The Secrets We Keep

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Receiving a phone call from the deputy principal of the school had not improved Hunter’s mood, being told about the incident between Mason and Leo had his mood descending into seriously dark territory and then hearing Mason was to be suspended for a week was the icing on the cake. Here they were, Mason sitting motionless in the passenger seat while Hunter drove home from school. Mason needed help, he saw that now, but he doubted he was the best person for that job, given his abject failure at most things in his personal life. Surely his son needed help from someone less crippled by their shortcomings. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever smacked Mason, he doubted it but there had been periods of time out, a lot of those in fact. There had also been periods of being grounded. Mason was prone to making rash decisions, he was prone to pushing people until they pushed back and then he didn’t like it. He had no idea where that sweet boy who would climb up on his knee, wrap his arms around his neck and whisper “I love you daddy” in his ear, had gone. Recently he had begun to wonder if that little boy had ever existed and he had also started to worry that whatever mental health demons Nina had, were genetic with Mason being the beneficiary all of them in his DNA.

“Am I grounded,” Mason grumbled when they were out of the car.

“Grounded? No, you’re going to work your f*****g arse off, you’re going to keep up with your schoolwork which will be sent to you online as per Mr Lancaster’s order, and you will submit the work to Mr Lancaster each day.”

“How am I supposed to fit all of that in?”

“Frankly, Mason I don’t give a continental how you fit all of that in, that’s your problem, the first one I’m handing you because I’m not doing this anymore.”

“What? So, you’re abandoning me, just like her?”

“Abandoning you? No, I’m not a quitter like that, I could have walked away from you and Izzy, it would have been so easy and believe me, when I was drinking myself stupid because I had no f*****g idea what I was going to do, I thought walking away and not looking back was the best way out for me.”

He pulled open the door and Mason pushed past him,

“Your grandparents will be here any minute. You need to pack a bag, your laptop, that sort of thing.”

“Why?”

“They’re taking you to their place because right now, I can’t look at you. What the f**k were you thinking when you decked him like that?”

He shrugged and Hunter gave a harsh laugh,

“Yeah, right. You weren’t thinking! Jesus Mason, you could have killed him! He’s your brother for God’s sake!” Hunter broke down, not caring whether Mason thought he was pathetic or not.

“Dad, please don’t,” Mason implored, “I just wanted to talk to him.”

“Talk or yell? Why did you need to yell at him?”

“I don’t know.”

The back door swung open, and his grim-faced parents entered,

“Mason’s just going to pack a few things,” he told them.

“I’ll give you a hand, Mason,” his grandfather said, leading him away from the kitchen.

“Oh Hunter! What is happening? It was all going so well and then that woman makes her presence felt and we’re literally disintegrating.”

Hunter pushed a hand through his hair, “I know, Mum. I know.”

“What happened? Did you speak to Olivia?”

“No, it was the deputy principal, Olivia had left he school by the time I got there. According to Mr Lancaster, Mason began yelling at Leo that he wanted to talk, and Leo ignored him, so he grabbed Leo and punched him when Leo refused to listen to him.”

“Listen to him yelling?”

“Yeah, why he couldn’t just ask Leo for five minutes of his time is beyond me. Mum, I need to try and see Leo or at the very least Olivia, so I’m going to drive to the medical centre, okay?”

“Of course. Please tell Liv we’re here for her and oh God!” she stopped, clasping her hands to her cheeks, “Poor Sara and Jeff! You’ll need to talk to them Hunter, we don’t want Jeff back in hospital.”

Hunter groaned, he wasn’t looking forward to seeing Olivia and now he had to go and see her parents?

“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll check in with you later.”

“Do you want your father to pick Izzy up from school?”

“She’s going home with Allegra this afternoon and I’ll collect her from there after dinner.”

Back in his car, Hunter drove to the medical centre, noting Olivia’s SUV in the car park, and on entering a cheerful looking older woman greeted him at the front desk.

“Hi, I’m Leo’s father, they brought him here following an accident at school.”

“Of course. If you just wait in here,” she showed him to a small room off the waiting room, “Someone will be out to speak to you.”

“But Leo’s okay isn’t he?”

“Sorry dear, I can’t tell you that. You can make yourself a cup of tea or coffee in here and there are biscuits.”

He thanked her and eased himself onto a chair, leaning his head against the wall behind him and closing his eyes. Luckily, he didn’t erupt into a fountain of tears as had been his normal response to overwhelming issues of late. He needed a session with Tom, but most of all he needed and wanted Olivia so badly it hurt. Could he have prevented this chain of events from unfolding? When did Mason start resenting Leo’s presence in his life, he hadn’t seen that one coming so what did it say about him as a father? On reflection he supposed it was natural for siblings to be resentful if a parent brought another partner and their children into a domestic situation and teenagers prided themselves on not letting anyone see or know their true feelings. Did Izzy resent Leo as well? When Mason and Izzy had first begun hanging out with Leo, before they all knew the ugly truth, he thought Izzy had a crush on Leo and when Olivia confirmed Leo was his, he had been worried about a potential crush. As it was, he didn’t need to worry because he overheard Izzy telling his mother that she really liked some boy called Vince and he hoped like hell Vince wasn’t in a gang. Would it always be like this? You get rid of one worry and another deftly rolled into its predecessor’s slot.

He glanced at the coffee making supplies sitting on top of a small fridge which he assumed held milk. Getting to his feet, he turned up a cup and dropped in a coffee bag, on a ledge above the fridge sat a hot water urn, safely out of the reach of small people, and he filled the cup with hot water, added some sugar because he sure as hell needed a fix of something and returned to his seat, stirring his coffee absently. Why couldn’t life have a reset button, he wondered, every time you hit a bump in the road you could hit the reset button and start again and navigate that bump until you came across another bump. No, that sounded more like a computer game didn’t it? He caught sight of movement in the doorway and without even looking he knew it was Olivia because he caught a hint of her perfume and like a dying man he let it fill his senses, before he could no longer have that small pleasure in his life.

Olivia fixed Hunter with her gaze, he looked like s**t but maybe she didn’t look much better. Leo was being monitored, the doctor did raise some concerns about his head and whether he might have a concussion.

“Is he alright?” Hunter asked, getting to his feet, “Just tell me he’s alright.”

Olivia wanted to shake him, wanted to tell him what a total moron he was and a whole lot of other things. Instead, she composed herself because this was not the place to have a heated discussion.

“They’re still doing an assessment at this stage, there’s some concern he has a fracture of the eye socket and possible concussion.”

“Mason hit him that hard?”

“Apparently.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I don’t know what’s happening with Mason right now, he’s so far removed from who I thought he was and that is probably on me because I turned a blind eye to a lot of Mason’s behaviour over the years. I can’t lay the blame entirely at his feet.”

Olivia sat down and Hunter followed, leaving space between them.

“Mason came to see me shortly before it happened. He was upset you declined Leo’s birthday invitation, it seems the other guys have only just been tolerating him, so his social interactions have obviously been reduced. That’s hard on a teen.”

“Can’t believe you’re making an excuse for his appalling behaviour.”

“I said it was hard on a teen, not just Mason. He became agitated when I suggested he speak to Leo face to face rather than calling him on the phone.”

“Is that what all the shouting was about?”

“He said he had to yell because Leo didn’t hear him or words to that effect. I must tell you Hunter, there’s a level of resentment there I never saw previously. He said he was jealous of Leo’s sporting ability and that you seem so much happier when Leo is with you.”

“Jesus,” he groaned, “Do you think Izzy feels the same?”

“I don’t know Hunter. To be honest I think you need to get a professional intervention for Mason before he slips out of your grasp. I can recommend someone who specialises in teenage behaviours. As he’s still considered a minor you could attend the sessions but be aware that Mason may not be as open with you there.”

“I’ve sent him to Mum and Dad’s. I can’t look at him, I’m s**t scared that he’s turning into his mother, that he has inherited all of her personality defects.”

“As we’re being honest here, I will tell you that when he responded to one of my questions it was as though Nina was talking to me. He said he was jealous of Leo, but I corrected him and said it was envy, that they are two different things.”

“For sixteen years I’ve struggled with these kids and I know I haven’t been as articulate as I could, I know I haven’t told them I love them as often as I could, but I thought -,” he shook his head slowly, “I don’t know what I thought because whatever it was, I was wrong.”

He looked incredibly sad and up until a month ago she would have put her arms around him and let him talk through whatever was going on in that complex head of his.

“You don’t think I’m the one who’s nuts do you? If this is hereditary maybe he got it from me, maybe they both did!

Olivia got to her feet and moved to the chair next to him,

“Stop. Just stop right now. I have known you since we were both sitting naked in a paddling pool at Mum and Dad’s. I knew you as a teenager and not once did you display any sign of a mental illness, until you lost your marbles and decided Nina/Lana Larsen must be telling the truth and I’d shagged Patrick McGill on Onetangi Beach. That location alone should have sent up a red flag that she might be telling you a load of BS because of all the beaches on Waiheke, it’s the one that’s the biggest and most popular with tourists.”

He scraped a hand over his face, over the dark stubble on his jaw.

“Seems like I’ve always been an i***t, looks like that hasn’t changed.”

“You need to step feeling sorry for yourself Hunter, it isn’t you against the world you know. All your parents want is their son back, the son your mother described as having the biggest heart and the happiest smile.”

“Mum always was prone to exaggeration don’t you think?”

“No. Hunter if I give you the name of someone for Mason to see, will you accept it and make the appointment.”

“Is she over in Auckland?”

“No, here on Waiheke.”

“And they say this is paradise, yet there are counsellors and shrinks falling out of the trees!”

That was the cynical Hunter she didn’t know. He had never been cynical as a teen, that came later, such as the night he stood on her doorstep, the night Leo was conceived.

“Maybe they wanted a sea change, there’s plenty of wealth here and with wealth comes a whole lot of issues we ordinary people can’t even begin to imagine, so stop with the cynicism whenever somebody has a suggestion that you’re not entirely on board with.”

“This counsellor, is she a friend of yours?”

“Professional acquaintance only because she does see some of the kids at school, not many but some. We don’t discuss individual cases unless something happened which would require her letting us know.”

Hunter stared at the floor, his arms folded so he was still on the defensive, she thought. But why? This wasn’t his fault; it wasn’t anyone’s fault. She wasn’t a psychologist or a counsellor but the catalyst for this unfortunate slide into total weirdness had occurred as soon as Mason and Izzy learned Nina was still alive. Unless of course…”

She nudged Hunter with her elbow,

“Stop moping and listen up. What if Nina/Lana had a twin?”

He laughed, “We’re going with evil twin theories now?”

“Hunter, you need to take this seriously. We have focused solely on Nina as the source of the DNA found on the rope. Right?” she watched him nod before continuing, “However, is it possible that if Nina had a twin and because of Leo’s encounter with that woman in the car, we’d have to say it was a sister, the twin could have cut that rope. What if Nina really is dead?”

“But why would she bother cutting the rope, what would she hope to gain from it. She wouldn’t be pissed off because I have another child, I mean for all she knew, I could have remarried and had more than one child in the intervening years.”

“Good point and I’m not trying to turn Nina into a saint, I’m just saying that from Mason and Izzy’s viewpoint, the fact that their mother was dead didn’t seem that big a deal. The fact she had abandoned them however, that was huge because if you remember, that was what they both said that morning. The word abandonment was mentioned more than once, and it seems to me that is what has been buried deep in their minds all this time, the fact their mother ran out on them.”

They sat in silence until the doctor came to the door,

“Liv?”

“Andrew, is everything alright?”

“Absolutely.”

He looked over her shoulder at Hunter then extended his hand,

“Nick Bennett, I’m Leo’s doctor.”

“Hunter Lewis.”

“Can we see him or are you still running tests?”

“No reason why you can’t see him for a couple of minutes, but I wanted to keep you abreast of what we’ve decided to do, if you’re happy with that.”

Olivia smiled, she liked Nick Bennett, had even been out on a couple of dates with him. He was raising a six-year-old daughter having lost his wife to cancer three years earlier and while she enjoyed spending time with him, the spark had not been there for her.

“You have a plan for Leo?”

“Shall we sit?”

Hunter remained standing and his scowl almost made Olivia want to throw her hands up in despair. Although, she was pleased he was uncomfortable in Nick’s presence, it meant Hunter wasn’t as dead inside as he might like to moan about.

“We do have concerns about the fractured eye socket, and he does need to see an Ophthalmologist as soon as possible to ensure the eye hasn’t suffered any longterm damage. Therefore, we would like to transfer him to Auckland City where they can better assess the situation.”

“You mean Leo could lose his sight?” Hunter asked.

“Not at all. But because of the swelling we can’t examine the eye and ideally he would need a scan. We can see from the x-rays he has a fracture, but of course an x-ray doesn’t let us see the eye in any detail. Come on, you can have a chat to Leo,” he was already walking down the corridor and he turned his head, “Great kid, by the way. He’s in here.”

Leo was now sitting up, his eye looked awful, but he did at least have a smile on his face. Olivia became aware of Hunter hanging back by the door, but she was running out of patience with him, if he wanted to be a misery guts all the time he could go right on, she wasn’t his mother.

Nick took up the other side of Leo’s bed,

“Leo, I’ve just been explaining to your mum and Hunter about your eye, that we really need to send you across to Auckland City. How do you feel about that?”

“I was there before, it was okay.”

“How will he be transferred across?” she asked Nick.

“We can put him in the ambulance, or you can take him across, and an ambulance can meet you at Panmure and take him from there. Or you can take him all the way in, I’ll ring ahead and send them all of our findings.”

“I want to go with Mum,” Leo insisted, “I don’t want an ambulance.”

“Is he stable enough to be in the car?”

“He is. He doesn’t show signs of concussion, so I’m happy to let you drive him.”

“I’ll need to get a few things for Leo and myself.”

Nick left them to organise paperwork and make the call to the hospital.

“Why is Hunter just standing at the door?”

“He’s afraid of you or me or maybe both of us.”

Leo laughed but suddenly stopped,

“Okay, no attempts at humour because one half of my face isn’t happy about being happy.”

“Duly noted,” she replied. She turned facing Hunter, “Are you coming in or are you just going to stand there?”

He moved closer, “I wasn’t sure if Leo wanted me here.”

“Just don’t make me laugh,” Leo replied.

“No chance of that happening, Hunter isn’t going to laugh ever again,” she quipped, “I need to make a list of what we need, I need to call Alex and Marron, although I suppose they’ll know by the time we reach Auckland. Alex can also let Grandma and Grandpa know seeing as they’re staying with her parents.”

“What about Gran and Pop?” Leo asked.

“I can do that,” Hunter replied, his tone gruff.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Leo asked him.

“Hunter has a few matters that need his attention here, Leo.”

Olivia could see Leo was disappointed, but Hunter did have matters requiring his attention and with any luck, Leo’s visit to the hospital would be brief.

“Your mother’s right Leo. I do have stuff to attend to. If you wanted I could call you if phone calls are allowed.”

“He’s not going to jail, Hunter, I’m sure they’ll let you speak to him by phone, I can find out and text you.”

“Good. Thank you, I’ll get going then.”

“Wait! Can’t you stay until they say I’m ready to go and you could follow us down to Kennedy Point couldn’t you.”

Hunter nodded, the smallest of smiles evident at the corners of his mouth and when Olivia thought about it much later, the first smile she’d seen from him all day.