Chapter 1: Lies (Hunter's POV)

Author's Note (June 9, 2009): I wrote this chapter about a year ago, and pulled it back out now to add into a novel I'm working on. Just a note that you might find interesting: a lot of this chapter was inspired by the song A Beautiful Lie by the band 30 Seconds to Mars. Finally, I'd love to hear any feedback! Thanks!

Chapter 1—Lies: Hunter's POV

   
I learned early in life that lies are an instinctive part of human nature. Some people lie in order to spare another person’s feelings. Others, to avoid embarrassment.  Still more lie to evade the consequences of their actions.  By the time I was eighteen, I was no stranger to lies. But it was then that I first came across a type of lie that, though I’d never experienced it before, I recognized immediately.

It was a lie out of sheer desperation.

Unlike most lies, this one was not created because of selfish motives. Instead, it was formed because the truth was so horrible, so condemning, that the lie became necessary to keep a world from collapsing. It became the glue that held things together, keeping lives from breaking apart and shattering into a thousand pieces. It was told to protect the people who needed protection. It was told because the lie was so much easier to believe than the truth.
When I looked my parents in the eyes that night, when they told me that everything would be okay, I saw a lie made in the face of absolute despair.

                                                                                              *************

It was two o’clock in the morning. Whispers and stifled sobs from downstairs had awakened me. Wondering what my parents could possibly be so upset about so early in the morning, I tiptoed downstairs to find out.

As I entered the living room, I saw my parents curled up together on the loveseat. Two large, bulging backpacks sat at their feet.  My mom’s younger brother, Will, sat in a chair next to them, holding my mom’s oversized purse.  Will and his new wife, Marie, had lived with us for the last year, sleeping in the guest bedroom until they could afford to buy a house of their own.

Puzzled, I looked at them each in turn. All three bore solemn expressions, and, in my mother’s case, a wet face and red eyes. When none of them said anything, I spoke up.

“What’s going on?”

My parents looked at each other, and Dad squeezed Mom’s hand, as if he was trying to comfort her. It was a subtle gesture, but I caught it anyway. Mom looked up at me, an obviously fake smile plastered on her face.

“We’re going on a business trip, honey. It’s at the last minute, I know, but you’re father’s boss made it a requirement for all employees.”
“I thought you were the boss, Dad,” I said, looking pointedly at my father.

“I am, at least of this branch, but there are still people in the corporation higher up than me.”

“So all of the employees are going?”

He sighed, an obvious sign that his patience was wearing thin. “No, Hunter, just a select few from our branch.”

“Is Will going?” I asked. Will had worked with my dad for ten years, since he was twenty. He was the person who first introduced my parents to each other, and Dad’s “second-in-command,” for lack of a better phrase. If Dad was going, Will was certain to tag along as well, which meant my twelve-year old brother, Jamie, and I would get the house to ourselves, an exciting possibility.

“No,” Dad said, surprising me. “He’s staying here with you and your brother.”

“So the corporate head is only ordering specific employees from your branch to go? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s…It’s corporate politics, son. You’ll understand when you get older.”

“I’m eighteen, Dad. That line doesn’t work on me anymore.” I opened my mouth in an attempt to get a straight answer out of him, but stopped when I saw Jamie coming down the stairs. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and mumbled.

“Is everything okay? I heard talking.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Mom answered, that fake smile in place again. “Your father and I are just getting ready for a business trip.”

“Oh.” Jamie yawned again, than curled up on the floor, his shaggy blonde head resting against the couch at my mother’s feet.

I sighed in frustration. Jamie was so trusting, so easy to satisfy. I, on the other hand, didn’t intend to let my parents get off that easily. I turned away from Jamie and looked at my mom.

“So why are you going with him?”

“I…I decided to use my vacation days. It’s been so long since your father and I have had time alone together, I thought I’d tag along and make it a vacation.”

Yeah, right. “So what’s with the overstuffed backpacks?”

My father spoke up. “Umm…It’s an employee bonding thing. We’re going…hiking… together

Could they be any more obvious? My father never, never said “umm.” In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him use the word “thing,” either. Dad had a very commanding presence, always using impeccable grammar and never stuttering. And employee bonding? I couldn’t imagine my father attending an employee bonding session. He wasn’t exactly a social person. He had his few trusted friends, ones he’d known for years, and that was it. He wasn’t the kind of guy to befriend all of his employees, especially the newer ones. As I contemplated what they were really up to, Mom stood up, breaking my train of thought.

“Everything will be alright, Hunter. We’ll be back before you know it,” said my mom, embracing me. When she pulled back, avoiding my eyes, with that false smile on her face, I really started to worry. I’d never seen my parents act like this before, and they were rarely dishonest with us.
Exasperated, I looked down at my mother and tried again.

“What’s going on, Mom? Tell me the truth.” When she didn’t answer, I looked to Jamie and Will for help, but Jamie had fallen asleep on the floor, and Will refused to look at me. So he was in on this too. I looked back at my mother.

“Please, Mom. Tell me what’s wrong. Why are you really leaving?” My anxiousness was evident in my voice.

This time she looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and the big, fake smile replaced with a small, sad one. “I love you, Hunter,” she whispered. “You know that, don’t you? I love you and Jamie so much. I always have, and I always will. No matter what happens.”

“What’s going to happen Mom? What?” But she went silent once more, despite my frantic questioning.

I turned to my father once again. “Dad?”

He patted me on the shoulder. “It’s time for us to leave, Hunter. Take care of your brother while we’re gone.” He nodded to Jamie, who was awake now, giving Mom a hug goodbye.

I looked at Will. “Where’s Marie?”

“Upstairs sleeping,” he answered.

” Wouldn’t she want to say goodbye? Do you want me to go and wake…”

“No!” He interrupted me, hastily. I looked at him, surprised and skeptical. Seeing my face, he rushed on. “It’s…it’s just a business trip, and she’s tired, with the extra shift she’s been working and all. I’ll …I’ll just tell her in the morning before she leaves for work.”

My attention shifted back to my parents as they walked towards the door and picked up their backpacks, ready to depart. As my mother reached for the door handle, I realized that Will still held Mom’s purse in his hands.

“Wait, Mom,” I said, grabbing the purse and walking over to her. “You forgot your purse.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, turning around. I was surprised that she could have been so careless. Her purse was her lifeline. It had everything, from her work schedule and credit cards to birth certificates and other important papers. Occasionally, it held my dad’s wallet when he didn’t want to carry it in his back pocket. After a moment, she took it from my hands, and then turned to embrace Will. As the two said their goodbyes, Jamie came up next to me, and, being the affectionate little brother that he was, hugged me around my waist.

“They’ll be fine, Hunter. You’ll see.” Stifling a yawn, he stretched and headed back upstairs to his room. After one last goodbye to my parents, I followed him. As I walked up the stairs, I heard my mother say softly.

“Take it. Get rid of anything that could lead them to us.” Startled, I paused at the top of the stairs.  Her voice became a whisper, and despite my efforts, I couldn’t make out anything else she said. After a few minutes, the front door slammed, and I peeked through the railing. Will was staring blankly at the front door, his back facing me.

In his hands was my mother’s purse.

                                                                                  *************
So what do you do when you see past the lie? When you see the truth, in all its awfulness, for what it really is? When you realize that your world is nothing but a mere shadow of what you believed it to be? When the life you knew before lies shattered on the ground?

You do the only thing you can.

You pick up the pieces.