You do know that you can tell me anything, right?”

“Of course I know that.” But what else can she do when it’s the town’s golden boy tormenting me?

His daddy’s money prevents him from ever actually getting into trouble, and all it does is bring his wrath down on me so much harder the next time he catches me alone. Because there’s always a next time.

“Okay, and that goes for next semester when you’re not in my class anymore as well. Whatever you need, I can help you. You just have to tell me.”

I nod, appreciating her caring about me enough to still let me come talk to her even when our class schedules change.

“Go ahead and go, I’ll let Mr. Thomas know that you were with me.” I stand up quickly, feeling the sharp twinge in my side from moving too fast.

“Thanks, Mrs. James.” She waves her hand, signaling the end of the conversation. I grab my bag from where I slung it over the back of my chair.

The hallways are empty, and I double-check each way before I slowly exit the classroom.

Mr. Thomas’ class is all the way at the other side of the building, and despite the fact that it’s quiet, I tiptoe silently as a church mouse across the floor, my heart in my throat.

A locker slams and I flinch, backing against the wall to make myself small. It’s nothing. It’s nothing. I reaffirm myself, heaving a deep breath and hoping my heartbeat will slow down so I don’t accidentally pass out from the anxious thoughts darkening my mind.

Maybe my mom was right and I should see a therapist, because the way I’m clenching my teeth so hard it’s causing pain to ripple through my head is not good for me.

“Hunterrrr,” a voice singsongs, and my blood runs ice cold.

No. No. No, no, no, no.

I bite my lip to keep from making a sound out loud, and the taste of copper floods my mouth.

“I know you’re out here, so don’t try to hide.” I’m not even hiding. I want to scream. I’m standing in the hallway in sight of everyone. But there’s no one out here.

Only Matt and I.

“Come on, Hunter. Quit playing.” I have to hold back the sob that wants to escape my chest, and an awkward hiccuping sound echoes through the hallway.

“Got you.” His voice is quiet and gleeful. He’s standing less than ten feet from me, and it would be pointless to try and outrun him.

“You thought I wouldn’t get you? Have you forgotten who I am?” he asks, taking a step forward, and the sunshine reflects off his perfectly styled blond hair.

“No, no,” I say, shaking my head, hoping that if I keep my gaze pinned to the floor, he won’t be as hard on me as he normally is.

That’s a dumb hope, though, there’s no rationalizing with someone like him.

“You’re so weird,” Matt says, stopping in front of me. I can smell the eucalyptus from his cologne, the scent overpowering and making my eyes water. Or maybe it’s the feelings associated with that smell.

“You’re not going to say anything?” he snarls, bending down until his nose is right against mine. His blue eyes are glaring at me, the irises filled with loathing and malice.

I stay silent. I’ve learned that if I speak, it makes everything worse.

“So fucking weird. You always have been. I used to pity you, but then I realized that I was starting to actually like you.” I sniffle, pathetically trying to hold back the tears that are resting along my lash line.

He raises his hand, and I flinch back, bumping against the hard cinderblock wall.

That sets him off.

The first punch to my cheekbone feels like a bomb going off on the side of my head, the force behind it enough to knock me to the floor.

My side aches, and nausea builds in my stomach with the pain flowing through my veins.

His fists meet the soft skin of my abdomen, caving it in with every hard hit.

My eyes slowly slip shut, the bright light dimming into a shadow, until I fade into blackness.