Shawn Hunter woke up on the carpet of the family trailer, a clean pair of men's shoes in front of his face. His eyes traveled up the man's legs and torso until he reached the concerned expression of Mr. Matthews.
"What the…" Shawn groggily remembered that he made a point never to swear in front of either of Cory's parents, and his voice trailed off. He then remembered that Mr. Matthews was supposed to pick him up to visit Mr. Turner in the hospital.
"Are either of your parents here?"
"Um…Dad should be in my room, and Mom's…" After the events of the previous night, he suspected his mother was clear of Montgomery County by now. "…I'm not sure where Mom is."
Shawn stood up slowly and painfully. It was clear to Alan that he was nursing an assortment of fresh bruises to complement his black eye.
"What happened?"
Shawn instinctively knew what he meant and scrambled for a lie. "I, uh, ran into a door."
"Was the door's name Chet Hunter by any chance?"
"I, er…"
"Why don't you grab some clothes and we'll get you some breakfast."
"Thanks."
The car ride started out silently except for Mr. Matthews' Otis Redding tape. Finally, Mr. Matthews turned to Shawn.
"Look, I don't know if it's a good idea for you to see Mr. Turner today."
"Why not?"
"You're working on a pretty good shiner there. I don't want Mr. Turner to see it and get upset."
Shawn nodded agreement and Mr. Matthews attempted to change the subject. "Hey, Cory told me about your report card. Straight A's, huh. You must have really put in the effort."
"Well, I learned French from that time our TV got stuck on channel four, so that one doesn't count."
"Still."
An uncomfortable silence later, they pulled in to the Matthews' driveway. Alan warned Morgan not to mention the black eye while Shawn was in the shower, and by the end of breakfast, he was back to his usual self.