“And the pain inside started to build again,” Roman offered gently.
Hunter nodded. “I knew it was wrong and I tried for a really long time not to do it again but then I’d start to think about Finn and the way he looked at me when I said what I said about him…” Hunter swallowed hard.
“Did you ever try to talk to him after that night?”
Shaking his head, Hunter said, “I left town the next morning. My dad…he sent me to stay with this pastor friend of his who ran a youth group. I didn’t realize what it was at first…”
Roman tensed as he realized the direction Hunter was headed in.
“Most of the first day was just about studying all these bible passages. Then the pastor brought in all these guys and girls who were supposed success stories and they started telling us how they’d found their way back to the light after being tempted to sin by the devil.”
“It was one of those ‘pray the gay away’ places,” Roman said softly.
Hunter nodded.
“I don’t understand. Why did your dad send you there if he believed your lie about Finn assaulting you?”
“I thought my dad would just kick Finn out of the party and tell him to stay away from me. But then he called the cops. While they were questioning Finn, I pulled my dad aside and tried to tell him that maybe it had all just been a misunderstanding…that maybe I’d accidentally sent Finn some kind of signal or something. I thought he’d just let it go. But he just told me to go in the house. Once everyone was gone, he came into my room and started yelling at me about sending out gay signals. Then he started asking me if it was because I was a queer. He got in my face and started asking me that over and over again so I told him I’d said that stuff about it being a misunderstanding because I was embarrassed for people to know a fag had touched me. That seemed to calm him down but he sent me to that place anyway. I was only there about a week because my dad pulled me out early so I could spend the rest of the summer interning for a friend of his who worked for the governor.”
“Did you come home at all after that?”
Hunter shook his head. “I was too ashamed. I cut myself off from everyone so I wouldn’t have to be reminded of what I’d done, especially because so many of them believed my lie.” Hunter’s eyes lifted to meet his. “I didn’t…I didn’t know things had gotten so bad for Finn or his boss. I figured it would all just blow over.” Hunter dashed at his eyes. “Luke said…he said Finn was with that guy and his boss, right?”
Roman nodded.
“You think he’s happy?” Hunter asked quietly. “I mean, he looked really happy talking to that guy…Rhys…before he saw me, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, I think he is. And if this is anything to go by,” – Roman gently brushed his thumb beneath the wound on Hunter’s cheek – “I think Rhys really cares about him.”
Hunter nodded and then closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Roman.”
“Sorry for what?” Roman asked.
“That I wasn’t more…” Hunter murmured as sleep began to claim him.
“More what?” Roman whispered.
“Just more.”
Chapter Six
“Where is he?” Roman nearly yelled as he hurried past Gray who was clearing dishes off the kitchen table.
“Relax,” Gray said. “He’s out in the shed with Luke,” Gray explained as he came up behind Roman in the living room and handed him a full cup of coffee. Relieved, Roman took the mug and set it down on the table next to the couch so he could finish buttoning up his shirt which he’d barely remembered to yank on shortly after waking up in the guest room by himself.
“What are they doing out there?” he asked as he tried to settle his nerves enough to work the buttons through holes that suddenly seemed too small. His first thought was that Hunter had taken off on foot down the mountain and images of his broken body laying bloodied and battered after being mauled by some wild animal or falling down a ravine had tormented him in the few long seconds it had taken him to climb out of bed and drag on his pants. Then he’d seen the closed bathroom door and he’d panicked at the thought of opening it to find Hunter lying in a pool of bloody water.
“Hunter was asking about the bookshelf,” Gray said as he motioned to the custom bookshelf Luke had made for Gray. It was a truly beautiful piece of furniture with several white birch trees making up the back and sides of the bookcase. “Luke’s been playing around with the idea of trying to make more furniture so he took Hunter out there to show him some of his tools and stuff.”