Page 20 of One of Our Own

He froze after he said it. Afraid he was going to get into trouble. It was one of the worst things he’d ever done—said a swear word. Big trouble in his mind, and he was a rule follower. But I’d just burst out laughing because of how strange it sounded coming out of his mouth and because he was right: I was being ridiculous. Relief had swept his face and he started laughing along with me. We’d been laughing about it ever since. “You worry too damn much” had become one of our favorite inside jokes.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m not worried about the fight, that’s between you and Shai, I’m just glad it’s resolved,” I said. “I want to know what happened while you were at the party.”

He raised his eyebrows. Tucked his hands into his hoodie. “What do you mean?”

I cocked my head to the side. Did he really not know what I was talking about? I asked directly. “Weren’t the police at your school today?”

He balked. Hesitated. “The police were at my school?”

I nodded. “Yes. I heard they were interviewing kids about the party at Jett’s.”

A confused expression crossed his face along with something else—something I couldn’t quite make sense of, but it quickly passed. “I didn’t see any police on campus. I don’t understand. What happened?”

“You haven’t heard?” I probed his eyes, searching for clues, but I’d lost the ability to read them. He felt like a stranger in that moment. It made me dizzy. I scooted forward on the couch and planted my feet firmly on the ground like that would steady my insides. “A girl named Chloe Danes was assaulted at that party, and a group of boys recorded her afterward. She just went to the police and filed charges. Her dad is determined to find out who did it. I heard the police were at the school today, interviewing kids who were at the party. I figured since you were there, they might have interviewed you…”

“Who told you that?”

“Told me what? About the assault? It was on the news.”

He scowled at me and shook his head. “No, that the police were at the school today.”

That struck me as an odd question. What did it matter? “My friend Stan. We’d been talking about it.”

“You talked about it before they went there? But how did you know?”

These weren’t any of the questions I’d expected. Suddenly, I felt likeIwas being interrogated, and I didn’t know why. “We met for drinks last weekend, and he mentioned something about it.”

Hunter stared back at me like he was trying to decide whether or not he believed my story. I was a terrible liar, always had been, so the truth was probably written all over my face. But he didn’t press any further. Was he angry? Why on earth was he reacting this way?

I gave him my most serious face. “Hunter, if you knowanything about what happened to Chloe or the video, I need you to tell me.”

“I don’t know anything about what happened, but I can tell you this”—his scowl quickly faded into a cocky grin I’d never seen—“Chloe really likes to party.”

“You know her?” I asked, trying to pretend I wasn’t horrified by his response.

He snorted. “Of course I know Chloe. Everyone does. She’s one ofthosegirls.”

“Hunter!”

“Sorry, Mom, but she is. Chloe is always partying. She’s all over that scene. And the other thing about Chloe you probably don’t know? She loves attention. You should see her Instagram. Go look at it. You’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she made this entire thing up for attention, to get everyone talking about her.”

I wanted to slap the words out of his mouth. I remembered our first conversation—how young and lost she sounded, explaining that she didn’t even drink. I spoke through gritted teeth, “Even if shelikes to party,that doesn’t mean she deserved for such a horrible thing to happen to her. I can’t believe you’d say something like that. Have some compassion!”

He casually shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal, but I was horrified. “I’m sorry, Mom, but it is what it is. You have no idea what girls are like these days. They’ll do anything for attention. And the video? She’s probably the one that posted it.”

“Are you serious right now?” I shook my head. I was disgusted with him, and I’d never been disgusted with him before. “I can tell you this—there is absolutely no way she posted that video of herself. It’s degrading and awful.”

“You’ve seen the video? How’d you see the video?”

“I didn’t, but there was a piece about it on the news this morning, and that’s what her dad said.”

“The news?”

“Yes, Chloe’s dad went on the morning show to ask for help in finding her attackers. They’ve created a tip line and a reward for anyone that provides information leading to their arrest.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Hunter,” I admonished again. “Don’t act like that. This is very serious. A crime has been committed.”

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