Behind the Façade

------------- Carson ---------------

After helping Brianna into the car, I straightened myself up and looked at Logan with a small smile. "See you later?"

"Yeah," he grinned, "See you later." Leaning in, he pecked me lightly on the lips - obviously wait for me to kiss him back. I don't.

Logan fails at hiding his pout and saunters over toward his car, sliding in and waiting for Hunter to join him. "So when will we get to...you know, talk?"

I sigh and lean against my open car door, watching people roll luggage into the hotel. "Today, I need to think of a place though."

"Your house...?" Hunter suggests, the answer coming so easily to him.

"No," I reply quickly before sighing, "Sorry. It's just...you'll understand. Your house?"

"Yeah...that could work. No one will be there." He reaches out and hugs me quickly -- too quickly -- and smiles as he walks away.

I was going to tell him the truth.

Maybe.

***

I hesitated before knocking on his door. Brianna had been furious with me after I told her I as going to finally tell Hunter. The truth. She thought it was reckless, that it would ruin everything we've built.

"He'll go to the cops," she stammered earlier, sitting anxiously on her bed, "He'll get dad in trouble, and if dad doesn't get put in jail, he will kill us for telling. Don't you see? This is a bad idea, Cars. Don't do it."

I told her I was. Am.

She told me to get out, and the lock clicked behind me.

I pounded my fist against the door and Hunter opened it, an easy-going smile on his lips and I sighed, knowing this was the right thing to do.

"Hey," I say, walking past him and smiling.

"Hey yourself," he replied, following me into the living room before watching me crash onto the couch. "So you ready to spill the beans or what?"

Groaning, I motion for him to come over and sit next to me, and when he does, I curl against his side. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Thank you," Hunter whispers before I start talking. "For finally telling me."

I nod and let my head fall against his shoulder. "So, it started when I was eleven. After my mom left. Remember when I told you how Brianna lost her eyesight?" He nods but doesn't say anything, which I appreciate. "It wasn't in a car accident. My...my dad took a beer bottle to her one day when he'd had too much to drink." I feel my throat constrict and I swallow, trying to push past it. "I felt like it was my fault, that maybe if I had been there earlier and seen her laying there, a crumpled mess on the floor that maybe I could have done something. Maybe she'd be able to see now, you know?" I pause and take a deep breath before continuing. "It's daily -- when my dad...abuses us. He gets home at the same time every day and Brianna and I have learned the best tactics for survival. Locked doors and hard objects always seem to keep up breathing until the next night, and then it's just the same thing over again.

"The other night, the night I got my limp, my dad shot me with a revolver." I feel Hunter stop breathing for a second before pulling my tighter against him and into his lap. "I -- we can't tell anyone. If we do he'll kill us, Hunter. He'll kill us. By the end of the summer, I'll be eighteen and I'm packing Brianna up and we're heading west. I got accepted into Stanford." I hadn't noticed how hard I was crying until I realized that the last sentence was just a slur of sobs and stutters.

"Carson..." Hunter whispered, holding me against his chest, "You have to tell someone."

I pull away quickly and study his eyes, "Did you not hear what I just said?"

"He won't have a chance to kill you if he's in jail."

"When he gets out, Hunter! The average sentence can vary from ten to forty years. He'd probably get somewhere in between ten and fifteen, but he'll be able to walk free again. That's the problem." I stand up from his lap and walk toward the front door, turning around halfway there. "This - this was a mistake. Brianna was right, I shouldn't have told you."

I put my hand on the door knob and Hunter yells, "Don't you dare walk out that door, Carson. How can I help you if you're constantly walking away?"

"I don't know!" I say, voice raising. "What would you do if I walked out right now, huh? There's nothing you can do that my father hasn't, Hunter. I've seen it all, survived it all."

Instead of responding, Hunter pushes me up against the front door, lips meeting mine. At first, I don't even realize what's happening until his fingers find my belt loops, pulling me closer to him. Closing my eyes, I wrap my arms around his neck, standing up on the tips of my toes to meet his height.

"I'll keep your secret," he whispered before pressing his lips back to mine and lifting me up, dragging me over to the couch.

I pulled away for a second, not opening my eyes, but more or less catching my breath. "Hunter..."

"I know..." he groans, falling onto the sofa with me on his chest. "We shouldn't be doing this..."

"Actually," I reply, grinning, "That wasn't what I was going to say at all."

He laughs and wraps his arms around my waist, "I like you, Cars."

"I know," I say, pressing my lips lightly to his, "I like you, too."