When the administrator with the clipboard arrives to take our statements, Patrick takes care of all the business—giving them Matt’s address and phone number and turning over his bag. We called his home phone, but there was no answer, and none of us have Matt’s dad’s cell. Presumably the number is locked away somewhere in Matt’s phone.
Then parents start arriving. Celia’s first. She called them. Apparently, they have that kind of close-knit way about them. Janna’s dad comes, too, and he takes over the conversation with the hospital administrator, because someone has to be the grown-up here. There’s still no sign of Matt’s dad.
It occurs to me, amid the blur of it all, that maybe I should call my own parents. There was probably a time when I would have. But they’re fragile right now, and hearing Please come get me from the hospital would alarm them. Tack on I’m not hurt; it’s my boyfriend and they’ll completely self-destruct.
I shouldn’t think thoughts like “self-destruct” anymore, should I?
Mentally, I try to steel myself for the moment Mr. Rincorn arrives. I imagine him rushing in, wild-eyed, looking to us—to me—to understand what could possibly have happened. And out of nowhere, I’m filled with rage—at Matt. How could he do this?
Matt has a dad who loves and accepts him, even if he’s not very … present. A dad who’s cool with him having a boyfriend and who doesn’t force him into lessons about sin or believe he’s going to hell. How could he do this to his dad? How could he even think about leaving him all alone?
How could he do this to me?