Flashback- Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show.

Rated: PG-13

Summary: Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does.

Author's Note: This is my first PR fic, bear with me here!

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            "I just stood there and let him hit me," I said barely above a whisper, "I don't know why I did it. Usually I showed resistance, which made him back-off surprisingly. But he saw that I wasn't going to stop him from doing anything so he hit me harder, lashed me faster, almost daring me to fight back. The only thing I asked him was where my mom was…"

            "And where was she?"

            "Unconscious in the closet," I stopped, feeling tears rush to my eyes as Hunter audibly gasped, "I found her there later. My dad beat me for a solid half hour and I just let him. I was just so tired of it, Hunter. I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted all the pain to go away," my tears were flowing freely now.

            Hunter reached out and touched my shoulder comfortingly, "What did you do next?"

            "After he passed out on the floor, I crawled to the phone. I was all bloody and I was in so much physical and emotional pain. I'd already memorized the number Chloe sent me. I'd looked it over so many times before and my hand had hovered over the phone more times than I can count. But I'd always been afraid. That day, though, I just wanted it to go away. I wanted to be happy again, like I used to be. So I called and within fifteen minutes, they arrived at my house and rang the doorbell. I couldn't find the strength to get up and open it myself, I was so drained. They had to bang down the door and from the way my house looked, they knew I wasn't lying when I told them I needed help. They took him away and found my mother in the closet. We were taken to the hospital to get treated and luckily, we'd both be okay. That's how I remember my 18th birthday. That's why I wasn't in school and that's why I cancelled my own birthday party."

            "We thought you were sick!"

            "That's what you were supposed to think."

            "But Dustin…why didn't you say anything?"

            "I didn't want you guys to know," I told him truthfully, "I was afraid that you'd all pity me. I didn't want any of your pity and I didn't want it to be a big deal around school."

            "We wouldn't pity you."

            "You would and you know it."

            "But your 18th birthday…"

            "And every birthday from now on," I nodded grimly. I was apprehensive at first because I wasn't sure how Hunter would take it, but in the end, I was definitely glad that someone knew about it.

            "We thought all those bruises came from the bikes."

            I laughed bitterly, "Yeah, it was always easy to hide what was going on. All I had to do was say 'motocross' and be dumb."

            Hunter didn't say anything because he knew it was true. Now that he knew the whole story, he knew that everything I had been from the time that he'd met me up until that day had been entirely an act. At least he didn't try to reassure me that everything was going to be okay. He knew. He'd been in my shoes once, except there had been no abuse.

            "I remember what I felt like when I found out that I was adopted," he said quietly, "And I remember what I felt like the night of my foster parents' deaths. I was sad and bitter at the same time."

            "Me too," I said in response, "Sad because I lost my childhood hero and bitter because he was, and still is, the biggest mother fucker I have ever known."

            "Sad because I lost my only parents, a part of myself. Bitter because it wasn't just some accident." That's when I realized that Hunter and I, we weren't as different as I'd always thought we were. Ever since the day I'd met him, I thought that I liked Blake a lot better because he was just happier. But as I sat on the counter at Storm Chargers, spilling out all my personal experiences, I knew that Hunter and I had so much in common yet we were so different.

            "Hey Hunter?" I said quietly as we closed up the shop by ourselves.

            "Yeah?"

            "Maybe you wouldn't. But everyone else would." And he knew what I meant, thinking back to our conversation earlier.

            Hunter and I walked home again since Blake left early, probably to get away from me. I knew that my acting was wearing thin; that everyone didn't like being around me because I was so brooding and dark. It didn't matter anymore and I really didn't care much either.

            "So you like Chloe?" I asked Hunter, trying to move to a more optimistic topic.

            Hunter blushed, "Yeah I like her, she's really cool; a lot like you."

            I rolled my eyes, "No I meant do you like her?"

            He was silent.

            "You do!"

            "I never said that!" Hunter threw back in defense.

            "You definitely do! When you don't answer like that, you do!"

            "And how would you know?"

            "Because everyone knows that!"

            Hunter laughed, "You're smarter than I give you credit for, Dustin."
            I rolled my eyes, "You wouldn't believe how many times I get that one in school."

            "Why? Teachers think you're stupid?"

            "You're changing the topic," I protested, "So do you like my sister or not?!"

            Hunter just shrugged. I hit him lightly before we were engulfed in silence again. Before we split and went our own ways, I turned to Hunter.

            "You can ask her out, you know. You don't need to worry about me, like, hunting you down or anything."

            Hunter just blushed lightly, "See you later, man."

            I laughed, "Dude, she's streaking her hair tonight. Green, I think," I paused before turning serious, "You won't tell will you?" I was referring to my secret.

            "No, of course not," he looked at me like I was crazy. What? I just wanted to make sure.

            "See you later." We parted and I headed in the direction of home. I hoped my mom wasn't at work again. She worked herself way too hard. Did she think I got a job at Storm Chargers for no reason? When I opened the door of my house, I heard laughing coming from the bathroom. I smiled at the sound, dropping my bag lightly to the ground. Laughing. It was a foreign sound in the Brooks household, but I could definitely get used to it.

            "What are you crazy ladies doing?" I poked my head into the bathroom to find Chloe and our mom streaking Chloe's hair.

            "Hey Dustin," Chloe smiled widely, "I'm not doing it chestnut brown. I refuse to be normal!"

            I just rolled my eyes, "You'll just ruin your hair like that, but whatever."

            "Hey sweetie," my mom laughed happily, "How was your day?" I hadn't heard her so happy since I was ten and our father was still normal.

            "It was…interesting."

            "Chloe says she likes it at BBH."

            My sister nodded for emphasis, "Yeah. I'm different there, which I kind of like," she giggled at my face. I must have looked incredibly shocked. Chloe shifted her position, "I know most of the kids don't like me very much, but that's okay because I'm just around to learn. It's so much more relaxed in public school and I like that. I feel like an individual."

            I opted not to tell her about the little run-in with my best friend, the football player that afternoon.

            "Dustin, what happened to your eye?!" my mom asked, concerned. Oh shit.

            "I fell off my bike and after that, I was a little dizzy," I concocted a little story so that they wouldn't have to know about what really happened, "And I accidentally walked smack into a pole. You know me, always clumsy." Both my mom and Chloe burst out laughing and I relaxed, knowing that they'd bought my story.

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            As the days passed, I worried about Chloe getting into trouble with some of the jocks at school. I knew they didn't exactly like her very much. My friends, with the exception of Hunter, kept getting meaner and meaner to her. At first I took Hunter's advice and I didn't let it get to me that much, but I started to lose hope. They would never come around and look past the cover. So what if Chloe changed her hair color a few times a year? So what if she was different? She was still a good person. I just wished they could see that too.

            Sometimes, I'd see her and Hunter in the hallways and I'd smile. At least she had a friend in him, maybe more. Though I would never ever admit it to anyone else, I secretly hoped that Hunter and Chloe would get together. Maybe it would be what both of them needed to ease the pain they were going through. Chloe wasn't happy when she found out about what happened to me and our mother. Maybe everything would be okay if they got together, I'd think. But then I'd see the rest of our "friends" and they gave Hunter the dirtiest look of all dirty looks and my heart would sink again. Maybe not.

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