Come for Me

Chapter 5

Hunter stood back stage, hair and makeup done but not with her outfit on yet. She wore headphones connected to her phone and spoke to someone.

"Yeah...yeah...We're good...How's Elijah?...Yeah...Yeah, I was worried about him...Are you going to keep letting him see his dad?...I know, I just don't like it...Does he still go to Youth Group?...That's good."

Chris notices Hunter's stress.

"How are his grades?...Dammit, Elijah. Well, if he's having any trouble, tell him to call me and ask for help. I was a straight A student, I can help him...How's his girlfriend?...What?!...Oh my God..." Hunter says before pulling her hair, "Does he know he can call me if he needs to?...Yeah...What's that supposed to mean?...Well, yeah, I understand what it's like to be in her shoes...Can we not do this right now? I have a show to do...Yeah...Okay...Love you too, Mom."

Hunter hangs up the phone and sighs.

"You okay?" Chris asks.

Hunter looks up at him in surprise, then speaks, "Oh. Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

Hunter sighs again, "No."

"What's wrong?"

"My mom is letting my brother go to his dad's house in Chicago on the weekends for the first time since his dad got out of prison a couple years ago."

"Isn't that kind of a good thing though?"

"It would be if my brother's dad, or he-who-shall-not-be-named as you know him, weren't such a monster. Under other circumstances, I would be all for giving newly freed prisoners another chance to get their lives back to together. He does not deserve another chance." Hunter spits before continuing, "Anyway, my brother, Elijah, hasn't been doing so well lately. Part of it is he's the youngest of the kids on my mom's side so he's kind of lonely with the rest of his siblings moved out. He gets made fun of at school for being Hunter DeMonic's brother. He's flunking geomety and his girlfriend broke up with him because she wants to try dating girls. And given the fact that my family is extremely Christian, no one is particularly happy about that part."

"What's your standpoint on it?"

"Well, I feel bad that my brother doesn't have a girlfriend anymore, but I know what it's like to be confused about your sexuality. I knew I was bi when I was fourteen but didn't come out until I was twenty-one, and a lot of things started changing when I started bringing girls home to my family that is, as I said, extremely Christian. My dad and stepmom were fine with it because my dad is Satanist - don't ask - but my mom's side of the family took a bit longer to crack...Anyway, there's just been a lot going on."

"I thought you said you were religious too." Chris points out.

"I am. And I'm firm to the things I believe in. But it really is unfair that those beliefs are supposed to be against my sexuality."

"I can imagine."

"And Mara is pan so everyone was like 'Why don't you just date her?' Because that's not how that works. Mara's like my sister...well, maybe I shouldn't say that because I have slept with her, but that's a story for another time. Plus, I like a girl with some meat on her bones and even though I love Mara to death, she may as well be a veggie burger."

Chris laughs, then continues, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You sure? It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now."

"I'll be okay, really. My family is supportive, it's just hard sometimes..."

"Well, as long as you don't get any shit from your band mates."