A/N: This chapter was possibly the hardest I've ever had to write. There is a scene with Jake that is disturbing, so I wanted to warn you ahead of time. I couldn't write it in detail, because as it was, getting into Jake's head is difficult. My nature is the total opposite of his. The scene will be in bold, so you can skip over it if you need to. But I wrote it so you could understand what he is.
Maybe Someday
Chapter Five: Storytime and Sunsets
Cam whirled away from his console. "He's here?!" he yelped, his eyes full of worry and annoyance. "Why didn't you tell me this before now?!" He ran his fingers through his rapidly lengthening hair.
Hunter scowled, "Because I didn't know this before last night, that's why." Blake had been really supportive, and he realized that he probably should've told him before this. But, dealing with the task at hand required patience. Patience never had been a virtue of his, but he realized why Cam would be upset.
Heaving a sigh, Cam whirled back around to the console. "Okay, Hunter, I'm going to try and see if I can find anything out about where you were before you and Blake came to be with your current parents."
Hunter winced, "Dude, we think of them as our only parents. Not current. Although I don't really remember much about anything before them. At least, I didn't before." His face held pain, and Cam felt bad for causing him to think about it.
"Hunter, I didn't mean it that way. I know they were your Mom and Dad, but you had to be somewhere before then. I'm just going to get that information," he said, keeping his voice from being too nice. No need letting Hunter know about his feelings.
Hunter took a deep breath, "Yeah, I know you didn't. Okay, well, feel free to delve into my past." He gestured towards the computer, and then paused. "Wait, you can find stuff like that?"
Cam rolled his eyes. "What, do you think I just play with these things and know nothing about how to glean information? The internet makes it child's play." Rolling his shoulders, he got to work after getting Hunter's pertinent information.
A couple of hours later, he had what he needed. Man, I feel bad that Hunter lived with this kid, he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Hunter, I have it."
Hunter's head snapped up, his eyes cloudy with fatigue from lack of sleep. "What? What did you get?" He got up from his perch on the table, arching his back to get the kicks out. He didn't notice when Cam's eyes followed the movement.
"Well, you were living with a foster family. You biological parents …," he paused, "were in a car accident when you were around 3. You only went to one foster family before you were adopted by your parents. The foster family you were with had you until you were 8. Their names were James and Katherine Williams. They had one son, Jake Williams. He was 9 years older than you. Apparently, something happened and you broke your leg. At the emergency room, it says that you 'showed a reluctance to be touched by the male doctor'. So, they decided to do an exam, with a female, and they found, well, here you read it." Cam backed away from the computer, a bitter taste on the back of his tongue.
Hunter's hands were shaking as he read the facts. They had found old and new scars, surmised that he'd been sodomized, and had immediately found a counselor on the hospital's grounds, along with a social worker. In the report, they said he was reluctant to talk, even once his safety was assured. As he continued to read the report, the sick feeling in his stomach continued to grow worse, until he had to stop. He sat down hard in the chair that Cam had vacated, and stared at the floor with unseeing eyes.
I can't believe this. Why did it have to happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve it? Hunter asked himself, feeling hopeless, helpless, and ashamed. He felt like crying, but the tears just wouldn't come. He stood up quickly, and walked out of Ninja Ops, walking as fast as he could without jogging. On the way to his lake, he ran into Blake, who grabbed his arms before he could go further.
"Hey, bro, what happened? What did Cam find out?" he asked gently, trying not to agitate Hunter any more than he already was. With a comforting squeeze, he led his brother to sit down on the gravel, and listened to what the reports had said.
"I didn't read all of them, I just- I couldn't," Hunter replied, squirming as if he couldn't keep still. "In essence, I broke my leg when I was 8, wouldn't let the male doctor near me, and they found ...," he paused, wondering how to put it, "scar tissue, old and new. They sent me to a counselor and all this junk. I read the reports. I never said who it was. They investigated the family, but couldn't find anything until they checked Jake's school records, and found that he'd been known to be a bully. I stopped there. I got another memory. He used to kill animals, torture them. Frogs, rats, stray cats and dogs. I saw him a few times, and I think that was one of the only times I saw happiness on his face other than when he was r-raping me." He had a sick look on his face, and he was bone white.
Blake felt helpless, yet again. "What can I do, Hunter? What can I do?" he asked with desperation clear in his voice. His eyes had tears in them, and his lips were pulled tight to keep the emotions in.
Hunter looked at his brother closely, pushing his own feelings back, and said, "Bro, you're already doing everything humanly possible for me. Now, all I can do is deal. With the memories, with what happened. And unfortunately, the only way to do that is wait for them to come." I hope this helps him deal with this … development, he thought, realizing that it hurt his baby brother almost as much as it hurt him.
"I need to go back and finish it. And we have to find Jake, because he's dangerous. I just pray to all the gods in the sky that he hasn't hurt anyone else like he's hurt me," Hunter said decisively.
"You want me to go with you?" the navy thunder ranger asked nervously. His hands were clenched behind his back, his shoulders hunched as if he were protecting himself from an invisible blow.
Hunter took in his brother's body language effortlessly, and said softly, "No, it's alright bro. I might need you tonight, after I get done reading anything Cam can come up with." He straightened, taking a deep breath in, holding for a few seconds, and breathed back out slowly, imagining the tension draining out of him.
Time to go back to the slaughterhouse, he thought morosely, but refused to tense up before he even got there. When he got back inside Ninja Ops, Cam was halfway asleep with his chin in his hands. Hunter noticed the dark circles under the youth's eyes, and wondered why he didn't notice is before. It looks like he's not getting anymore sleep than I am. Hunter came to the realization that Cam probably was up trying to find things to help him most nights.
"Cam, dude, why don't you grab some shut-eye?" he asked in a clear voice, devoid of any emotion but the tiniest hint of concern making it's way through.
Cam jerked out of the trance-like state he'd been in. "I'm not tired," came the automatic response. When a yawn broke through right afterwards, Hunter had to fight not to snicker in amusement.
"Right. So I guess that means that you're Super Cam, and can go … however many nights you've gone, without a wink of sleep," the crimson ranger replied teasingly. Then he blinked in surprise. Am I flirting with Cam? What the hell is wrong with me? He's a guy! his mind brought to his attention. He could hear the "Well, duh!" that Tori would've interjected at that point, if she had known his thoughts.
While Hunter argued with himself, Cam looked at him with a worried expression. He's not gay. He's not gay, he repeated in his mind. But he tore his eyes from Hunter's quickly and looked down. "As soon as you're finished here," he said, not wanting to leave his friend alone with the reports, "I'll go to sleep." He figured that it was as good a deal as any, and hoped that Hunter wouldn't suspect his feelings, that he would chalk it up to friendship and worry over the situation.
Hunter nodded, and walked over to the console with trepidation in his every step. I hope to hell I can feel better about this … soon! he yelled in his mind, and sat down on the chair gingerly, as if he were afraid of breaking something … or that he himself would break down. Steeling himself with another deep breathing exercise, he spun the ball of the mouse and started again.
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Blake stopped at the beach, his eyes scanning the sand for Tori's towel and gear. When he spotted them, he walked over and plopped down on it, letting the sun soak away some of his tension. He hadn't spoken to his girlfriend (at least, he hoped she considered herself his girlfriend) about Hunter's situation yet, but he knew she was worried about all of them. The resident "Mother Hen" of the group, he thought with a smile, his eyes closed, not sensing Tori walking up to him until she sprinkled water on his upturned face. He flinches a little, the saltwater getting into his eyes, but grinned up at a mischievous looking Tori.
"So, what's up?" she asked as she lay down next to him on her side, her head supported by a hand. She shivered as he let his fingers trail softly up and down her inner arm, and blushed, smiling up at him, falling into his dark eyes.
"Huh?" she said, when she hadn't listened to a word he said. Noting the satisfied gleam in his eyes she blushed harder. In retaliation she leaned over and brushed her lips slowly over his cheek, firmly kissing him when she reached his lips, and then making her way softly along the other cheek.
Blake was blushing and turned on and he knew it. Worse was, Tori knew it too, and her blue eyes were dancing with attraction and laughter. "So, what's up?" she repeated amusedly.
Talk about a cold bucket of water in the fact, he thought wryly, and started on his explanation. "Hunter told me what was wrong last night. He was …," he paused, unable to say exactly what was wrong. I don't want to betray his confidence, he cried out in his mind. But I need to tell someone. I can't be alone in this knowledge.
Tori seemed to sense his struggle. "Blake, if you don't feel like you can tell me yet, you don't have to. If you do tell me, I can promise not to mention it to anyone. Ever, or until Hunter decides to tell me and anyone else himself. But you don't have to tell me. I won't push it," she wanted to reassure him as much as she could.
Blake smiled at her gratefully. "I do need to tell you, because I care about you, and because I can't tell Hunter some things. I don't want him to feel any worse than he already does." Taking a deep breath, he began.
"He came home last night in a panic. I mean, seriously wigging out. He just barged into my room and said he needed to talk to me. Apparently, he was," the navy ranger paused with a look of utter sickness on his face, "raped, by his older brother, before he came to be with Mom and Dad. He's been having dreams and, well, he calls them flashbacks when he's awake, of memories from that time. Cam hacked into the police records and the hospital records. Don't ask me how, because I'm not sure. He also got the counselor's report and the file from the adoption agency." He was puzzled over Cam's overwhelming concern for his brother, but dismissed it.
Tori felt tears gather behind her eyes, but didn't let them fall. "Rape sucks. It's a horrible experience," she said bitterly. When Blake looked at her with alarm, she said quickly, "No, I've never been raped, but my best friend from middle school…," she stopped, and sniffled, leaning into Blake when he kissed her forehead. She lay down the rest of the way on her back, her head resting on Blake's arm, and told her friend's story.
"Her name was Jenny, and she and I were both 13," she started, and felt a tear slip down her cheek. Blake kissed it away. "She was walking along the Harbor one night, after spending some time at my house. Her mom had called, and wanted her home, right then. So she went. I didn't even stop her. On her way there, there was a group of guys, in their 20s, who were vacationing in Blue Bay Harbor for a couple weeks. She didn't recognize any of them, she told me that when she was in the hospital. But no one was around. They grabbed at her and took her to the house they were renting, and they held her down there," by this time, Tori was practically sobbing. "They took turns raping her. They kept hitting her and hitting her in between turns, they even used a hammer, or something that could do damage, on her arms and legs, and it shattered her bones. Finally they threw her out of the house, down the steps. Someone found her around 5am, and took her to the hospital. Her mother was pissed off that Jenny hadn't made it home. Even more pissed that she was in the hospital. She screamed about how if Jenny wasn't "such a damn flirt", the guys wouldn't have raped her." The fury in Tori's eyes was palpable, and Blake kissed her forehead again, taking the hand that wasn't being used as a pillow and brushing softly over her face. "Jenny committed suicide a couple of days later, in the bathroom of her room in the hospital. I was the one who found her," the last sentence was said so quietly, Blake could barely hear it.
"Oh, Tor, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry baby," he whispered, feeling downright guilty for bringing back any bad memories in her. I could ask myself why she never told me, but I have a pretty good guess as to why, he thought.
"I could've killed her mother then. There was a small funeral, but I still go to her grave every year, on the anniversary of her death. I write something to her every year too," she said, calming down enough to smile a little. "I put it into a little bottle, and as I wait for a wave, I throw it as far as it'll go. I do it because she always loved the merpeople. She used to write little stories about them. I still have all of those." She wiped her tears away, and cuddled closer to Blake. "Thanks. For listening to me."
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Jake was sitting in his house, the same one he'd rented with his gang a few years earlier, drinking 3 fingers of brandy. Now in his late 20s, he was still as handsome as ever. His hair was curly, and his smile was crooked, giving him a boyish look when he smiled that belied his true nature. No one had ever suspected him in anything. He made good grades and was outgoing. He snickered coldly at peoples' inability to look beyond the surface. What idiots I live around, he thought, remembering the pretty young girl he and his friend's had had fun with a few years back. He looked at the small cage across the room, a puppy quivering in fear as he recognized the human looking at him as a predator. The scars on the puppy were long and horrendous. The bottom of the cage was covered in feces and urine. Jake fingered the hammer and grew hard at the thought of the pleasures that lay in store ahead, cackling as he thought, At least, pleasurable for me. He headed for the cage.
He opened the cage, and lifted the puppy out gently, not wanting to hurt him yet. He walked over to an examination table, although modified with special buckles to hold anything from animals to small children down. He rubbed himself through his jeans for a second, closing his eyes at the anticipation that drew a shiver down his spine. The puppy was trembling harder, the memory of the table terrorizing him. He tried to scratch at the human, but his grip was firm, and his poor nails were sheared off below the quick. Jake smiled brightly, shackled the puppy in place, and went to work with the hammer.
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It was nearing dusk when Shane and Dustin walked into Ninja Ops, laughing about a guy at the skate park who had boasted about his many abilities, and wasn't nearly as good as he thought. However, their laughter faded as they took in the strained silence between Cam, still seated on the table, and Hunter, sitting at the computer practically shuddering out of his skin. They could see the sheen of sweat on his pale fact, and immediately were on their guard.
"Guys, what's happened? Has someone kidnapped Sensei again?" Shane asked with concern evident in his voice. But somehow he knew that couldn't be it.
Cam sighed, and shook his head, "No, Dad's fine. He's somewhere around here, meditating." He turned to look at Hunter, "It's your call Hunter," and that said, he was quiet, his eyes belying the calm in his voice and posture.
Hunter closed his eyes and swiveled the chair to face them all. The sheen of sweat didn't stop at his face, but had encompassed his whole body, the telltale trails of wet showing on his shirt. It was as if he'd done something he was terrified of.
"Dude, what happened?" Dustin asked, his voice comforting in its familiarity. He sat down next to Cam on the table, but far enough away that he didn't crowd him. Shane leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his chest.
Hunter took another deep breath, hoping it would instill some tranquility, but after what he'd read, it didn't work. With his hands shaking, he jumped into the explanation. "I know that I've been pretty scarce, but it's just been really hard dealing with everything. I started having these nightmares a few weeks ago, and they just wouldn't stop. At one point, Cam woke me from one of them. I was freaking out. I told him because I felt he deserved the reason why I was in that condition. I was getting memories from before I came to be with Mom and Dad. From the foster parents who had me. Their son--" he stopped and cleared his throat, nervous about what he was about to say. "Their son raped me, from when I was 3 or so, to when I was 8. I broke a bone, and wouldn't let the doctor near me because he was a guy. That's when they figured out something was wrong. The rest is in the reports I just got finished reading." He wiped his palms on his shorts, and ran his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time.
Shane and Dustin were thunderstruck. They traded a horrified look that said, "Raped?!" But Dustin broke the silence. "I'm really sorry man. I-I don't really know what to say," he said honestly, and Hunter sent a half-smile his way.
"It's alright. What can anyone say? But there's something that happened last night that scared me shitless. Enough that I told Blake what'd been happening. And now I'm telling you, and here's why: Jake's here. In Blue Bay Harbor. I don't know where he's staying yet, but Cam said he'd try to find out." He cleared his throat, and stood. "I need to go home. I can't stay here right now, I'm sorry." And with that, he practically jogged out, headed for home.
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Tori and Blake had lain together on her towel, snuggled together, gaining comfort from the embrace, for an hour at the very least. The sun was setting, and they watched as the sky and clouds turned bright, beautiful colors.
"It gives me hope," Tori said gently, bringing a hand up to brush it through his hair, "to see something that beautiful. My mother says that sunset and sunrise are when God gets His paintbrushes out. That He painted the world He gave us with beautiful colors. The butterflies, the flowers, the rainbows symbolizing His promise, and sunset and sunrise. It gives me hope that the good things will balance out the bad. No matter how bad it is, when I look at the world around me, I can take comfort in the fact that every day is new. That I have friends who love me," she ended shyly, looked up at him from beneath her lashes.
Blake had his eyes closed for most of her litany, but his eyes opened wide when she uttered the last sentence. He looked down at her, saw her looking at him, and his smile was tender as he bent to kiss her. Their lips met with a kind of innocence, and when they parted, they went back to watching the beautiful sunset, because words weren't needed right then.
A/N: I thought I'd give you a lighter ending because of all the angst-filled and disturbing parts. This chapter was very hard on me. I was crying through some of it. I hope you liked this chapter. Please, please, please review! I need them. It helps to motivate me, especially when it comes to writing the next chapter. Blessed be, Chero