20 Questions

Chapter 114

Hunter

Of all the times that we have played this game, this is the most controversial and dangerous by far. I'm exposing a lifetime of catastrophe. I want to protect Jenna, shield her from all the ugly in my world, but she is involved whether I want her to be or not. In preparation for this discussion, we order room service and get things in order before we get everything else out in the open. Jenna reaches over to grab her phone, calling her parents and putting them on speakerphone so I can hear, too.

"Jenna Bear!" Rich answers excitedly. "How are my favorite son and daughter?"

"Jesus, Dad. You make it sound like incest when you put it like that. Don't be gross."

His laugh booms through the receiver and I hear Piper come over to tell him how idiotic he is. I love these people and it's no wonder Jenna turned out as incredible as she did.

"Sorry, baby girl," Piper says. "Your father has never been eloquent with his phrasing. Anyway, how is the honeymoon?"

"Everything is amazing. The weather is perfect, the food is delicious and there is so much to do here. Hunter and I are so appreciative of your all's wedding present. It means the absolute world to us."

"Rich, Piper, we really mean that. We can't thank you enough for all of this. It was exactly what we needed," I tell them.

"Aww, you're welcome," Rich says, his words falling from a smiling mouth I'm sure. "We are just so happy that you guys are happy. Just make us lots of grandbabies before you come back."

I look over at Jenna and her eyes are wide and a huge smile covers her face, making me laugh momentarily. Little do they know, that decision has already been made and will be in the works as soon as safely possible. I'm ecstatic about being a father and maybe even equally ecstatic about the conception part.

"Yeah, yeah," Jenna laughs. "You'll get your grandbabies when you get them. Well, we just wanted to call and check in. We will be back in a couple days. Can't wait to see you guys!"

"Only a couple more days of baby-making," Piper chirps. "You kids have lots of fun, if you know what I mean!"

"Good Lord, Pipes," Rich scoffs. "And you say I'm deranged. Anyway, you kids have fun and be safe. We love you."

We exchange our goodbyes just as the buzzer goes off, indicating that our room service has arrived. I retrieve our food and we have a picnic in the bed. I'm stalling, but I need a little more time to prepare before our games of twenty questions.

~

Two full bellies and four beers later, we sit across from each other, both wondering how this conversation should even start. Nothing is going to be easy about it, but I'm ready to get it over with and get everything out into the open. The only way we can move forward is if Jenna fully understands my past.

"You ready?" I ask and she nods nervously. "Ok, go ahead with your first question."

She ponders for a minute while I remove my shirt, wearing only my boxer briefs, and lay on my side. I prop up on my elbow and watch the wheels turning in her head.

"In the letter you showed me and the team, your father said something about you setting him up. What did he mean by that?"

Her first question didn't hold anything back.

"I told you that his last crime was when he mangled the customer's face at the body shop. That's true, but that wasn't the only thing that led to his conviction. I mean, it was the biggest thing, but it wasn't everything. The man whose face he mangled lived in the same trailer park as us. His name was Paul and although he wasn't the most honorable guy in the world, he always had a soft spot for me. He knew about my dad's aggression and my mom's addiction and would let me come over when the fights between my mom and dad got really physical. The day before the incident at the body shop, my father came home really drunk, as usual, and started roughing up my mom. I'd had a bad day at school already and was on edge. I'd had enough. My mom was in a good mood that day because she won a little money at Bingo and was making dinner. I was so excited because it had been a couple days since I had eaten. She had potatoes boiling on the stove and when my father came stumbling through the door, he started picking a fight with her. Unfortunately, this one got really physical. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her over to the stove while I screamed and begged for him to stop. I don't even remember what the fight was about that day because there were just too many arguments to keep track of. He called her a whore and said that whores deserve to be punished for their sins. He grabbed her hand and shoved it in the scalding hot water."