High Fidelity

3. for Hunter

Wilson James Taylor                                                                            Present Day

So, I kept in touch with Anna. In fact, I spent the night with her that night. She said she was scared of that man coming back to hurt her.

When I asked if she wanted to find her thirteen-year-old brother, she said no. His name is Hunter, I learned. 

Anna also was an alcoholic, she blamed her line of work. At first, when she said she was a dancer, I thought she was like an actual dancer who does choreography. No, she's a stripper who goes by "Star."

I tried not to judge her, but I felt like I was led into something I wasn't ready for. However, I made a promise. Only, Hunter didn't come around for a few weeks so I didn't bother Anna after she went back to the clubs.

A month later, she texted me from a new number saying Hunter was at her door. I left work to help her out. I mean, I didn't know the first thing about being the best older sibling, but I wanted to make up for what Levi and I missed out on. Levi and I were never on the same sports teams and when he did try out, he was constantly compared to me. Also, Levi couldn't be himself as he had to hide in the closet. I guess I didn't want Hunter feeling unwanted, like my little brother, so whatever it took to help, right?

As much time as I spent with Anna, I didn't feel like I was getting to know her. Her drinking was becoming a bigger problem. Drunk nights led to physical fights with Hunter which made him run away. One night, I was on my way to see Anna and at the last light before her community, I saw  a kid sitting in the road. It was Hunter. He showed me bruises from his sister and recalled the details. He said when she got drunk sometimes, she'd tell him she wished she never had him. We were both confused at that. When I asked Anna about it, she said she has no idea why that would come out of her mouth.

I gave Hunter an old iPhone I had so he could get on apps, play games, and text like a normal pre-teen. He hugged me for the first time that day in the couple months I'd known him. That's the day he said I'm the big brother he never had.

On days when Anna was sober, I would catch her just staring at Hunter as he just existed. She would even get emotional. More than once, she vowed to be better to him, but it never lasted long.

Six months in, Anna told me she loved me. She said what I was doing for her brother was admirable. We all watched anime one night after pizza. When Hunter was asleep, Anna asked me to stay because she was scared that a clingy client was following her home. I stayed and slept on the couch of her two bedroom home, Hunter in the other room. I was half-asleep when I felt Anna get on top of my body. She was naked and told me not to turn her down this time. Before when she came onto me, I used every excuse in the book. Once I told her no because she's five years older than me and I said I wasn't mature enough but she claimed I was more man than anyone else she'd been with. And Anna is attractive, plus I'd gone way too long without getting laid. After that it became a regular thing. I wanted it to be casual, no strings, but when I wanted to end things, her drinking got worse. I told her I'd leave if she didn't stop. Actually, I did leave once, for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, that meant leaving Hunter. He would call and text me nonstop, angry I left him with a raging alcoholic. That's the only reason I went back - for Hunter. By then I was trapped. 

Anna refused rehab and wanted to quit cold turkey when I demanded she stop drinking again. By some miracle, it worked, or she cut back at least. She's been clean since then and I was so proud I let myself get into a relationship with her. No, she wouldn't meet my parents, but I liked how she was when we were together. Not to mention how much I've come to love Hunter in the past year like he was blood. So much so that I took him with me on jobs and on weekends, he accompanied me to games and workouts.

It's funny, we're like a little family.