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“Hunter, you’re really scaring me.”
Hunter sniffed and then said, “You said I should call you if…if I felt like I was going to…”
Anxiety coursed through Roman as he realized what Hunter was trying to tell him. “I’m so glad you did, baby…I’m really proud of you,” Roman said gently as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up so he could move around as he talked. “Take a few deep breaths for me, okay?”
But instead of doing as he asked, he heard Hunter start to cry. “I didn’t want you to ever see this part of me again,” he managed to get out between shaky breaths.
“Hunter, remember what I told you that day at the hot springs?”
Hunter was quiet for a moment before saying, “Good and bad.”
“Good and bad,” Roman repeated softly. “Now can you take a few deep breaths for me?”
“Yeah,” Hunter said and there was a long silence as Roman waited impatiently and cursed the distance between them. Even if he called Gray and Luke, it would take them an hour to get to Hunter. And if he called the police, Hunter could very well end up locked away in some mental hospital on a psychiatric hold until he was no longer deemed a danger to himself.
“That’s good, now do three more.”
Hunter’s voice sounded a little bit steadier as he said, “Okay.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Um…I was thinking about tomorrow and I started getting nervous about what the doctor was going to ask me.”
Hunter’s first appointment with his new therapist was scheduled for the next day and although he’d expressed some anxiety about it when he and Roman had talked earlier, he also seemed eager to get it behind him.
“I started worrying that if I told him about hurting myself that he was going to say I was crazy and that maybe he’d have to put me in a hospital or something. What if he calls my parents, Roman? Can he…can he make it so they get to say what happens to me again?”
“No, baby, he’s not going to do that,” Roman said, though in truth, he had no clue. “I won’t let it happen, no matter what, okay?”
“My dad…he knows lots of people…”
“Hunter, I guarantee you, I know more. No one’s going to lock you up and your father is never getting near you again, do you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Hunter whispered.
Roman’s insides clenched as the helplessness snaked throughout his entire body. He could feel tears stinging his eyes and so it was more for himself than for Hunter when he said, “Baby, please let me see you.”
Hunter was silent for a long time and then his phone beeped and switched over to the video screen. He hit the button and smiled when Hunter’s tear-stained face came into view. “Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi,” Hunter responded, his eyes still watery as he wiped at his flushed face. Roman could tell by the tile at Hunter’s back that he was likely sitting in the bathroom, somewhere near the shower.
“What time’s your appointment?” Roman asked.
“Nine.”
“I’m coming home, okay,” Roman said as he began to run through the list of things he would need to do to get back in time. It would be tight but he knew enough people to get his plane readied, have a flight plan filed and deal with customs quickly enough so that he could get back to Missoula by morning.
“No, Roman, don’t,” Hunter said, his voice a little bit more even. “I need to be able to do this on my own.”
Roman sighed and went to sit down on the edge of the bed. “I could ask Luke or Gray to meet you…drive you there and back.”
Hunter smiled and shook his head. “It’s on campus in the health center – I’ll probably walk there.” Hunter wiped at his face again and then said, “Thank you, Roman. I feel better. I should let you get back to sleep.”
“Actually, I have to be up in an hour anyway so I’m thinking maybe you should keep me company for a bit,” Roman said as he settled back against the headboard.
“Okay,” Hunter murmured as he got up. The phone tilted a bit as Hunter moved but then settled again and Roman could tell Hunter had moved to his bed. That in itself was a relief. “What should we talk about?” Hunter asked.
Roman thought for a moment and then said, “What are you wearing?”
