Chapter Nine

Kevin didn’t see Christy or Chad the next day at all. He spent time with his mother and visited with his brothers instead. He told Ann everything that happened the day before at the camp. She wished things were different with Christy and Kyle. Kevin did too.

Brian called him after lunch, asking how things were going. He told his cousin all about Christy and Chad.

“Hmmm, sounds interesting. You think there’s something else going on with this situation?” Brian asked.

“I don’t know. Mary Ann Simmons told me that Kyle drinks a lot. That was confirmed yesterday. The guy reeked of beer.”

“And Christy knows this?”

“Yeah.”

“So why is she still with this guy?”

“I don’t know.”

The conversation ended soon after that. Kevin hung up and joined his mom in the den. She was sitting at the computer.

“What are you doing?” he asked, sitting down on the small couch.

“Just checking out the latest sites on my baby boy.”

“You’re on the internet?”

“Yup. Oh look, a site that actually has your birth year correct!”

Kevin looked over her shoulder. He saw a picture of himself and blushed. “I can’t believe people make sites about me.”

“And why not? You’re a handsome guy, very photogenic.”

He watched as she surfed the net, looking at pictures of him. When she downloaded the infamous “wet” shot of him from the “Quit Playing Games” video, he wanted to sink into the floor.

“Hmm,” was all she said, and moved on.

Kevin’s face was bright red when she turned in her chair.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it,” she pointed out. “I changed your diapers!”

He pushed himself deeper into the couch cushions. “Mo-om!” he whined, covering his face with a pillow. Ann just laughed.

The phone by the computer rang. “Thank goodness I have two lines,” she said before answering. “It’s for you.”

Kevin took the phone.

“Hello?”

“Kevin? It’s me, Chad.”

“Hey, bud, what’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you would take me horseback riding.”

“Well, sure, if you want too. Is it okay with your mom?”

“Mom’s not here, she’s working.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m sure it’d be okay. Please?” he begged.

Kevin rubbed his chin, thinking about it. “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh, Kevin, please. I really want to go.”

“All right. I’ll come pick you up, okay?”

“Yeah! Thanks a lot!”

“See you in a bit.”

“Bye!”

Kevin handed the phone back to his mom. “I’m taking Chad horseback riding.”

“That sounds like fun.”

He left a few minutes later and drove to Christy’s house. He parked the car in the driveway and then went and knocked on the door. Chad answered.

“Hi! Come on in, I was just finishing my lunch.”

Kevin stepped inside and closed the door. Chad put his plate and empty glass in the sink. “Okay, I’m set. Let’s go!”

“You sure about this?” Kevin asked one more time.

“Sure I am. I wanna ride horses, like you do.”

Kevin smiled. “Okay,” he said. He put his arm around the young boy’s shoulders. Chad flinched and moved towards the door.

“Uh, you ready?”

Kevin nodded, wondering what was really going on. The drive to the camp didn’t take long. John gave them permission to ride the horses, as long as they stayed on the trails. They promised.

Chad chose Rainbow, the horse he’d seen the day before, and Kevin picked one named Starbuck. He showed Chad how to saddle the horse and how to get onto it.

“You’re a fast learner,” he told Chad.

“Thanks.”

They started at a slow walk. “Don’t be tense, or the horse will feel it,” Kevin said. Chad relaxed slightly.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Kevin asked after riding a few minutes in silence.

“What do you mean?”

“I figured you wanted to talk to me about something.”

Chad kept his eyes straight ahead. “I left a note for Mom, she knows where I am,” he said absently.

“That’s good.”

“Kevin?”

“Yeah?”

“What if...what if I had a secret?”

Kevin tilted his head. “Is it a bad secret?”

Chad slowly nodded. “It could hurt my mom.”

Kevin chewed on his lower lip. “How so?”

“You promise this is just between us?”

“Do you want to stop and talk about this?”

“Yeah.”

They stopped along the trail and tethered the horses to a nearby tree. They sat down on the ground and Chad picked up a twig. He started breaking it apart, bit by bit. Kevin leaned against a tree trunk. He would let Chad decide when to talk.

“I don’t want to hurt my mom,” he finally said. “And this would.”

“Is it about Kyle?”

Chad’s head jerked up. “How did you know?”

Kevin shrugged.

Once again, Chad fell silent. Kevin carefully watched him. A solitary tear slid from Chad’s left eye and made its way down his cheek. He tossed the twig aside and wrapped his arms around himself.

“Kyle,” he said softly. “He-”

Kevin leaned forward and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Again, Chad flinched and pulled away. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

Chad started crying, harder now. His whole body shook. Kevin reached out to him.

“No!” he cried, scrambling to his feet. “Don’t touch me!”

“Chad, it’s me, Kevin. I’m your friend. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

Chad sank to his knees in the dirt. “Kyle hits me!” he blurted out. “When he and Mom have fights, or he’s had a bad day at work, he beats on me!”

Kevin was instantly on his feet, his hands clenched into fists. His blood boiled at the thought of someone beating on a helpless child. Chad continued to cry.

“I liked him at first,” he continued. “He was nice to me. But then, one day, he and Mom had a fight. It was about his drinking. They worked it out. But the next day, Mom was at work and he was watching me. I said something that he didn’t like and he hit me in the face. He made me swear not to tell Mom, or he’d hurt her too.”

Kevin’s jaw began to hurt, he was clenching his teeth together so hard. “Go on.”

Chad looked up at him, his eyes bright with tears. “He hit me last night, after Mom went to bed.”

“He stayed at your place?”

“Yeah.”

“Your shoulders,” Kevin breathed. He finally understood. And it made him madder than hell.

“Please don’t tell my mom,” Chad begged.

Kevin dropped to one knee. “Chad, we have to tell her. We have to tell the police too. Kyle needs to be stopped.”

“But he’ll hurt her!”

“No, no he won’t. I swear to you, Kyle will never hurt you or your mother, ever.” His voice shook with the intensity of his words. Chad wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve and finally gave a small nod.