Mine *don't read: being rewritten*

Chapter Thirty-One

Hunter's POV

"So, Sam's pissed at me," Riley tells me as she walks back into the room. I already know the reason, so I don't ask her why. I just open my arms for a hug, and she accepts, sitting down next to me and wrapping her arms around my torso.

"It's not your fault." I shrug.

She nods. "I guess not."

"Sissy," Bryce says, coming into the room, "why is Sammie sad?"

Riley sighs. "Bryce," she starts to sit up, "do you remember Daddy?"

"No," he says, sitting by her.

"Well, Daddy left a few years ago, and now he wants to come back. And Sammie isn't very happy about it," Riley explains slowly, leaving out any of the details.

"Does that mean Hunter won't be like my daddy anymore?" He asks, his blue eyes wide.

"No, but he'll still play with you like he does now."

"Yeah, buddy. That won't change." I pick Bryce up and sit him in my lap.

"Good." He nods, seeming like he's happy with the arrangement that is to come. But he's five. He has questions. "So, you'll still come over a lot, right?" He looks up at me.

"Yeah, if your Dad is okay with it," then I add, quieter, "or if he likes me."

"Of course he'll like you! He'll have to like you. Everyone likes you." I laugh at the little boy, and ruffle his hair.

We sit for a little bit, and Riley clearly isn't happy that Sam's mad. So, I start to stand. "I'll go talk to her, okay?"

"Okay," she says weakly.

~

"Sammie?" I knock lightly on her door.

"Hold on a second." Her voice shakes as she says it. She must be crying; she has the same tells as Riley. I hear her sniffle, then she blows her nose. It sounds like she's throwing something away. Then, "Come in."

I open the door and see her laying on her bed on her stomach, her chin is resting on one of her hands as she reads a textbook. Her eyes are red and puffy, but I don't say anything.

"I just really hate him." She doesn't look up at me. I close the door, and lean up against it. "He hurt Riley. A lot. And, for whatever reason, she's forgetting that and not thinking about it."

"I don't think she's forgetting it." I shrug.

"You're just taking her side because she's your girlfriend." Sam rolls her eyes.

"Not exactly. I felt a lot of hatred toward him when he was talking to Riley, because I know how much he's hurt her. I've seen and heard it all." Now, she looks up at me. "But, Sam, I don't think you understand how much easier it'd be on Riley, and you. You aren't grown up yet. You still need a dad. And so does Bryce."

"You didn't see her when it was really happening. She refused to eat. My mom, she tried everything. Most of the time, she could barely get her to eat a few bites. Sometimes, she just wouldn't leave her room. She just got so little. When my mom finally got her to eat, the cutting started." Sam pauses for a moment.

"I-I was the first to find out. Not because I saw her sleeve riding up. I walked in on her." Her voice cracks.

I move her book and sit down. "Hunter, there was blood everywhere. I still don't understand how she didn't die." A tear slides down her cheek. "When I walked in, she just started crying."

"What if she does that again? What if he freaks out again and just leaves? If that happens again, there's no one who's always going to be here to make her eat. To make sure she doesn't cut. Because if he leaves again, she'll react the same way." Sam chokes back a sob.