Aggressive Me, Passive You

Chapter Ten

EDITED

Chapter Ten - Getting To Know You Without Being Forced

Hunter and I studied for about thirty minutes—for real this time. We didn't talk about Elizabeth or racist stereotypes. We took our time studying. Hunter made studying seem bearable—I should have studied more often. He also explained my math homework to me thoroughly. He taught it better than the teacher himself. We were in the car and he was driving me to my house. I would say that we had a productive day. The car ride was silent. He didn't have music playing, but I did not mind for some reason. It was actually rather calming.

"Sometimes I like to ride with no music." Hunter broke the silence.

I rested my head against the window, staring out at the houses as we passed by. "Understandable."

I heard him chuckling from the driver's seat and I turned my head to give him a confused look. He looked so boyish and carefree, laughing at nothing in general. "What's funny?"

"You." He eyed me, then looked back at the road.

"How?"

"You always have so much to say. You're really quiet right now. It's uncanny. Are you alright?"

His tone detected that he was genuinely asking about me. He really wanted to know, and it had nothing to do with the Buddy Club. He wanted to know for himself. I could tell by the look in his eyes, like he was begging me to say something—anything—that would give him a glimpse into who I was as a person.

"I'm okay. This is peaceful." I stated. Part of me wanted to let him in, but the other half wanted to keep myself guarded.

My answer wasn't enough for him. I could tell, but he knew it was all he was going to get from me. So, he simply said, "yeah, it is."

The tension was starting to get too comfortable for me, so I instantly resorted to my sarcastic self. I really never let anyone see the soft side of me.

"Yeah, lil boy, now drive. Dang, I'm ready to go home." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That's the Aniya I've come to know." He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm driving too slow for you, I see."

"Old man." I mumbled.

"Who are you calling an old man?" He chuckled.

"You, now get to driving." I said.

This moment made me think of Hunter and his family. I didn't particularly know why, but my thoughts drifted to them. They seemed like the perfect family—very nice and well off for themselves. They seemed like they were very happy with each other and their lives. I longed for something like that—for it all to fit like a perfect piece in a puzzle. My mama and I always argued, and she never really asked me about myself or how my day was. I barely knew how to show affection because she never showed me any. All I knew was tough love and putting up a hard façade. I wondered what it was like to be loved so profoundly and openly. I wondered how it felt to be content. Then, it made me think about Hunter's dad. He was the only part of the puzzle that I did not see. I bet Carter took after him because Hunter sort of looked like his mom.

"Does Carter look just like your dad? You kinda look just like your mom." I absentmindedly said.

"Um, I guess. I would say so. He has blue eyes like him. We both get our curly hair from him. Mine is more wavy than curly, though."

"Was your dad at work?" I chuckled. "That's the only family member I didn't get to meet on this outing."

"I don't know." He spoke lowly. "He doesn't live with us. They're going through something."

"Oh, dang. I'm sorry." I instantly apologized for prying. Sometimes my curiosity got the best of me.

"Yeah, my dad cheated on my mom with her best friend." Hunter said after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" I furrowed my eyes, wondering why he said something like that so bluntly and to me of all people. I had only known him for a couple of days and he was telling me this. I felt somewhat honored by the fact that he was telling me this. It also made me feel bad because I wouldn't tell him anything about my personal life.

"They're getting a divorce, but Carter doesn't know yet. All he knows is that Dad hasn't been at home because he's so busy with work. I hate that my little brother has to grow up like this. I didn't have to. I hate the fact that my dad cheated, as if my mom was not good enough for him."

My eyes stared at the side of Hunter's face as he spoke each word with hurt behind them. He had opened up to me about something personal. To me—a troubled teenage girl who had family problems of her own, who he barely knew. He was supposed to 'get to know me' for the sake of The Buddy Club, but he was willingly telling me about himself and his family without it being staged. I knew the basics about him—the sports he played, the type of guy he was supposed to be, and the grades he made—but that's only because that's what The Buddy Club told him to say. I was getting the raw and unedited version of Hunter.

"I'm sorry," I said again, "you ain't gotta tell me anythin' about it. Not if you don't want to."

"No," he raised his quiet voice to normal. "This is good, talking about it I mean. I haven't talked about it since my mom told me what happened. I want to tell you more about it and I will because this is a huge weight off my shoulders."

Then he started telling me the story from the beginning.

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