Chapter 22 #2
Hero threw the coffee at Ayden’s shirt. Luckily, the coffee wasn’t steaming hot anymore, but it was still pretty hot. The coffee dripped over his bandaged scratches, and it seeped through, causing him to wince and wrap his arms around the scratches. He fell to the floor, hunched over.
“Ayden!” I screamed, rushing to his side. The bullies either looked worried or scared, and most of them ran to tell an adult. Hero breathed heavily, just standing there, holding my empty thermal cup. He death-stared Xavier, who was the only one still standing there.
But Xavier didn’t move.
He continued to stand there, watching me attempt to help Ayden, with a concerned look on his face. Xavier was the only one in the group I didn’t consider a bully.
I lifted Ayden’s shirt up to see if it looked bad. The bandages were soaked and darkened. The smell of the coffee was overpowering; people outside of the buffet would still be able to smell it.
“Help is coming, okay?” I comforted him. He nodded, grunting in pain.
Shortly after, security and paramedics arrived with the bullies following close behind.
The paramedics told me to step back, while security asked who threw coffee at him.
The bullies pointed at Hero, and security told him to step aside for a chat.
Miss Kennedy got informed and talked to the bullies to get information on what had happened.
I wouldn’t trust that they told the whole truth, though.
The paramedics checked Ayden’s vitals, then put him on a stretcher and moved him out of the room. Hero showed no remorse for what he had just done. Not like when he scratched Ayden.
“Miss Vaughn?” one of the security officers called me over. I flinched at my name being called, then walked over, standing next to Hero.
“Did you witness the entire incident?” the female officer asked.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I was sitting at the table where it occurred.”
“Mr. Castell here says that Mr. Davis was the one who started this fight, is that correct?”
“Yes, he walked over to our table and wanted to get into a fight with Hero.”
“Why did he want to get into a fight with Mr. Davis?” the male officer questioned.
“Because they have been enemies for over a year now,” I explained. “They have unresolved issues and hold grudges against each other. I have been trying to get them to be friends again but—”
“Okay,” the male officer cut me off. “So, Mr. Castell says that there was a punch involved, correct?”
“Yes. Ayden threw a punch, and that’s when Hero,” I said, gesturing to Hero, “threw my coffee at him.”
The female officer heard something on the walkie-talkie and stepped aside.
“What ultimately caused Mr. Davis to throw the punch?” the male officer continued to interrogate me. Hero just stood there, staring at me with no expression on his face.
“Hero made a comment about me being his girlfriend rather than Ayden’s,” I muttered.
As the female officer walked back to us, she whispered something to the male officer. His eyes widened at the information.
“We were just informed of his scratches. They seem to be fresh. Mr. Davis has unfortunately fallen unconscious, so we are not able to gather information on the cause at the moment.” He looked back and forth between both of us. “Would either of you happen know the cause?”
Ayden’s unconscious.
My heart started to beat rapidly. I turned to face Hero, not knowing what to do. Was I supposed to rat him out? Would that be the fair thing to do for Ayden?
Hero recognized the nervous look in my eyes and softened his own. “I did it,” he admitted to the officers. “I scratched him.”
My eyes widened. He confessed.
“You did?” the female officer cocked an eyebrow. “There were forty-two reported scratch marks, and they were not created by human nails.”
Oh my God. Forty-two.
I didn’t count them as I cleaned him up. I didn’t realize there were that many. The image of Hero scratching him multiple times invaded my mind. I shut my eyes, trying to shake that image out of my head. I brought my hand up to mouth, trying to stop myself from gagging.
Hero bit his lip, turning to look away from me. He was trying not to cry from seeing my reaction.
“You’re right,” Hero said to the female officer, regretting what he said. “Just a joke. I’m not sure, I think his cat attacked him a couple of hours before boarding the ship.”
“Refrain from joking like that again, sir.” The female officer then turned her attention over to me. “What about you, miss?”
“Yeah, I think that’s what happened,” I said, hardly holding eye contact.
“So, you were aware of his scratches?” the male officer asked Hero.
He nodded.
“Did you deliberately throw the hot coffee at his body, knowing about these scratches?” he further pressed.
“Well, yes but he punched—” Hero reminded, starting to get impatient.
“Yes, he will be dealt with later,” the male officer assured. “But he seemed to be provoked, and even has the worse injury.”
“He was provoking me!” Hero barked.
“Calm down, sir.”
“He deserved it!” he yelled. He gripped his hair and mumbled, “If only I had my book right now.”
I was the only one who heard that. Luckily.
I gave him a sharp glare. He shriveled, realizing I had heard him. The security guards weren’t going to be patient for much longer. They had one hand on their taser, ready to pull it out if he continued to act out.
“Calm down,” I warned him.
He gazed at me and softened his eyes, nodding.
“Sir, follow us.”
The woman officer gave me a small nod, silently thanking me for my time. Hero’s eyes did not leave mine as he followed the security guards.
When Hero was fully out of my sight, Miss Kennedy walked up to me, having the most sympathetic expression on her face. A hand was placed on my shoulder, but no words were spoken. Words didn’t have to be spoken to understand what she was saying.
“I pity you for being friends with someone like that.”
I knew that’s what she was thinking. I knew that’s what they were all thinking.
But they shouldn’t pity me.
I chose this friend group. I chose them. I chose Hero and Ayden. I chose. There was nothing to feel bad for.
I wanted to fix this friend group. I chose to make this my mission. I had to make it happen.
I needed to.