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“Camila!”
The sheer terror in Vee’s voice had Camila sprinting for the living room, potholders still on her hands, casserole dish still waiting in the open oven. “Vee? What’s wrong? What happened?”
She did a quick head count when she burst into the room. All six of her kids were there, nobody was unconscious, nobody bleeding, nobody staring at the TV or computer in horror. In fact…they were all staring at Hunter.
With a deep breath, Camila tried to project an air of calm before approaching the teenagers. “What happened?”
“He…he just…” Luz gestured at Hunter, tears filling her brown eyes. “It’s like he’s just…he just froze?”
Dread pooled cold in Camila’s stomach. She’d noticed—couldn’t help it, really, with seven of them living in such close quarters—that none of Luz’s friends had come to this world unscathed. Over the last few weeks they’d seen more than their fair share of nightmares, breakdowns, and panic attacks. These kids were holding in a lot, and she’d been worried something like this might happen.
“Okay, okay. Give him some space. Mija, get the casserole out of the oven for me?” she passed the oven mitts over to Luz, who hesitated. Camila gave her a reassuring smile, cupping her face with one hand. “It’s going to be all right. Just go.”
Luz nodded and hurried toward the kitchen, Amity shortly on her heels.
Camila turned back to face Hunter. He was staring straight forward, expression distant but not completely blank. There was tension there. Possibly fear? Or maybe stress…she’d been reading as much as she could on panic and anxiety, after learning about everything her kids were facing, but she didn’t know everything. “Hunter? Can you hear me?”
He didn’t react. She looked past him to Willow and Gus, who were huddled together a few feet away. “How long has he been like this?”
“We called you right away,” Vee said, when they didn’t answer. “I, um, I didn’t want everyone to panic,” she added in a whisper.
“Good girl,” Camila said, patting Vee’s shoulder. She could hear muffled voices in the kitchen, followed by distant sniffling. Oh, but her kids were going to break her heart. “Can you check on Luz and Amity?”
Vee nodded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the next room. Camila gave Willow and Gus what she hoped was a reassuring smile before focusing her attention back to Hunter.
“Hunter? I’m going to take your hand, if that’s okay?”
He still didn’t react. She gently picked his hand up, holding it between both of hers. “Can you squeeze my hand?”
No reaction. His eyes moved a little, but it was almost like he was sleepwalking. Trapped in a dream…or more likely a nightmare. “That’s okay. We’re going to sit down on the couch now, okay? You don’t have to do anything, just let me guide you over there so you can rest.”
Willow scrambled to clear throw pillows out of the way, while Gus stepped forward to help Camila move Hunter back. He moved slowly, though he never resisted—which honestly worried her even more. Where was the fierce, loyal boy who was so much like a big brother to the rest of her kids? It was like everything that was Hunter had gotten siphoned away and left his body behind.
“Okay, now we’re comfortable,” she announced, sitting next to him. “Hunter, I’m going to put my arm around you now. If that’s not okay, just let me know and I’ll move. You don’t have to say anything, just tell me as best as you can; it’s my job to figure out what you need from here. Okay?”
No reaction. He did seem to lean into her a little, which was good. She squeezed his fingers, resting both of their hands on top of his knee.
“Gus?”
“Yes, ma’am?” the younger boy snapped to attention. He’d been hovering close by, worry written large all over his young face.
Her kids were going to break her heart.
“Is there a movie? Or a show? Something Hunter likes that we can put on while we’re resting here?”
Gus’s brow furrowed as he thought. “Oh, I know! Hang on, lemme get Luz!”
“Excellent.” He was already through the kitchen door to talk to Luz, so Camila turned her attention to Willow. “Are you all right?”
Willow came a little closer, leaning against the couch at Camila’s side. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I think his mind just got a little overloaded,” Camila replied. She didn’t want to talk about anxiety disorders, catatonia, or anything like that while Hunter was unable to contribute to the conversation. That was something they could all talk about later, but only if Hunter wanted to. “Remember when Luz tried to run that really old game on her computer and it froze up for a little bit? Our brains are like that sometimes. Too much goes in, and poof!”
She turned to smile at Hunter. “We just need to let him know he’s safe here with us, and that we’re all here for him. Okay, mijo? You’re safe.” She hugged him a little closer. He was still distant, but she thought his posture was a little more relaxed.
“Can…can he hear us?”
“I don’t know, Willow. But if he can, I think he’d want to.”
Willow nodded. She climbed up on Hunter’s other side and, after a moment of hesitation, took up his hand and laced their fingers together. “Hi, Hunter,” she whispered. “We’re right here. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you, okay? You’re safe with us.”
“That’s the spirit,” Camila leaned around Hunter to smile at Willow. She pretended not to notice the faint blush staining the girl’s cheeks and looked up instead to see the rest of her kids traipsing back into the room.
“How’s Hunter?” Luz asked immediately.
“He’ll be fine,” Camila replied. “Gus?”
“Got it!” Gus held up the remote and started punching buttons, navigating through the TV menus with Vee’s help. Camila watched with mild amusement as they settled on a kid-friendly streaming service, skipping through the options until they found a cartoon.
“What’s this?” she asked, squinting at the vaguely familiar characters.
“Oh, it’s this show called The Wolf Guard,” Gus explained. He sat on the floor at Willow’s feet and leaned his head against Hunter’s knee. “It’s about this wolf who’s the princess of her pack, and these other wolves who are her friends and help protect her and the forest. I think it’s based on a movie.”
“Ah, I thought it looked familiar. We saw the movie a few years ago.” She twisted around to make eye contact with Luz, giving her daughter a fond smile. “Remember? You wrote that story about Azura adopting a wolf puppy after that, didn’t you?”
“You remember that?” Luz asked, mortified.
“I still have a copy,” Camila winked. She settled back in next to Hunter, patting the space on the couch for Vee to sit with her. The other two didn’t join them, but when Camila looked over she saw them nestled together in the bean bag chair. Amity had an arm wrapped around Luz, comforting her while she stared at Hunter’s silent form while they watched the show.
Camila had to admit, The Wolf Guard was pretty compelling. It was obviously made for kids, but even as an adult the plot and characters pulled her in. She spent most of the time talking quietly with Hunter, commenting on the episodes they were watching, or just reminding him he was safe with them.
After a few episodes, when she turned to make a comment to Hunter, she caught sight of a single tear spilling out of his eye to trail down his cheek. “Hunter?”
He moved, a little stiffly, like he was trying to turn to face her.
“Hunter, honey, it’s okay.” Camila leaned forward, resting a hand on the side of his face. Someone had paused the TV and her other kids were whispering around them, but she kept her focus on the boy in front of her. “I’m right here. Can you hear me?”
He finally looked at her. His expression was still a little blank, but there was some recognition there now. Tears were welling in his eyes and when he blinked they ran down his cheek.
“Hunter?”
“I’m sorry.” It was little more than a whisper, his voice rough and thick with emotion, but it was more than she’d heard from him in well over an hour.
Camila let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “Oh, mijo, no. You don’t have to be sorry. Not for this.”
Hunter swallowed; his breath caught in his chest. He grabbed onto her sleeve with a white-knuckled grip and wet his lips as though looking for the right words to say. “I…I don’t….”
Her kids were going to break her heart.
“Hunter? Can I hug you?”
He nodded and fell against her as she wrapped her arms around him. His shoulders shook as he cried silent tears into her shoulder. Camila closed her eyes and held him tight.
“We’ve got you, mijo,” she whispered, resting her cheek against the top of his head. “You’re safe with us.”