Chapter 7 #4
I glared at him, trying to understand what he was thinking.
It’d been just for the briefest of moments that I saw it…
a flash of pain. I thought about what I had said…
petty crimes and what other shit he could have gotten into…
his group being his family, and his comment about survival.
For a moment, I felt a tug at my heart. I leaned forward just a little bit, and his eyes widened slightly, surprised by the move.
But I forced myself to soften a bit for him.
“What about Mark?” I asked him gently.
There it was. I saw the way he broke just a bit at the mention of Mark DeLuca, the boy he’d run around with when we were kids. I hadn’t seen him anywhere in this school, and certainly nowhere near Hunter. The look on his face only confirmed my suspicion. Mark was gone. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
The corners of his eyes twitched ever so slightly.
His nostrils flared, but then, his grip on me loosened just a bit, and he nodded stiffly.
I slowly stepped to the side, glad that he let me, but before I could walk away, he grasped my hand again.
The look he gave me was unsettling, the cocky smirk he always had on his face was gone, and I realized I was seeing the real Hunter that he had been buried underneath all his bullshit.
“I’ve liked you for a long time,” he said, holding my hand tightly.
He tugged gently, urging me closer. I ended up standing right back where I had been, Hunter standing much too close, pressing an arm to the wall over my head.
“I’ve wanted you for a long time, but you were always with those three.
You always picked them.” I saw a flicker of animosity in his eyes.
“They never let anyone near you. And I wanted you so badly. Seeing you now,” he exhaled shakily, “it’s worse. ”
“Hunter-” I said in warning, shaking when his other hand released my wrist and began to slide up my side, skimming over the curve of my breast. I slapped his hand away, but the action only seemed to make him more determined to try and change my mind.
He gripped the small of my waist and pressed his hips to mine. “I want you.” He leaned in and ran his tongue up the side of my neck. I squealed and tried to pull away, but it only made him more grabby and aggressive.
“Stop it, let go!” I tried to push back against his chest, but he didn’t budge.
“I’ve always wanted you, Casey.” He licked his bottom lip. “I knew you’d grow into a-”
When he slid his hand down my stomach to grope me over my jeans, I reacted. I swung my leg and managed to kick him in his shin.
“Fucking hell!” He slapped me hard across the cheek, and my head snapped sideways. Before I could do much else, he reached out then and snatched my upper arm, hard. I cried out and tried to yank it out of his grip, but he held on tight.
“What are you doing?” I shouted at him. “Let me go!” Despite the slap he’d given me, I still had it in me to fight back.
I twisted away, attempting to flee the alcove, but his hands, which were still wrapped around my arm, tightened, wrenching my skin in his hold, and I yelped out in pain.
His friends closed in, sealing off any sign of an exit, and I knew I was close to pissing myself when they all turned and leered at me. “No! No, please… d-don’t! Let me go!”
Bryce lunged then and grabbed my legs while Hunter lifted me up by my arms. They both managed to hold on while I did my best to kick and flail, hoping to get them to lose their hold.
I even shouted and tossed my head back, hoping to reverse head-butt Hunter, but nothing I did helped.
Laughing, they carried me up the last of the stairs to the second floor’s main hallway and hauled me across the hall to where a door was ajar to a classroom.
Through the skinny window of the door, I could see that the lights were out, and my stomach rolled when I realized they were going to lock me in there with them.
I struggled more, trying to pull free from his grip, but my fight was nothing to this prick.
His friends joined in his laughter as they followed, all eager to get going.
“Stop!” I cried, “Please, stop! Let me go!” I twisted in such a way that Bryce lost his grip, and my feet clattered to the floor. I flailed as hard as I could, and Hunter’s hold loosened.
“Shut up!” he hissed and tried to move in for a better grasp so he could force me into that room with him and his buddies. My hands reached out and seized the edge of the doorframe, and I clung on for dear life. I could feel my grip slipping, so I made one last effort to save myself… I screamed.
Hunter ripped me away from the doorframe and slammed a sweaty palm over my mouth, cursing loudly in my ear as he dragged me into the dark, vacant room, his friends filing in after.
I was easily hauled over to the empty teacher’s desk, Bryce moving ahead to sweep the papers, pencils, and pens to the floor to make space, and my heart nearly stopped. I’m going to get gang-raped…
I managed to open my mouth just enough that I could bite into Hunter’s palm. My teeth clamped down so hard that I tasted blood, and he yelled out, trying to pull his hand away, but I held on.
“Fuck! Get her off, get her off!” he shouted, releasing me as I’d hoped.
The moment he did, I took off, sprinting towards the door, ducking under arms and weaving around the others who were caught off-guard.
I was at the door, ready to tear down the hallway, but an arm gripped me around my middle and hauled me back.
I kicked my legs and clawed at his arm with my nails, and I heard Bryce’s voice cussing me out, but he didn’t let go.
He used his body to hold me against the wall, one hand pinned both of my own over my head, and he glared into my face, panting heavily from the struggle.
I could still taste Hunter’s blood in my mouth, some of it dribbling down my chin, as I spit it into Bryce’s face, nailing him right beneath his left eye.
The bastard barely flinched but reached up with his spare hand and wiped it away.
From behind him, Hunter was seething, holding his hand tight as he continued to curse me.
I was about to scream again, but Bryce brought up his spit-covered, bloody hand and pressed it over my mouth, silencing me before I could call for help one last time.
I tried to break free from his hold, to push him away, but his body was like a stone as it pressed against me, and I was horrified when I felt him grow hard as I struggled. The fucker was getting off on this!
But the more I struggled, the more tired I became, and when I saw one of their cronies move to shut the door, I felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me. This was seriously going to happen.
The door was several inches from shutting when an enormous figure barreled into it, smashing it right back into the asswipe, closing it, sending him flying—next thing I knew, Lee stepped into the room with Vail and Shaw right behind him.
Vail reached over and flicked the lights on, illuminating the space and revealing the members of the Jackals to them.
Lee’s eyes took in the five figures before him, and despite being outnumbered, he smiled…
a slow, creeping smile that made him look terrifying, nothing like the Lee I remembered.
To my surprise, despite having more members on their side, two guys backed up close to Hunter, looking nervous.
Bryce, however, didn’t move a muscle at the sight of Lee, and remained where he was, pressing me into the wall.
It wasn’t until Shaw stepped around his friend that I felt his body jolt slightly.
Shaw was hidden beneath his bulky sweater, which was what made Bryce so uneasy.
Shaw’s deep blue, shadowed eyes lock onto me, taking in the sight of my hands pinned above my head, my mouth covered by Bryce’s blood and spit smeared hand, and how his body is pressed up against mine, and takes a step forward, stopping only when Lee swings an arm out to halt him in his tracks.
However, at his movement, Bryce flew into action, swinging around and bringing me with him so that my back was pressed to his front, like a shield, while he moved back to Hunter and the others.
He pulled his hand from my mouth and held my throat instead, his arm wrapped over my stomach to keep me in place, and hissed in my ear.
“You make a sound, and I’ll strangle you.
You try to run, and I’ll strangle you. You try to fight back? I’ll fucking break your neck.”
I could feel the smear of blood on my chin, and I looked to the three standing on the other side of the room.
Shaw was still watching Bryce and me while Lee was scoping out the others, though his gaze kept flickering to me every few seconds.
I thought of how his sheer size was intimidating enough without his menacing glower.
Vail stepped forward then, but his eyes were focused entirely on Hunter, and from here, I could sense the loathing radiating from him as he centered himself before the other two.
“What the fuck are you doing, Tremblay?” he said slowly, his voice so calm that it came off more chilling than if he’d shouted.
Hunter straightened and held out his hand for the guys to see. “Little bitch bit me. Just teaching her a lesson is all.”
Vail smirked at the sight of my bite mark. “Let a little girl beat you up again, hey?”
When he said little girl, I couldn’t help but scowl at him, despite my predicament. Little girl, he said. Fuck you, Vail! But I held it together when Bryce’s hold around my throat tightened ever so slightly, reminding me of his warning.
“Look, we’re having a private conversation. You guys could leave and mind your own fucking business,” Hunter seethed at him.