There was a feeling of nervousness bubbling in Frankie. Like a large weight on her shoulders was weighing heavier than before. She was about to tell her brother something that would undoubtedly change how he viewed their dad, or maybe (and this is what Frankie feared) he wouldn’t believe her when she told him. That he would question it, and make Frankie seem like she had done something to deserve it. Maybe that’s why she’d confessed to Miles first, because Miles would understand while Hunter had never seen a truly terrible side of their father so he was always questioning things. Or maybe that’s why Frankie had been so hesitant to tell anyone in the first place. She didn’t want to be blamed for it, even though all these years she’d been blaming herself for what happened. When Hunter sat down on the bed, Frankie stood in the doorway. Maybe if she let him ramble about whatever it was he was (the size of the room) it would give her enough time to work up the courage to say what it was she needed to say. While she heard what Hunter was saying, Frankie wasn’t really listening. He sounded pretty far away, but in the time he spoke she’d closed the door to the room quietly and made her way over to the other edge of the bed. Curling up, Frankie grabbed her old teddy bear stuffed animal and toyed with the toy’s ear, glancing up at Hunter through her eyelashes. She couldn’t even make eye contact with him. When he finally finished and asked her to speak, Frankie sighed softly and licked her lips. Now or never, she guessed. “Thanksgiving wasn’t the first time dad hit me.” she spoke quietly and tentatively, clearly worried about Hunter’s reaction. “The first time he hit me I was five. He slapped me and I landed on the corner of the coffee table and got a black eye that mom covered up.” Frankie continued, looking up at Hunter now, studying his face for a reaction. She herself was tearing up at telling her brother this, the slightest hint of reliving the memories made her ache and made all the scars (visible and not) burn. “And there are…a lot more stories like that one. And worse.”
All Hunter could do was stare at his sister. He wasn’t entirely sure what to say, her words stealing both his line of thought and the air from his lungs. How was one supposed to react after finding out the man they idolized for years was an abusive asshole? Anger, of course, was the first emotion Hunter felt towards the confession, but more prominent than the rage was a wave of sadness. Sadness over how he had been blind towards everything going on in his own home. Sadness towards his mother for covering everything up and failing to get her children out of such a toxic household. Sadness over how his twin, the person he was closest to in the entire world, had suffered in silence for so long. Still not able to say anything, Hunter brought his head down to rest in his hands, unable to look at Frankie. He just needed to calm down, it’d be okay. The attempt at self-comfort failed, though, and only fastened the sudden pounding in his head. Gathering whatever confidence he had left, Hunter raised his head and finally made eye contact with Frankie. “I... I don’t know what to say.” He admitted, hating that he was suddenly overcome with emotion. Anyone who knew Hunter knew that he was not an emotional person and often hid everything he felt behind a cold mask, but this wasn’t something that he could just brush off and pretend didn’t exist. Their mother may have been fine with turning a blind eye to the situation, but he wasn’t. No matter how badly he wanted to believe that all of Frankie’s injuries were nothing more than accidents and that their father hadn’t laid a finger on her, he knew he had to face the truth. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I could have helped you, he thought bitterly to himself. Even if their father had the money and power to make people shut up and mind their own business, they could have spoken to a school counselor and gotten things worked out behind the scenes. Then again, maybe that was just wishful thinking on his behalf. “Does Miles know?” Was it some big secret that the whole family was in on? “Why would he hurt you? It doesn’t make sense... ” Save for some scoldings about how his video gaming habit was ridiculous and how he needed to stop trying to get out of certain classes, Hunter hadn’t once seen a mean and abusive side of their father.. “Not that I don’t believe you, I do, but I’m confused.” And disappointed, but that wasn’t important at the moment.