Who: Grady and Hunter What: Pie! Where: Sheriff's station When: Afternoon, September 8th Warnings: N/a Status: Complete
Jen had a bad habit of going out and staying out doing god-knows-what and Hunter resented her a little for how little she seemed to care. He cared way more, that was obvious, and sometimes that weighed on a guy. Like she could do something to show their dad they appreciated the fact he let them come stay with him and then Hunter wouldn't have to constantly feel like he had to show it. Because he did feel like that, like he had to remind his dad over and over that he was happy to be there and grateful Grady had let him come. Jen had just hitched a ride with him, he'd done the fighting to be allowed to go and the swearing up and down to Grady that it was actually not a bad idea. Jen just... Came along.
He'd gone and gotten pie, a savory blueberry one from the market. Grady had had a tough few days being sheriff and even without Hunter's weird need to keep him happy, he deserved to have something nice happen to him for a change. Maybe especially since finding bodies might reinforce his belief that his kids were safer in Portland. No thank you!
He rode his bike to the station and headed on inside, waving at Rose as he beelined to his dad's office. The door was closed but peeking inside he could tell Grady wasn't on the phone or anything so he just opened up and stuck his head inside. "Delivery for Sheriff Barrett," he sing-songed at him and grinned.
Grady wasn't sure how many hours he had been at the station that week, compared to home. He felt guilty about it, but he also knew his kids were old enough to handle things on their own, and he tried to check in with them as often as possible. He was busy with the Cooperdale Tunnel investigation, not to mention the death of Jeffrey Looms at the local gas station. The coroner had told Grady that Looms had died of what appeared to be an animal attack, which seemed to be the go-to answer for any bodies that were found ripped to shreds in Point Pleasant. Then there was what was left of a body at the Cooperdale Tunnel. The body had yet to be identified, and Grady was going through the most recent missing persons reports as he waited for the results from the forensic lab in Portland.
As usual, the department was doing the best they could manage, but people wanted answers, and Grady wanted to be able to give them some. He jerked his head up from the reports in front of him when the door opened, and Grady was a little surprised to see Hunter. There was a flash of worry that something might be wrong, but Hunter was smiling, so Grady relaxed a bit and closed the file folder in front of him. "Hey," he greeted, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. "Come on in. What'd you got?" Delivery could be anything, but he was relieved it was Hunter and not Jen. He wouldn't put it past his daughter to try and bring one of her insect monsters in the office for some reason or another.
"Figured you could use a snack," Hunter replied as he came inside, closing the door behind him since it had been closed when he got there. He set the bag in front of Grady before he sat down in the chair opposite him, swiveling a bit for the fun of it. "I didn't make it, obviously. But I know you like the ones at the market."
His dad looked tired, haunted even. It was at times like these that Hunter hated his dad's job because it seemed to be running him ragged. He wasn't exactly ready for a new stepmom or anything, but his dad could use a break - and some semblance of a social life.
Despite how tired he was, Grady couldn't help but smile as he peered into the bag. He could smell the blueberry and his stomach growled, reminding him yet again that he hadn't eaten in a while. "That was really thoughtful of you, Hunter. Thanks." Having to deal with plenty of teenagers in town on a regular basis, Grady was admittedly sometimes surprised when one of them, especially his own son, did something kind. He closed the bag again and set it to the side for a moment, although he had every intention of digging into it. Grady eyed Hunter closely, his lips twitching. "Is there a reason for the pie? Do you need money? Are you in trouble?"
Hunter laughed, eyes widening a little at the assumption, however joking it might have been. "Yeah, I was hoping if I brought you pie you'd buy me a car," he joked right back, swiveling again as he grinned as his dad, then shook his head.
"I figured someone should take care of you, things have been kinda crazy. Did you eat already?" He didn't really have to worry about his dad, Rose tended to take good care of all her deputies but cop-family notwithstanding, she wasn't real family.
Grady chuckled and leaned back in his chair, relaxing for a moment. Admittedly, it was a bit strange for anyone to 'take care' of him. He had been on his own for awhile now, and thought he was handling things pretty well. Things were just a bit more chaotic now than usual, and in Point Pleasant, that was saying something. "I've..." he trailed off before shrugging. "No, I haven't eaten yet, but now I've got pie, so I'm set." Grady smiled, just to ease whatever worry Hunter might be feeling. "And yeah, things have been crazy. And I'm sorry I haven't been home much this week." Or last week. "How's things? How's school been?" Shit, these are things he should know already. Things he should be asking his kids every night when he got home, but there were some nights he didn't walk through the door until they had long since gone to bed. It made him feel a bit neglectful as a parent, but his job didn't exactly make for predictable hours.
"It's great," Hunter replied honestly, relaxing a bit now that his dad wasn't fretting about why he was really there. "Just hanging out with Mak and Sabrina a lot, most of the people there aren't jerks, I actually like most of the teachers so you know..." He pulled his phone out of his pocket just to check if he had messages, then kept it in his hand. He could tell Grady about the fact Jen was sleeping in class a lot but it'd only make his dad worry and wow they did not need more of that shit. "How's your investigations going?" he asked instead, as if Grady would actually tell him anything. But he was pretty much a grownup by now, he could handle more details!
Grady nodded along, pleased, at least, to hear Hunter was enjoying school. Then again, he wasn't sure if it was complete honesty, because Hunter had known how reluctant Grady was to allow him and Jen to move to Point Pleasant. So he wasn't sure if Hunter was trying to make things sound better than they actually were so Grady didn't doubt his decision further. Hunter's question distracted Grady from his train of thought and he glanced down at the file folder on his desk. "They're going. Making some progress," Grady said, a small smile on his lips. "You know I can't tell you much as long as they're open investigations." They were gruesome enough that he wouldn't have wanted to tell Hunter any of the details even if he could. His son was older, yes, but Grady couldn't help but still view him as a kid.
Of course Hunter believed he was grownup enough to hear all about Grady's work, but truthfully he wasn't and he wouldn't have liked all the gory details at all. He was never going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a cop, he really didn't have the stomach for it. He'd heard rumors of course, of just how bad things were. They were just rumors though, teenagers trying to gross each other out. Silly horror stories he could ignore, police files were a little too real. "You know I won't tell anyone," he said anyway with a bit of cheek. "Do you think that last one was a murder or what?"
Grady shot Hunter a mildly exasperated look, but he couldn’t fault his son for being interested. “I don’t think you would tell anyone, but I can’t talk about open investigations,” he reminded him gently. “As for the last one… all signs point to an animal attack.” That much had already been made public, even though they were still investigating the possibility of foul play. The evidence was starting to prove otherwise, however. “Unfortunately, it happens a lot here,” he continued. “There are a lot of wild animals roaming the woods around town. Sometimes they venture out and into town itself.”
"Seriously?" Hunter said and that did put a damper on any ideas he had about riding his bike out of town for sightseeing. The last thing he needed was to get attacked by some crazy wolf or something. "I didn't think animals really attacked people, like I'd heard about stray dogs on some paths but that's weird, you know? Like an anomaly?" He frowned a bit and shook his head. "Was that body up in the tunnels an animal attack too?"
Grady scratched idly at his cheek, trying to think of the best way to phrase his answer. "Yeah, like an anomaly," Grady said, unwilling to say that animal attacks in Point Pleasant were normal, and frequent, and probably not entirely animal attacks at all. "It just... happens a bit more frequently here than most places." The body at the tunnel was still in the process of being identified, but Grady couldn't say definitively that it was an animal. That was likely what they would settle on, because there was no real body to perform an autopsy on. It was just... pieces. Based on what Grady had seen, the logical explanation would have been that the victim had wandered onto the tracks and been hit with a train. But... no trains came through Point Pleasant anymore, and he had already checked with the railway line just to make sure there hadn't been an... anomaly. "We're still investigating the death at the tunnel," he told Hunter. "I can't really talk about it, Hunter. You seem pretty curious about this stuff." Grady raised a brow. "Your friends trying to get some details out of you?"
Hunter shook his head, even if yes, his friends had been asking him things. He should know stuff, his dad was the sheriff! And maybe some other cop kids knew what was going on but Grady was always a bit overprotective. "I'm just curious, making sure you're safe." Not to mention he had some very adventurous friends who liked to drag him places. He'd so often gone roaming with Mak and Sabrina to places that in light of recent events did not seem safe at all. "Maybe we should start carrying like flares or something," he mused more to himself than to Grady. He wasn't as worried about his dad as he was about his friends, his dad was trained and he had a gun. Hunter couldn't have a gun and he wasn't even sure he'd want to have one even if he could.
"I'm safe," Grady assured him. "Everyone here takes all the necessary precautions when we're out." He was sure it was more than that. He'd been a teenager once too, and had heard the rumors and gossip around town about... well, many things. He knew what it was like to be curious, to feel invincible. Grady felt like he was seeing that now, in Hunter's eyes, and in his questions and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Nervous, maybe. Hunter's musing prompted Grady to raise his eyebrows. "You think you need to carry a flare around? What’re you up to that you'd need something like that?"
Hunter shrugged one shoulder since he didn't exactly have anything planned or anything, he just knew what his friends were like and they might drag him places. "Didn't that one guy get attacked in a gas station?" he said and if that was true then he was allowed to fret. And take a flare to school even! "You can't always drive me and Jen to school and back, you know? So I mean, we could get attacked right there in the street or something." He pursed his lips a bit to the side as he considered that and damn, it didn't sound that farfetched.
Grady sighed. Hunter was essentially laying out all the reasons why Grady didn't feel comfortable with his kids moving to Point Pleasant in the first place. It made him want to call Allison and have her come pick up their kids as soon as possible. Grady leaned forward, settling his gaze on Hunter. "I don't... want you carrying a flare around. I can get you two some mace, if that helps. I had my reservations about the two of you moving to Point Pleasant, and it was because I knew I'd worry about you here. Generally, this is a safe place, but there are... anomalies, as you called them. And no, I can't always be there. I don't want you to feel unsafe here, Hunter."
Hearing his dad - his don't believe in ghosts dad - say that there were anomalies in Point Pleasant gave Hunter a little pause Sure, Grady was talking about animal attacks but why would anomalies be specific to a place? He didn't ask because his dad was already on the path of 'you're safer in Portland' and that was a path they needed to get off fast. "I don't feel any less safe here than in Portland," he insisted. "I've got a way better support system here, even Jen is happier here than at mom's. I'll just be careful and not, you know, go to gas stations in the middle of the night. Or anywhere!"
Grady wasn't sure he believed Hunter. Just a moment ago he was talking about potentially getting attacked in the street and carrying flares. Now he had a support system, and promises not to wander around in the middle of the night. Grady relaxed back in his chair and studied Hunter silently for a few moments before he sighed. "You and Jen need to be home every night by... ten o'clock." That was a decent curfew, wasn't it? "Nine o'clock on school nights," he added almost as an afterthought. It got darker earlier in the fall and winter."And I want you both to check in, when you're out with friends. Let me know where you are, and with you... think you two can manage that?"
That didn't sound really fair but maybe he could have sleepovers at least. Hunter pursed his lips and wrinkled his nose as he thought about it, not at all impressed. "Seems a bit steep," he mumbled. "I mean, on weekends. It's not like we go anywhere, we just hang out at whoever's house and talk or whatever. And if I borrow the car we wouldn't even be riding our bikes out there or anything." He said 'we' but he couldn't speak for Jen since they didn't often hang out together. "Can't we just like negotiate? Depending on what's going on?" Grady wasn't unreasonable, just a tad overprotective, and if Hunter kept being the perfect kid who didn't disappoint him he didn't see a reason why they couldn't work something a little more reasonable out.
It was difficult for Grady not to smile, at least a little. His son wanted to 'negotiate' a curfew. He supposed he should have asked Allison how she dealt with this sort of thing before Jen and Hunter actually moved in, but he supposed he hadn't given a whole lot of thought to actual parental rules. And now he felt like he was floundering a bit. Was it giving up some control if he agreed to talk about curfew times, 'depending on the situation'? Was nine o'clock on a school night steep? If he had any friends in town with teenage kids, Grady supposed he could have asked them for advice. As it was, he felt like he was on his own here. "I think," Grady said slowly, "that I would prefer you be home at a reasonable hour on a school night. Weekends... we can talk about if something comes up that might keep you out. Does that sound fair?"
"I'm always home early on school nights," Hunter promised and it was true - at least so far. Back in Portland he'd been pretty wiped after school and practice so early nights hadn't been a problem. At least until Mitch started ruining everything. Weekends however... "I'm just thinking if I wanna hang out with Mak and catch a movie or something, ten is way too early." He gave his dad something akin to puppy eyes, idly swiveling in the chair again though he wasn't doing whole circles this time. "But yeah, we can talk about it, that sounds fair." He'd get Mak on his side, maybe her parents were less strict about her curfew and if they were then Hunter could point that out to his dad.
It was one thing if Hunter was going to a movie. It was another if he and his friends were running around Point Pleasant after dark. It made Grady uncomfortable, but he also didn’t want to stifle his kids. “We’ll talk about it,” Grady agreed. “As things come up. But you’ve got to keep me in the loop. Movies, and… bowling--” Did kids still go bowling? “-- or whatever else it is you guys do, that’s fine. But I don’t want anyone driving out to the Fallow, or the bridge… places like that are off limits after dark, all right?” Hunter could ask why, of course, and Grady was well prepared to talk about the teenage drug use in those particular areas. But there were other reasons… there were always other reasons in Point Pleasant to avoid certain places.
They didn't really sound like places Hunter wanted to go to after dark so he didn't ask. There was a wild animal on the loose, one that attacked people. Indoors activities sounded safer and more fun than anything to do with the outside! "I'll keep you in the loop," he promised and at that moment he really felt like he meant it, even if it would be awkward if he actually met a guy he liked more than a friend or if he had a keep some secret for the girls. That was something that was far from his mind at present so it was easy to make a promise like that. "You should check in more often too," he added a bit smugly. "Let us know you're safe."
"I check in when I can," Grady protested, unsure as to when this became a complete negotiation of parental control. He did try to text or call Jen or Hunter if he wasn't going to be home for a bit, but there were times when the job left no real time for personal phone calls. "I'll do what I can," he conceded. "But this is about you and Jen more than it is about me." Grady gave Hunter a pointed look. "I've got eyes everywhere, you know, so... yeah, make sure you're going to be where you say you're going to be, and we'll be fine."
Hunter frowned, he just couldn't help it. It almost felt like an attack, like he'd done something to deserve his dad's distrust when the reality was he'd been nothing but the perfect student and the perfect son. He'd never done anything that could jeopardize his health or reputation, what few parties he'd been to had been really tame, he didn't drink, hadn't even had sex yet. "When have I ever lied about where I'm gonna be?" he asked sullenly. It just sounded so extreme, having his deputies keeping an eye on him? Maybe Jen could do with some supervision but Hunter didn't! A small irrational feeling of "Maybe I'll give him a reason to worry" flared up but he ignored it for now.
"I'm not saying you're lying, or that you're going to lie," Grady said calmly. But... he also knew how teenagers were. He'd been one once, and he had lied to his parents plenty of times when he and his friends wanted to go somewhere and drink, or smoke, or just get into some mischief. "I'm just asking you to be safe and abide by the rules. That's all." He could recognize the look on Hunter's face, and the tone of his voice, as a teenager who's been offended by Grady's attempts at parenting, but it was all Grady could really do at this point. At least until his hours eased up and he could be more hands on.
"I always do," Hunter said and that sulk in his voice was still there though he softened up a little now that Grady didn't sound like he was outright accusing him of misbehaving. He had to wonder if his dad was more worried about him now because he hadn't signed up for any of the sports teams yet, but Point Pleasant didn't have a swim team and he felt a bit lost as a result. Maybe he'd sign up for the track team and Grady could be calmer knowing that Hunter was still being himself.
"Okay." Grady nodded, thinking that was good enough for the moment. "Then we're not going to have a problem. I do trust you," he added, just because it felt necessary to say. "I'm not trying to make you think otherwise. I just want you to be safe. You and Jen both." Hopefully Hunter would believe him, because he was truly being sincere. It was harder to parent when his job kept him from home so often, and he didn't want to have to depend on other adults in Point Pleasant to do it for him.
That placated Hunter a little because his dad did sound like he meant it and he nodded, giving in this time. "We won't take any stupid chances and you can always call us." Not that he was going to suggest his dad just look up their phones and where they were every time he got worried because ew, that would be creepy. He probably could though. Hunter just hoped he wouldn't. It wasn't so much that he was planning on sneaking off somewhere he wasn't supposed to be but what if he met some hot guy... God, it was unlikely anything would actually happen but he really didn't need his dad to be checking in on him. "Do you think you'll make it to dinner tonight?" he asked instead. It was weird but he kinda missed eating real dinner with the family. When Grady wasn't home he and Jen rarely ate together.
Grady hadn’t given much thought to tracking Jen and Hunter’s cell phones. He needed to give them some semblance of trust, and he doubted it would ever come down to tracking them. At least he hoped not. But in this town, he supposed it was always a possibility. Hunter’s next question gave him pause and Grady blinked, unsure of how to respond. They hadn’t had dinner as a family in quite sometime, and his workload was pretty heavy at the moment. Still, he felt guilty saying no after this discussion, and it felt important to try and be there for his kids, even when things were stressful at work. “I’ll be home for dinner,” he promised, glancing at the pie. It would hold him over for awhile, at least. “Do you want me to pick something up on the way? Or… I think… I could probably try and throw something together from the kitchen.”
"Yeah?" Hunter said, not quick enough to hide the surprise in his voice. He really hadn't expected Grady to make it if he was to be honest. His dad was swamped and while Hunter could understand it and didn't really blame his dad for it, it could kinda suck. "Just pick something up on the way home," he said with a smile. It would save Grady some time and spare him the experimental cooking of his kids. "What time? I don't mind eating late." He unlocked his phone again to start texting Jen that she had to be home tonight.
Grady thought maybe he could order something from Moxie's, or Tony's Pizzeria. He would definitely figure out something, because he would much rather grab take out than worry about trying to put an edible meal together. "We don't have to eat late," Grady said, reaching into the bag to pull out the blueberry pie. "Six thirty?" That seemed to be normal dinner time for most people Grady knew. Being a police officer had made 'normal' pretty difficult for he and Allison. He supposed that was one of the reasons why they were no longer married. That, and Mitch. "Make sure Jen's home, okay?" She might be less thrilled about eating as a family than Hunter, but they would deal with it. Even if his daughter didn't have much to say, he would be happy to see her.
"Yeah I'm telling her now," Hunter said and at least one of Grady's kids was happy about the idea. He quickly typed out another message for Jen to let her know when to be there. He just hoped she wasn't ignoring her phone. "Six thirty sounds good, I'll clear the table and everything." He shot his dad a grin before going back on his phone, this time just checking his messages and social media out of habit. "So I'll see you at home at six thirty?"
"Six thirty," Grady said with a nod. "I'll get something good, we'll... have a nice dinner." Maybe he and Hunter could watch the baseball game after. Or Jen could... well, he didn't want to suggest she show off her bugs, because he preferred those to stay in her room. But yes, they needed to spend some quality time together, especially with how the rest of his work week was starting to look.
Hunter was satisfied with that and he got up and stuck his phone in his pocket - even if he'd end up taking it out within a minute again. "Awesome, I'll see you then." He stood still for a moment before heading for the door, waving back at his dad with an almost dismissive: "Love ya." They didn't say it often but often enough. There wasn't really a need for it, both kids knew they were loved even if their parents could be annoying at times. Hunter just had a feeling his dad might need to hear it today. He looked tired and stressed and worried about Hunter and Jen on top of all that.
The words might have sounded dismissive, but they were appreciated all the same. Grady felt himself smile. “Yeah, love ya too,” he said, watching Hunter disappear through the door. They weren’t an overly expressive family, and Grady didn’t need to hear the words, because he knew his kids loved him. But it was nice to hear them. With Hunter gone, Grady opened the file folder in front of him again, determined to make some progress before he left for the evening.