One more time (11)

PREVIOUSLY: After toying with Ian a little, Hunter throws an extremely forceful punch in Ian’s direction. Ian had no chance of blocking it whatsoever, he gets hit squarely in the stomach and gets thrown into a nearby tree. The back of his head slams against the bark of the tree with so much force, I could actually hear it. Ian slides down and looks like he’s passed out.

My stomach clenches with panic.

SUNDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER: Hunter utterly disregards Ian, and bends over the pier reaching his hand into the water. He uses the icy water to wash off the blood from his face.

Out of nowhere, I hear a thud of feet right by the pier, running in Hunter’s direction. Duke appears holding a baseball bat, apparently his baseball practice had just ended, and uses it to strike the back of Hunter’s head as he is bent over the pier. Before Hunter was even able to dodge the blow, he splashes into the icy water.

‘How could you just sit there and watch as Ian gets banged up by that stranger?’

I was still so stunned, I couldn’t even answer that question. I just sit there my head shaking from left to right. Ian seems to be regaining consciousness and sits up, he seems disoriented, but the moment he remembers what was happening, he’s back on his feet and in a defensive stance looking around for Hunter.

Duke approaches me, so angry that he’s actually quite scary. He grabbed me by my shoulders and roughly shoves me into a tree. He lifts me up until we’re eye-to-eye. His body pins my body to the tree and my thrashing seems utterly pointless. I can’t seem to summon any strength above that of a typical human girl. Tears are streaming down my face, and still I can’t speak.

He takes one hand off my shoulder and I think he’s about to release me. The pressure of his body against mine is so much, that it actually hurts. Before I know it, his hand had shot up and slapped me across my face, I feel my lip split, and my right cheek burns.

‘How dare you? Duke! How could you slap her?!’

I see Ian running towards me shouting at Duke. I feel in utter shock. I can taste blood in my mouth, and it’s got me into a kind of high.

In the next moment, Ian reaches Duke and grabs his hand before he manages to land the second slap on me. At the same time, Hunter is at my side, soaking wet, and giving Duke a look so violent, that he involuntarily lets go of me. Ian pulls Duke off and drags him as far from Hunter as possible, he seems to realize that Hunter has just passed the point of no return. In the same moment that Duke released me, Hunter’s hand replaced his on my shoulder, this time not intended to hurt me, merely to keep me upright. He holds my waist and supports the majority of my weight. He looks down at me, runs his cold hands over my quickly bruising face, and that violent look returns to his face.

I know what he’s thinking. Hunter will go after Duke and make him pay for what he did to me. Hunter was so engrossed in his planning on how to make Duke suffer the most, that he didn’t seem to notice himself shivering in the cold night air.

‘Hunter, don’t. He didn’t mean to hurt me. He was just upset over what happened to Ian.’

I notice Ian suddenly seem to lose his balance, looks like his adrenaline rush is over. Thankfully, Duke catches him before he hits the ground. Duke swings one of Ian’s arms over his shoulder and supports his weight and starts walking toward Ian’s house. He throws a backward glance at me in Hunter’s arms.

‘Welcome home Era! Hope you see the kind of problem you cause. Why don’t you do us all a favour and run off again, but this time, take that psycho with you. He isn’t welcome here.’

‘Oh yeah? Why don’t you come and say that to my face, chubby! And if I were you, I’d learn to show Era some respect.’

‘Well, you aren’t me. And I’d rather die than show respect to that little tramp.’

Hunter gently lays me on the ground, and walks over to Duke. As he’s walking a group of Duke’s baseball buddies enter the area, they look perplexed, seeing Duke supporting an unconscious Ian, Hunter looking utterly terrifying, Duke looking like he wanted nothing more than to beat Hunter up, and me sitting stunned on the ground.

Before anyone can react, Hunter stops right in front of Duke, pulls back his fist, and punches Duke in the face. Duke immediately falls down and so too, does Ian.

‘That’s for slapping Era. I would rip your hand of your body generally, but I reserve killing you for another day.’

And with that Hunter walks back towards me and gently scoops me up in his arms. He looks down at me and the violent look disappears, replaced by the most earnest of concern.

‘I’m sorry Era. I never meant for you to get hurt. Please forgive me!’

‘Hunter, it isn’t your fault at all. It’s mine, Duke was right, what kind of friend allows her friend to be beaten up in front of her, and yet does nothing at all to stop it?’

‘Era, don’t you dare blame yourself! I swear I will make that boy pay.’

‘Hunter, are you okay? He hit you pretty hard. And you fell into that freezing water, and you’re shivering. Do you have a coat? You should get out of that shirt before you fall sick.’

‘Don’t worry about me, I’m tough, a little cold isn’t going to make me ill. By the way Era, I know this isn’t a good time to point this out but, because you refuse to drink any blood, you’re weak. Had you the strength of a normal vampire, Duke would never have been able to pin you to that tree. Please reconsider your diet, for your own good.’

‘No, Hunter. I don’t want to drink blood, I can get by on human food and I will. Besides, I have you around to protect me, right?’

I smile up at him, and he returns one of his dazzling smiles back to me. By this time, he’s carried me to the nearby parking lot and stops at a gorgeous, red Ferrari.

He places me on my feet, and holds the passenger door open for me. I climb in and immediately am encompassed in a delicious smell, a combination of something spicy and very appealing.

‘My new ride, like it?’

‘Definitely.’

The next thing I know, Hunter is carrying me up a familiar flight of stairs, into a familiar room and places me on a familiar bed. As he tucks the quilt around me, I hear another pair of feet in the room.

‘What happened to her?’

I recognized my father’s voice, and I can hear the concern in it, it makes me feel remarkably better.

‘I met Ian today, Jason.’

‘Ah, tell me everything’

And the last thing I remember is falling into the pure bliss that only sleep can give.

TO BE CONTINUED
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