Like A Train wreck

Highs And Lows

"I see..." Martha stood in the kitchen with the phone pressed to her ear, her face frozen with such shock.

"Thank you for letting me know. Uh...we will be there to pick him up at the end of the day. I have to wait for my husband to get off work."

Martha paused and then nodded. "Goodbye." She hung up the phone.

"Mom? What's going on?" Hunter asked, walking into the kitchen.

"I've...I've been told some really disturbing news." She said, not knowing how to deal with it she moved back to the counter and started peeling potato's again. That only lasted seconds before she laid the knife down.

"You were always closest to him." Martha turned to look at her eldest son. "Has he told you?"

Hunter looked at his Mother, unsure of what she was talking about. "Why don't you just tell me what was said on the phone?"

"That boy .... Brad, the one who was murdered, you know? Well I got a call from school and I was told that he and some of his friends participated in a gang rape. And....they called me because Miracle ... he was the victim."

Hunter's eyes lowered and his response was delayed. "He didn't go into detail but he did tell me that he was raped and beaten."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell your Father? Why didn't you..." Martha trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"He swore me to secrecy. I know I should have said something. I've wanted to but I didn't want to betray him."

"Well now his attacker is dead. One month after it happened. You should of told us, do you have any idea how this is going to look?" She didn't wait for an answer.

"God, I have to call your Father." The phone was grabbed again and she dialed Craig's work number.

Miracle waited in Miss Carters office until he heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the school day. He started to stand up but stopped short of completeing the process when the counselor raised her hand.

"I told your Parents to wait until everyone left. I want to avoid any further incidence."

Miracle sighed and sat down. "God...I can't even imagine what's going to happen."

"It's understandable that you would be scared of your Parents reactions. Nearly every young rape victim keeps it secret out of fear. You aren't alone."

"That's really comforting." Miracle said in a sarcastic tone, watching the crowd of teens outside.

"You don't have to be sarcastic." She said as her door burst open and she looked up to find Craig standing there. "Can I help you?"